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.

December 7, 1990

The Hockey News December 7, 1990

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011497/5820604-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="488" height="622"><figcaption class="caption-body">STAN FISCHLER</figcaption></div>I&rsquo;ve spent 50 years trying to persuade assorted baseball, football and basketball people that hockey is the ultimate game.No question, I&rsquo;ll take that conviction to my grave.Yet, after reading and re-reading Bob McKenzie&rsquo;s litany of reasons why hockey is better than its competitors (THN, Nov. 16), I was still left with a gnawing feeling that something is wrong with our favorite pastime.THE IMAGE: Those of us intimately connected to hockey know better, but to many novices it is saddled with a wrestlemania-on-ice appearance. Too many of these detractors are important influence-peddlars. They include sports editors, Madison Avenue ad people and publishers who remain convinced that hockey won&rsquo;t sell.Although John Ziegler is an easily-available, amiable and articulate president, he gets pelted more than praised on both sides of the border.THE PLAYERS: Anyone who has covered baseball or football will tell you hockey people, as a group, are super compared with the super egos that populate other big sports. Yet, the coverage accorded these good people is miniscule, especially in the United States.For example, the Rangers opened the season with two of their best months in franchise history. They have led the Patrick Division and rank among the NHL&rsquo;s elite. They have interesting characters and good talkers such as Bernie Nicholls and John Vanbiesbrouck. But who would know it? New York columnists avoid the Rangers like the plague.Pulitzer Prize-winner Dave Anderson of the Times is one of the worst offenders. He was raised on hockey, covered the Rangers for years, but now won&rsquo;t give the NHL a line if he can help it.THE SPECTACLE: Hockey, as a spectator sport, has changed dramatically since the advent of (a) the slapshot; (b) the curved stick; (c) the goalie mask; and (d) high-tech skates.So strategy has been altered. Some of the artistry that originally sold hockey to audiences has been eliminated. I&rsquo;m talking about the often mindless dump-and-chase tactics that have replaced the rush-with-the-puck into the enemy zone.Add to that the dump-it-out-and-hope-for-the-best syndrome that replaced many of the rink-length dashes from behind the net that are so appealing.With precious few exceptions, the stickhandlers are becoming an extinct breed, partly because there&rsquo;s so little room to manoeuvre. Bigger and bigger players means less and less space.PENALTY SHOT: The NHL constantly underplays its assets, one of them being the penalty shot. I&rsquo;m not suggesting the shot be called every other minute. But double the amount of penalty shots we see called today would certainly make fans happier. It&rsquo;s in the book, yet referees seem to think the universe will crumble if they call more of this most exciting play.PERSONALITY: I wouldn&rsquo;t pay a penny to see an NBA game. I can&rsquo;t tolerate pro baskets. But I have eyes and ears and this much I can tell you about hockey&rsquo;s head-on competitor: It has many more characters who lend themselves to publicity than our game does.The last basketball game I witnessed in person was in 1963 but I know the names Air Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and Patrick Ewing like I know this is the month of December. How can you not with all the attention they receive.Hockey players&mdash;the inimitable Wayne Gretzky excluded&mdash;suffer under a cloak of anonymity. With the exception of Brett Hull and one or two others, our game lacks headliners.CONCLUSION: Since hockey is the greatest game and we all know it, why does it wind up as low-sport-on-the-totem pole?One reason is the NHL doesn&rsquo;t have the foggiest idea how to sell itself. It doesn&rsquo;t do enough to hustle its product. It doesn&rsquo;t have press agents out there pushing&mdash;yes, I mean pushing&mdash;the Dave Andersons of the world to knock out hockey columns instead of vapid yams about Darryl Strawberry.Another reason is the league has been too conservative to deliver the radical changes that would open the ice and diminish clutching, grabbing and other restrictive fouls that stifle the stars.Hockey is the greatest game in our estimation. It would be nice if we could convey that impression to the rest of the world.Stan Fischler is a hockey writer based in New York City. &#9632;

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COLUMNS

GREATEST GAME HAS WORST PROMOTION

Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; general manager Floyd Smith would love to have a player like Laird Bough-ner on his team.The 4-foot-5, 75-pound center from Langton, Ont., is a scoring phenomenon who led his Division 2 novice team to an Ontario championship last season.The 10-year-old scoring machine netted 160 goals and 56 assists in 62 games last season, for a points-per-game average of 3.48.A veteran of five years on four different representative teams, Laird is now playing center for the Langton, Ont. atom rep team.A good athlete on and off the ice, Laird enjoys baseball when the hockey season is over.And when he&rsquo;s not tearing up the ice, or running down flyballs, Laird attends Grade 6 at Sacred Heart School.Laird enjoys watching hockey on TV, and his favorite player is Toronto&rsquo;s Wendel Clark. Not surprisingly, Wendel&rsquo;s Leafs are his favorite team.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-02941/5820841-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="552" height="1180"><figcaption class="caption-body">Laird Boughner</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;

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IN THIS ISSUE

PLAYER OF WEEK JOFA TITA

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN COSTELLO</div>The Belleville Bulls and Oshawa Generals exchanged offensive weapons when snipers Rob Pearson and Jarrod Skalde were traded for one another.Skalde, 19, goes to Belleville after scoring 100 goals and 221 points in just over three seasons with Oshawa.He was a second-round NHL draft pick of the New Jersey Devils in 1989.&ldquo;We needed a center of his speed and versatility,&rdquo; Bulls&rsquo; coach-general manager Larry Mavety said. &ldquo;He can play the point on power plays, kill penalties and complement our other fine center, John Porco. (Skalde) has been to the Memorial Cup. He knows what it takes to win.&rdquo;Skalde had 10 goals and 25 assists in 15 games with Oshawa before the Nov. 18 deal. He had two goals and an assist in his first game with Belleville, a 9-7 win over Kitchener Nov. 18.The center position was Oshawa&rsquo;s strongest. Eric Lindros leads the league in scoring and Dale Craigwell seventh, making Skalde expendable.Pearson, 19, was a first-round pick (12th overall) of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1989. The right winger had 48 goals and 88 points with Belleville last season and seven goals and 10 points in 10 games prior to the trade.&ldquo;They equal each other offensively, but Rob gives us the toughness we need,&rdquo; Oshawa director of operations Wayne Daniels said. &ldquo;We also think he can work well with Eric. Maybe he can replace what Iain Fraser and Mike Craig did as his wingers last year.&rdquo;Pearson scored a goal in his first game with the Generals, a 4-2 loss to Ottawa Nov. 18.<h2>ON THE TUBE</h2>Ontario League fans can watch their favorite teams on TV 14 times over the next three months as The Sports Network and Global Television Network feature weekly major junior hockey telecasts.Global&rsquo;s ninth season of covering Saturday afternoon games begins Jan. 19 with a contest between Ottawa and Belleville. Other games scheduled are: Jan. 26&mdash;Oshawa at Cornwall. Feb. 2&mdash;Oshawa at Belleville. Feb. 9&mdash;Sudbury at North Bay. Feb. 16&mdash;Oshawa at Niagara Falls. Feb. 23&mdash;Windsor at Niagara Falls. March 2&mdash;London at Owen Sound. March 9&mdash;Sudbury at Peterborough. Playoff games on March 23 and 30 will also be televised.TSN&rsquo;s schedule is as follows: Jan. 9&mdash;Cornwall at Belleville. Jan. 13&mdash;Moose Jaw at Regina. Jan. 20&mdash;Regina at Saskatoon. Jan. 29&mdash;OHL/QMJHL All-Star Challenge. Feb. 4&mdash;Niagara Falls at Oshawa. Feb. 10&mdash;College Francais at St-Hyacinthe. Feb. 17&mdash;Kamloops at Brandon. Feb. 24&mdash;Victoriaville at Drummondville. March 3&mdash;Peterborough at Oshawa. March 10&mdash;Sudbury at Ottawa. March 17&mdash;Spokane at Seattle. Playoffs games on April 14 and 21 and May 5 will be televised.<h2>SLUMP ENDS</h2>The Detroit Ambassadors broke a 12-game winless streak Nov. 13 with a 2-1 win over Emms Divisionleading Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Goalie Kevin Butt made 48 saves for the Ambassadors. Two games later, though, Butt injured a knee and is out until late December&hellip;Cornwall Royals&rsquo; captain Jason Cirone had an 18-game scoring string snapped Nov. 16. The 19-year-old center was 1816-34 during his 18-game tear&hellip;A comment from London Knights&rsquo; coach-GM Gary Agnew after his team dropped a 6-1 decision in Sault Ste. Marie Nov. 18: &ldquo;Our goaltending was terrible. Our defense was terrible. Our forwards were terrible. Maybe even the coaching was terrible. &ldquo;&hellip;After recording just four assists in 20 games, Windsor Spitfires&rsquo; left winger Doug Minor had a goal and two assists in a 7-4 Spitfire win over the Kitchener Rangers Nov. 15.&mdash;With a file from Randy Russon &#9632;

GENERALS ADD PEARSON FOR SCORING, TOUGHNESS

New Jersey Devils&rsquo; center Peter Stastny has a strong aptitude for languages and can speak six of them: Slovak, Czech, English, Russian, German and French. Stastny was bom in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, and defected to North America in 1980. Stastny learned French and English while playing for Quebec from 1980-81 to 198990.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021134/5820635-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="976" height="525"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Stastny</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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DID YOU KNOW…

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01862/5822585-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"></div>FRED SHERO LOSES LONG BATTLE WITH CANCER-PAGES 2, 6SUPER SERIES: SOVIET TEAMS&rsquo; FAREWELL TOUR?-PAGE 5NHL PRESIDENT JOHN A. ZIEGLER JR.PEETERS SAVES DAY FOR FLYERS-PAGE 11BRUINS, WHALERS GET PHYSICAL-PAGE 49 &#9632;

Cover-01

EXPANSION

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04539/5820125-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="520" height="611"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOB McKENZIE</figcaption></div>His epitaph will read: Enigmatic and innovative. Fred Shero was both during a storied professional hockey career.But strip away the philosophies, mental gymnastics and sheer eccentric force employed by the man they called &lsquo;The Fog&rsquo; and you would have found a nuts-and-bolts, keep-it-simple tactician.&ldquo;He was, beneath it all, meat and potatoes,&rdquo; says ex-Calgary Flame coach Terry Crisp of his mentor, who died Nov. 24 of cancer. He was 65.Crisp played for Shero during the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; heydey in the &rsquo;70s, when &lsquo;The Fog&rsquo; led the Flyers to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975. Upon his retirement as a player, Crisp was Shero&rsquo;s assistant.&ldquo;He always used to tell me, &lsquo;Patience and repetition, patience and repetition, that&rsquo;s the key to success in hockey.&rsquo; You can talk about the Soviet influence or this or that, but his genius was in getting players to perform the basics, like a simple breakout, without flaw.&rdquo;Shero did, however, love the slogans.&ldquo;You think back and Freddie had so many sayings and quotations he lived by,&rdquo; says Bill Clement, an ex-Flyer player who has moved to the broadcast booth. &ldquo;But the ones that he drove home the most were almost simplistic.&rdquo;Those would be Freddie&rsquo;s list of do&rsquo;s and don&rsquo;ts. A joint effort by former Flyers Crisp, Clement and the Watson brothers (Joe and Jim) turned up five.They were: (1) Never go offside on a 2-on-1 or 3-on-2; (2) Never be outnumbered in your own zone; (3) Match wings on wings between the bluelines; (4) When in doubt, shoot it out; and, (5) Never let your man get between you and the net.Shero was, above all else, a players&rsquo; coach. He came across as a dry man not given to smiles and chuckles, but possessed a dry wit and keen understanding of the players&rsquo; minds.&ldquo;He always surprised you,&rdquo; Clement says. &ldquo;On our team, there were quite a few smokers. Between periods, they&rsquo;d all cram into the dressing-room washroom and puff away. One time, Freddie walked in and ordered everybody into their seats. We thought he was going to give us heck about the smoking, but instead he said, &lsquo;If you guys are going to smoke, then go into the players&rsquo; lounge and do it comfortably. Sit in a chair and relax.&rsquo;&rdquo;Clement says Shero&rsquo;s actions never betrayed one fundamental principle&mdash;respect for the players.On the road, Shero would often call team meetings at 11 p.m. Clement says it was because he couldn&rsquo;t stand the thought of going room by room and doing a curfew/bed check.&ldquo;I remember the night before our first game of the Cup final (in 1975) against Buffalo,&rdquo; says Crisp. &ldquo;We were at home and he told us to bring our suitcases, that we were going on a little trip. We went to an out-of-town hotel and he told us to be in his room for happy hour at 4 p.m.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t know what to think, but sure enough, we went to his room, and he had all the beer and sandwiches laid out. He said to us, &lsquo;You guys would be out having a few beers and sandwiches tonight anyway, we might as well do it together as a team and look out for each other.&rsquo;&rdquo;As a strategist, he was brilliant. He under-stood the game and what it took to win.But for all he said and did as a coach, it was what he didn&rsquo;t say that had the greatest impact.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll never forget being in our dressing room before the third period of the Cup final against Boston (in 1974),&rdquo; Crisp says. &ldquo;Here we were, up 1-0 on one of the greatest offensive teams in history with Orr, Esposito, Hodge&hellip;on the verge of being the first expansion team to win the Cup. It&rsquo;s dead silent and we&rsquo;re waiting for Freddie to come in and give us his final words of inspiration.&ldquo;He walked into the room, walked up to the blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk, stopped, turned around and looked around the room, making sure he made eye contact with every player. He put down the chalk and walked out without saying a thing.&ldquo;Were we primed? Oh, yes. We floated back onto the ice and won our first Cup. None of us in that room, not one guy, had ever won a ring before. I&rsquo;ll never forget it. He said nothing, yet he said it all. That&rsquo;s Freddie Shero. He was one of a kind.&rdquo;Bob McKenzie is editor-in-chief of The Hockey News. &#9632;

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ABOVE ALL, SHERO WAS A PLAYER’S COACH

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011295/5820170-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="564" height="784"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Wilson returns to the Blackhawks. Page 20.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021056/5820163-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="552" height="802"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jim Hrivnak is making the Capitals think twice. Page 13.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03764/5820156-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="556" height="781"><figcaption class="caption-body">Calgary&rsquo;s Colin Patterson is out for the season. Page 25.</figcaption></div><h2>QUOTABLE</h2>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll go right down there myself and punch him (Milbury) in the mouth. &ldquo;&mdash;Hartford general manager Ed Johnston, on the growing feud between the Whalers and the Boston Bruins. Page 49.&ldquo;Just a cheese sandwich and some fries. &ldquo;&mdash;Montreal&rsquo;s Russ Courtnall, on what he ate before a rare fight, Nov. 25 against Winnipeg&rsquo;s Doug Evans. Page 48. &#9632;

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THIS WEEK

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011453/5820239-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg" title="f0003-01" width="875" height="591"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021178/5820232-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="480" height="243"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03769/5820225-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="569" height="787"></div>Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; right winger Tomas Sandstrom, who recorded 11 points (8-3-11) in four games to lead all scorers, was named the NHL Pro Set Player of the Week for the period ending Nov. 25.Sandstrom, who had posted 31 points (17-14-31) in 23 games, edged Washington Capitals&rsquo; goaltender Jim Hrivnak and Hartford Whalers&rsquo; right winger Pat Verbeek, to capture the award.Throughout the 1990-91 NHL season, Pro Set, Inc. will donate $500 to the youth hockey organization designated by the Player of the Week. Pro Set will also contribute $1,000 on behalf of the Player of the Month and $7,500 for the Player of the Year Award. As a first-year sponsor of these NHL awards, Pro Set is contributing over $26,000 to youth hockey organizations across North America.Sandstrom, began the week by recording his fifth career hat trick (3-1-4) in a 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils Nov. 20.He tallied twice in a 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames Nov. 22, before recording his second hat trick of the week in a 4-2 road win over the Montreal Canadiens Nov. 24.The following night he registered two assists in a 4-4 tie with the Quebec Nordiques.The Kings have posted a 16-5-2 record (34 points) for third place overall in the NHL. They are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and hold the best home record at 11-1-1 for an.885 winning percentage.Sandstrom&rsquo;s 17 goals this season place him second to Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues (23) in NHL goal-scoring.Hrivnak registered a 3-0-0 record with a 2.50 goals-against average, while Verbeek recorded seven points (5-2-7) in three games, including five power-play goals. &#9632;

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NHL PRO SET SPOTLIGHT

As a die-hard fan living in Canada, I would like to give my view&mdash;a Canadian view&mdash;on expansion.We hear a lot about the American viewer not wanting to watch a game between the Hartford Whalers, and say, the Saskatoon Blues. But how does a fan in Vancouver feel about the Canucks versus the Tampa Bay Sun Devils?But bring in the Ottawa Senators and you would see a difference. Imagine an Ottawa-Montreal rivalry; or Hamilton-Toronto; or Hamilton-Buffalo and so on.The NHL must expand where the fans are&mdash;the northern states and Canada.In the southern U.S. you&rsquo;ll get sellouts for one year, maybe two years maximum. But when Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzer-man don&rsquo;t come to town, the fans won&rsquo;t go to the rinks.Whereas names such as Kirk Muller, Pat LaFontaine, Wendel Clark and Phil Housley would attract fans to the rink in Canada, they certainly won&rsquo;t in Tampa Bay or San Diego, or as we&rsquo;ll see soon, in San Jose.Mike Lance Merrit, B.C.<h2>TWO EXTREMES</h2>The complexities and incongruities of hockey were never so true as those shown in the Nov. 9 isssue of THN.On one page, Mike Keenan is demanding punishment for several league officials because he felt they missed a call in a game against Boston. A few pages later, I read a touching and brilliant tribute to Kathy Kerr by Dave Molinari.The message of Molinari&rsquo;s piece was underscored by the inflammatory and embarrassing antics of Keenan.With my wife pregnant with our third child, I empathize with the tragedy in the Kerr family. Also, as a former citizen of Philadelphia, I know how much Kathy Kerr contributed to local charitable activities.Indeed, a memorial to Kathy Kerr is more deserving than the childish exploits of Mike Keenan.Dave Luke Bloomfield, N.J.<h2>TOO LENIANT</h2>In the Nov. 9 issue of THN Petr Klima of Edmonton and Dave Manson of Chicago complained about their four-game suspensions.Klima butt-ended Brad Jones of Los Angeles and Manson crosschecked Drake Berehowsky of Toronto in the head.It is cheap shots like these that should be dealt with seriously, and I feel the suspensions handed out by Brian O&rsquo;Neill were too leniant. The NHL must have this type of play stopped before taking any measure to ban fighting.If Manson believes his suspension was unfair, I know his attitude would change if somebody viciously hit him in the head with a cross-check.Manson and Klima should both thank O&rsquo;Neill for making their suspensions only four games.Chris Fraker Lakewood, Calif.<h2>THANKS, RICH</h2>After seeing highlights of the recent game between the Kings and the Islanders, I would like to congratulate Richard Pilon for doing something that nobody else will&mdash;actually putting a hard check on Wayne Gretzky.It seems as though there is an unwritten rule in the NHL that Gretzky can&rsquo;t be given a good, clean hit. I&rsquo;m tired of this.Gretzky took exception to the check and later taunted Pilon after scoring a power-play goal. Later in the game, the Kings sent out tough guy Jay Miller to rough up Pilon.Up until seeing these highlights I was not a Rich Pilon fan. Even though the Islanders lost the game, I hope Pilon was named a star. And I hope Gretzky sees more stars throughout his career.Jerry Hoyt&nbsp; Worthington, Penn.<h2>THANKS, RICH</h2>Being a longtime Boston Bruins&rsquo; fan, this isn&rsquo;t a correction I enjoy making&hellip;may Don Cherry forgive me.However, in the Nov. 9 issue of THN, in the &ldquo;Oddities&rdquo; department, it was reported that until an 8-1 loss to Edmonton this season, the Bruins hadn&rsquo;t lost by seven goals since 1954.In fact, Toronto beat the Bruins 114 in 1976. Remember Darryl Sittler? Six goals, four assists.Us Bruin supporters had to grin and &ldquo;bear&rdquo; it that night.Paul McPhee Welland, Ont.<h2>SMOKIN&rsquo; JOE</h2>Joe knows hockey. The no average Joe I&rsquo;m referring to is Joe Sakic, the newest nebula in the NHL constellation.Allow me to go out on the proverbial limb and predict that if there is another 200-point man, it will be young Sakic.Without question, Sakic is the closest thing the NHL has to Wayne Gretzky in terms of talent and style.If Mats Sundin develops into a Jari Kurri and Bryan Fogarty becomes another Paul Coffey (isn&rsquo;t dreaming nice?), then Quebec will one day be a legitimate Stanley Cup threat.Until then, I will continue to be thrilled and amazed by the league&rsquo;s most skillful and exciting performer&mdash;this side of the Great One.Jan Richard Gorlin Maplewood, N.J.Make your feelings known. Send your comments to:&nbsp;Letters, The Hockey News, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont., M3B 2R2&nbsp;or fax us at (416) 445-0753. Include home and business phone numbers. THN reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

DEPARTMENTS

EXPANSION TEAMS BELONG IN CANADA

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011451/5820294-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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ELSTON

&#9632; Rogie Vachon. The Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; GM has taken his fair share of heat over the years, but the trading of Bernie Nicholls for Tomas Sandstrom and Tony Granato is paying off. Sandstrom was second in league goal-scoring with 17. Throw in Granato&rsquo;s 23 points&mdash;only three fewer than Nicholls had in 26 games&mdash;and you have a good deal for the Kings.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021316/5820332-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="378" height="363"></div>&#9632; Bob Clarke and Glen Sather. We don&rsquo;t like devoting all our cheers to GMs, but you have to like the Takko-Bell deal Edmonton and Minnesota pulled off. Perhaps it will inspire Quebec GM Pierre Page to deal East Coast League left winger Phil Berger to Detroit for minor-league netminder Scott King. Get it, Berger-King?&#9632; Norman Green. It&rsquo;s not that we don&rsquo;t like the owner of the Mihnesota North Stars; he&rsquo;s obviously doing his best to rekindle local interest in pro hockey. But cash giveaways by people dressed as a Friday the 13th character and dancers during stoppages in play?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-031110/5820325-1-eng-US/f0004-032.jpg" title="f0004-03" width="377" height="363"></div>&#9632; The NCAA. The governing body for U.S. college sports has proposed cost cutting that would see ice hockey lumped into the same category as field hockey and lacrosse. Among other things, it would mean cuts to coaching staffs, scholarships and schedules. Should the amendment pass at the NC&Agrave;A&rsquo;s annual convention in Nashville Jan. 7-11, the death of some of the smaller hockey programs would inevitably follow. &#9632;

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CHEERS JEERS

<div class="byline">BY STAN FISCHLER</div>Some players&rsquo; union activists are working out a contingency strike plan which will have NHLers play while honoring a walkout next fall. If the league and NHLPA fail to reach a new deal next summer, union members will create a strike league. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d wear our team colors without the names on the jerseys,&rdquo; says an Adams Division NHLPA team representative. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll play a regular schedule in our league, not the owners.&rdquo; League organizers will get amateur officials to handle games if regular NHL officials refuse. &ldquo;We can survive playing our own games until the strike is settled,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure plenty of people would come out to see us.&rdquo;&hellip;Pittsburgh coach Bob Johnson says he&rsquo;ll go through eight large notebooks this season. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m figuring on one book for every ten games,&rdquo; explains Johnson.<h2>FLOWERY WRITER</h2>Guy Lafleur refuses to ease up on a charge in his book, Overtime, that Canadiens&rsquo; GM Serge Savard depicted him a drug-user when he played for Montreal. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m telling the truth (that he didn&rsquo;t use drugs) and the way things happened in those days,&rdquo; Lafleur says. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t intend to write a book where I try to stab somebody. It&rsquo;s not that kind of book. But it&rsquo;s what happened during those years.&rdquo;&hellip;Although it wasn&rsquo;t said at the time, Seattle&rsquo;s chances for an NHL expansion franchise were scuttled last September after minor league crowds turned out for big-league exhibitions. It upset Seattle Thunderbirds&rsquo; (Western League) owner Bill Yuill, who contemplated owning an NHL club in the Northwest. &ldquo;Those NHL exhibitions (failing to draw fans) scared the hell out of me,&rdquo; he says.<h2>FARMED OUT</h2>Soaring hockey costs have Flames&rsquo; GM Cliff Fletcher questioning the future of farm teams. He said the yearly cost to operate a farm club is about $1 million. Taxi squads could be the way of the future, he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s certainly an option,&rdquo; says Fletcher. &ldquo;We aren&rsquo;t going to be able to afford farm teams.&rdquo;&hellip;Rumors from Philadelphia suggest Minnesota GM Bob Clarke doesn&rsquo;t enjoy managing the North Stars, despite his five-year contract. He could eventually return to a management position with the Flyers-&hellip;Players are angry over the NHL&rsquo;s year-old equipment label rule which forces manufacturers&rsquo; to black out labels if they don&rsquo;t pay a league fee. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s ridiculous,&rdquo; says Flyers&rsquo; defenseman Kjell Samuelsson. &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t people running the league have anything better to worry about?&rdquo;&hellip;Pete Peeters&rsquo; strong play doesn&rsquo;t surprise him. The Flyers&rsquo; goalie says he was tired of last season&rsquo;s physical testing regiments. &ldquo;I had to lift weights and they put 195 pounds on the bar and said lift it,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I said I was going to get hurt. They put 150 or 160 on, and my elbow just blew out during the bench press. I played with a bad elbow all season. They injected cortisone in it to fix it, but after the year, I needed major surgery.&rdquo; Peeters says he&rsquo;s a new man and is getting his kicks stopping picks. &ldquo;I love to play,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t take the fun out of the game for me.&rdquo;<h2>FIGHT FEST</h2>More than a year after his NHL debut, Viacheslav Fetisov still marvels at North American fans and their attitude towards fighting. &ldquo;Fighting is like a show here,&rdquo; says the Devils&rsquo; defenseman. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s part of the game, but it&rsquo;s not hockey. If you want to kill somebody, it&rsquo;s not hard to do it. But to go out and hurt another player, that&rsquo;s no good. &ldquo;&hellip;The fiscal success of the NHL&rsquo;s sideboard advertising policy has league officials thinking of a revolutionary scheme&mdash;placing ads on the ice. It&rsquo;s being quietly reviewed by the inner sanctum. And a random sampling of players finds no major qualms. Sideboard ads have drawn few beefs.<h2>TONY TOUGH</h2>Tony Horacek, the Flyers&rsquo; strongman who was recently clobbered by Devils&rsquo; counterpart Troy Crowder, tried a second time and lost again. &ldquo;He came out and immediately told me that he had to &lsquo;go&rsquo; with me,&rdquo; Crowder says. &ldquo;I said &lsquo;When do you want to do it?&rsquo; Next thing I knew they changed face-off positions and a few seconds later, his gloves were off.&rdquo; Crowder, whose parents were visiting Byrne Arena, gave Horacek a black eye&hellip;With a $300,000 salary, seldom-used Blawkhawk goalie Greg Millen has learned to bite his lip. The 33-year-old veteran figures being a press box regular is okay because he&rsquo;s on a Stanley Cup contender. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we realize how close we are to the Cup,&rdquo; says Millen. &ldquo;It still excites me to be a part of it as a player. I&rsquo;ve never been in this situation before.&rdquo;<h2>THE GAMBLER</h2>The Canucks&rsquo; rookie-of-the-year candidate, Troy Gamble, is the first to admit his dedicated work put him on the right track this year. He arrived in Vancouver six weeks before training camp and is in his best shape ever. &ldquo;A year ago I weighed in at 205,&rdquo; Gamble says. &ldquo;Now I&rsquo;m 185. I don&rsquo;t think I grew up until this year. It comes down to maturing late (23-years-old) in life. I&rsquo;ve got a wife and kid and it&rsquo;s hard to support them on a minor league salary.&rdquo; Gamble admits he still goes for pizza but now stops at the salad bar&hellip;Ex-Blue Bob Plager, who has blossomed into a successful International League coach with Peoria, insists he doesn&rsquo;t want the Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; job. &ldquo;Coaching that team is like having a window seat on the Hindenburg!,&rdquo; he says. &#9632;

STRIKE WON’T STOP NHL GAMES

<div class="byline">BY GARY LOEWEN</div>Individually, the Russians will keep coming.But collectively, Soviet club teams seemingly are making their farewell tour of North America with the off-again, on-again Super Series which runs through December and January.The Super Series is a repeat of last year&rsquo;s controversial three-team exhibition tour of the 21 NHL cities. Because there are no current plans to bring Soviet teams back to North America&mdash;with the exception of the Canada Cup next summer&mdash;the league and the NHL Players&rsquo; Association aim to make it a memorable tour.Khimik, Dynamo Moscow and Central Red Army each will play seven games against NHL competition between Dec. 3 and Jan. 15. This is the eighth time Soviet teams have appeared for exhibition games against NHL teams.The Soviets, in retaliation for the Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; signing of Sergei Fedorov, twice threatened to cancel this tour. Because the dispute wasn&rsquo;t resolved until September, potential television deals and some board advertising were lost.Nonetheless, the NHLPA pension fund will gain about $2 million in profit.A similar profit was reaped last year in spite of complaints from disinterested players and coaches, who preferred a day off to a mid-season exhibition.&ldquo;The criticism has dissipated,&rdquo; NHLPA executive director Alan Eagleson said.&ldquo;We have advised coaches and players to give it their best shot with no bitching. The series is an important part of our international program and our pension plan and should be treated with respect.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011358/5820387-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="556" height="812"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alan Eagleson says Super Series should be respected.</figcaption></div>Clearly, the advent of glasnost, coupled with the frequency of these exchanges, has taken the edge off Soviet/NHL games. Yet, it seems Eagleson&rsquo;s words have been heeded.&ldquo;It was an oversight by some of the guys that the games were to our benefit,&rdquo; Toronto Maple Leaf captain Rob Ramage said.&ldquo;With the doors being opened and Russian players coming over, it has created a little more interest because we&rsquo;ll be playing against guys you&rsquo;ll see playing here in the future.&rdquo;The exhibitions are a matter of perception, Washington Capital general manager David Poile said.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in the entertainment industry and the game we had (at the Capital Centre) last year was really entertaining. If you want it to be a good game, it&rsquo;ll be good,&rdquo; Poile said.&ldquo;The NHL has been the leader in international exchanges of all major sports. It would be a mistake not to keep the doors open.&rdquo;Next season, in lieu of Soviet teams visiting North America, NHL teams will be challenged by the U.S. and Canadian Olympic teams. The U.S. team will play 15 games against American-based teams and will be paid $500,000 (U.S.) plus $250,000 for additional travel expenses. The Canadian Olympians will meet their seven counterparts and will receive $500,000 (Cdn.).For the 1992-93 pre-season, tentative plans call for six NHL teams to play four games each in an international tournament in Europe. Then, six European teams will reciprocate with a tour of NHL sites. In all, there will be 48 games.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know where, when or how, it hasn&rsquo;t been finalized yet,&rdquo; Eagleson said.Ramage would like to see future international exchanges count toward the NHL standings.Indeed, that is a distinct possibility. There were too many inequities to arrange it in time for this year&rsquo;s Super Series. Potentially, it would involve having divisional rivals playing the same touring team.Points or no points, Leaf coach Tom Watt is part of the faction strongly advocating international exchanges.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re marvellous, they&rsquo;re good for hockey,&rdquo; Watt said.&ldquo;Over the past two decades, going back to the &rsquo;72 series, hockey has been the winner through these exchanges. We&rsquo;ve learned something from the Europeans that has made our game better.&ldquo;I know the fellows have to play an 80-game schedule and there is a lot of travel and some personal things. But that has to be put aside.&rdquo;Gary Loewen is a hockey writer for the Toronto-based Globe and Mail. &#9632;

f0005-01

GREATER INTEREST FOR POSSIBLE FINAL SOVIET TOUR

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-02986/5820418-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="554" height="1201"></div><h2>STEVE DUCHESNE</h2>Born: June 30, 1965, Sept-Iles, Que. Height: 5-foot-11. Weight: 195 pounds. Team: Los Angeles Kings. Position: Defense. Acquired: Signed as a free agent, Oct. 1, 1984.Career highlight: &ldquo;Beating Edmonton in the first round after Wayne came to L.A. Playing, against Wayne was always exciting, but when he came here, it was unbelievable. It&rsquo;s what I imagine winning the Cup is like.&rdquo;Boyhood heroes: &ldquo;Larry Robinson was always my idol. He&rsquo;s very special on the ice. Now we live near each other and he gives me rides to the rink.&rdquo;Biggest disappointment: &ldquo;Losing four straight to Edmonton after beating Calgary in the playoffs last year. It was hard because we handled them the year before.&rdquo;Most respected player: &ldquo;Mark Messier and Denis Savard. They both give me a hard time. Messier&rsquo;s so strong. He checks all the time. Denis is so quick. When he was with Chicago, he gave me fits.&rdquo;Hobbies: Movies and reading.Most embarrassing moment: &ldquo;Scoring on my own net against Winnipeg in my first season. Two guys were coming in on a two-on-one and one of them passed it in front. I stopped it, and tried to clear it, but I put it in the net. I wanted to hide under the ice. All the fans applauded the next time I touched the puck.&rdquo;Biggest influence: &ldquo;The guy who helped me the most was my father. He pushed me to stay in hockey, even when I didn&rsquo;t want to. It&rsquo;s funny how people say parents shouldn&rsquo;t push their kids. If he hadn&rsquo;t, I&rsquo;d have never made it.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0005-02

PRO FILE

<div class="byline">BY THN STAFF</div>Hockey lost one of its brightest minds and most colorful personalities when Fred Shero died of cancer Nov. 24.Shero, 65, succumbed at Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center in Camden, N.J., after a lengthy battle with the disease.The man who coached the Flyers to their only two Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975 attained legendary status in Philadelphia for his eccentric genius, both on and off the ice.It was Shero who assembled a band of misfits, castoffs and diverse talents known as the &ldquo;Broad Street Bullies&rdquo; and made them into champions.He defied conventional wisdom by growing close to his players, acting almost as a father figure to them, while pioneering technical aspects of the game such as extensive use of game film (including that of the Soviets&rsquo;) and the first assistant coach (Mike Nykoluk).The media called him &ldquo;Freddie the Fog&rdquo; because some of his logic sounded a little like Casey Stengal. But his players knew what he was talking about.&ldquo;He played games with the reporters and the public with all that Fog stuff,&rdquo; said Bob Clarke, who led the Flyers to glory under Shero&rsquo;s guidance. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m telling you, he was a deep thinker. Everything he ever did had a purpose and was well thought out.&rdquo;Then-Flyers&rsquo; general manager Keith Allen, said the coach&rsquo;s biggest asset was his ability to relate to the players.&ldquo;He won the players over,&rdquo; said Allen. &ldquo;They played hard for him. They all loved the guy. Andre (Moose) Dupont, a valuable defenseman on the Cup teams, thought of Freddie as a second father.&rdquo;Shero was known for his little sayings he would write on the blackboard in his office before games.Perhaps the most famous of those was the one he wrote before the sixth game of the Stanley Cup finals May 19, 1974: &ldquo;Win today and we will walk together forever.&rdquo;The Flyers beat Boston 1-0 that Sunday afternoon to become the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup.&ldquo;There was no way we were going to beat Boston in that series,&rdquo; said former defenseman Joe Watson. &ldquo;But Fred convinced us that we could do it and we would do it. And we did. He made us into a great hockey team and I will always be grateful forthat.&rdquo;During his seven-year stint with the Flyers, Shero compiled a 308-151-95 record. In addition to the two Stanley Cups, Shero coached the Flyers to a historic 4-1 win over the Soviet Central Red Army team in January, 1976, a victory he considered one of his proudest moments.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011538/5820449-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="556" height="815"><figcaption class="caption-body">Fred Shero was known as &lsquo;The Fog&rsquo; to hockey fans and media.</figcaption></div>He went on to coach the New York Rangers, the team he started with as a player and minor league coach, for two full seasons and parts of another.He underwent surgery for stomach cancer in 1983. After several years as a radio commentator, including work with the New Jersey Devils, he returned to the Flyers earlier this year as a special consultant.Stories about Shero have reached legendary proportion, including the time the team was treated to a case of beer on a bus ride home after a road game. Watson realized the bottles didn&rsquo;t have twistoff caps. He looked over at Shero.Shero reached into his coat pocket and came out with an opener. &ldquo;The first thing you learn as a pro,&rdquo; said Shero,&rdquo;is to carry one of these.&rdquo;On another occasion, after starting Bernie Parent in goal for roughly 40 straight games, Shero decided to give backup goalie Bobby Taylor a chance. The only problem was the match&mdash;against hated rival Boston&mdash;was to be aired on national TV.&ldquo;Why Taylor?&rdquo; reporters demanded after the game.&ldquo;Because,&rdquo; said Shero,&rdquo;it was his turn.&rdquo;<h2>OBITUARY</h2>Wayne Hillman, a stay-at-home defenseman for five NHL and WHA teams from 1961 to 1975, died at a Cleveland hospital Nov. 24. He was 52.The brother of longtime and welltravelled defenseman Larry Hillman, Wayne died of complications arising from throat cancer surgery.Hillman began his pro career in 1961 with Chicago and spent 3&frac12; seasons with the Blackhawks before being traded to the New York Rangers. He had a brief stay in Minnesota during the 1968-69 season before moving on to Philadelphia. Hillman finished his career with Cleveland of the WHA in 1975.A native of Kirkland Lake, Ont., Hillman is survived by his three children, Timothy, Sandra and Robert.<h2>PATERNITY SUIT</h2>Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; left winger Dave Capuano has been named in a paternity suit claiming he refuses to acknowledge responsibility for a Utah woman&rsquo;s unborn child.The civil suit, filed in Salt Lake City by Susan MacKay Nov. 14, seeks medical costs and expenses from Capuano and child support for the baby, due in mid-January.&ldquo;(The) defendant is the father of the child,&rdquo; the suit reads.Canuck spokesman Steve Tambellini said neither Capuano nor the club would comment.MacKay&rsquo;s attorney, Brian Barnard, said his client and Capuano dated for more than a year.<h2>HARDY GONE</h2>New York Rangers&rsquo; defenseman Mark Hardy was given a five-game suspension for swinging his stick at Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; left winger Doug Evans Nov. 16.&ldquo;In considering this incident, it is clear that Hardy retaliated on the actions by Evans and did so in a deliberate and severe manner,&rdquo; said NHL executive vice-president Brian O&rsquo;Neill. &ldquo;Even though it is acknowledged he was slashed by Evans, there can be no excuse for the player taking matters into his own hands.&rdquo;For his part, Hardy, eligible to return to action Dec. 11 against Los Angeles, saw the time off as a blessing in disguise.&ldquo;Maybe this will be good, in a way,&rdquo; said Hardy, who has been recovering from left elbow problems&mdash;among other aches and pains&mdash;-since last season. &ldquo;Maybe this will give me time to rest and get better.&rdquo;<h2>OUR MISTAKE</h2>In the recently released Hockey News publication, Year in Photos, a picture of Washington Capitals&rsquo; right winger Alan May mistakenly ran in place of a shot of left winger John Druce (page 51).We apologize for the error.&mdash;with a file from Wayne Fish<h2>DATEBOOK</h2>Dec. 8: The return of champions. The players from the Calder Cup Springfield Indians of the AHL return to Springfield for the first time when the Capital District Islanders come to town. In the off-season, the Indians lost their affiliation with the New York Islanders and the players moved to Capital District.Dec. 13-19: The Canadian national junior team selection camp in Kindersley, Sask. &#9632;

f0006-01

SHERO WAS KNOWN FOR ECCENTRIC GENIUS ON THE ICE AND OFF

Figuring out just who might gel expansion franchises remains a pretty tough call, mostly because the league has yet to specify how many&mdash;if any&mdash;teams it will add.NHL president John Ziegler announced last year plans for the league to expand by seven teams by the end of the century. The San Jose franchise is in place for the 1991-92 season, leaving six more spots open. All the league has said officially is that it will &bull;&rsquo;consider&rdquo; applications for &ldquo;one or more&rdquo; teams to join in time for the 1992-93 seasonPopular wisdom has it that the league will award two franchises next month, but there are several scenarios that could unfold:1. No expansion franchises. Several league governors have indicated that deciding to forego expansion in 1992 is possible if the applications don&rsquo;t meet NHL guidelines. And with each bid having a loose end or two, this is a possibility, although it would certainly dent the league&rsquo;s public image.Successful franchises must receive the voting support of three-quarters of the league governors,2. Two teams This is the best bet. mostly because it seems to be the number the league could handle best in terms of player resources.3. Two teams for 1992. with two conditional franchises awarded to start play in 1994. This is the strategy the NBA used in the late 1980s to expand, and allows the first two clubs to solidify while the other two have extra time to prepare.This model could be used if the NHL is bent on going to Seattle or San Diego, both of which could likely not support a team for the &rsquo;92 season.4. Add six teams at once, but stagger them over a three to four year period. This could be called the Al Eagleson Solution, as the Players&rsquo; Association executive director has said that if there&rsquo;s six live candidates now. the NHL should grab them while they can.This is unlikely, given that there are not six solid bids. &#9632;

MANY OPTIONS OPEN TO GOVERNORS

<div class="byline">BY DAMIEN COX</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011383/5820487-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Finnigan, one of the oldest surviving Ottawa Senators, and Bruce Firestone, who is heading the city&rsquo;s expansion bid, hope the NHL returns to Canada&rsquo;s capital.</figcaption></div>To some, it would be the ultimate hockey heresy.Not only may the NHL be on the verge of putting its first team in Florida, it now seems possible that two Sunshine State franchises could begin play in 1992.As the NHL draws near to making its long-awaited expansion decision&mdash;an announcement is expected sometime during the winter meetings in West Palm Beach, Fla., (Dec. 4-8)&mdash;the groups representing St. Petersburg and Miami are gaining momentum among the top handful of bids.While one team in such a southerly locale seems extraordinary to hockey traditionalists, two teams seem outrageous. But some key NHL governors have quietly indicated that granting two franchises in Florida simultaneously may be the correct route to explore the resources of the southeast market.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what the NBA did,&rdquo; says Godfrey Wood, spokesman for the Miami group, referring to that league&rsquo;s expansion to Miami and Orlando in the late 1980s. &ldquo;And it was a big success.&rdquo;&ldquo;Having teams in Miami and Tampa Bay won&rsquo;t affect either one,&rdquo; says Jim Rutherford, spokesman for the St. Petersburg bid. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re two different bids.&rdquo;Regardless of whether the NHL opts for two Florida teams, Miami and St. Petersburg are certainly in the top echelon of contenders for expansion franchises. The wild card, however, is if the league decides to bend some of its expansion criteria to fit its more appealing applicants.<h2>THE CONTENDERS</h2><h3>ST. PETERSBURG</h3>Strengths: A top-flight ownership group in the Detroit-based Compuware Corporation, a background in hockey management, an excellent front man in former NHL goalie Rutherford, the 16th largest TV market in the U.S., a population of almost two million, an arena that could ice a team immediately.Weaknesses: The Florida Suncoast Dome. A 40,000-seat baseball stadium, the Dome has terrible sightlines and poor ice-making capabilities, among other problems. NHL governors&rsquo; views of the Dome range from lukewarm to &ldquo;Blecch,&rdquo; the respone of one owner.Status: The prohibitive favorite.<h3>MIAMI</h3>Strengths: A modem, ready-to-play facility in the Miami Arena, a population base of 3.5 million with the seventh largest TV market in the U.S., a deep-pocket principal backer in millionaire John W. Henry, owner of a Triple A baseball franchise. A major sports market with major league football and basketball teams.Weaknesses: Seems to run second to St. Petersburg in Florida. Much of the other financial interest behind the bid has not been disclosed. The Miami Arena holds only 14,800 for hockey, far below NHL specifications. The NBA&rsquo;s Miami Heat owns the luxury box sales and arena advertising revenues, two income sources the NHL wants its expansion teams to control.Status: This group will have some fancy talking to do and must work a deal with the basketball team. Almost a sure thing for a team in early 1990s, but will the NHL put both of its first two expansion teams in Florida?<h3>HOUSTON</h3>Strengths: A solid owner with a proven sports background in Charley Thomas, proprietor of the NBA&rsquo;s Houston Rockets. A modem facility in The Summit that is immediately capable of icing a team. The 10th largest TV market in the U.S., and a population of almost 3.3 million.Weaknesses: This group has let it be known it would prefer to start play in 1993, although it would accept a team for &rsquo;92. The arena holds just 15,600 for hockey, although plans exist to expand the facility. Despite some limited success with a World Hockey Association team in the late 1970s, Houston is a questionable hockey market, and no efforts have been made to sell season tickets.Status: A step behind the frontrunners, but could surprise. A favorite for the second wave of expansion in 1992-95.<h3>OTTAWA</h3>Strengths: A slick, aggressive ownership group financed by a real estate investment firm. A long hockey tradition stretching back to the Stanley Cup-winning Ottawa Senators of the early 1900s. A season-ticket campaign that has secured 12,000 subscribers, and a strong corporate sponsorship network. Plans exist to build a state-of-the-art hockey facility&mdash;similar to The Palace, home of the NBA&rsquo;s Detroit Pistons&mdash;which would be ready by 1994.Weaknesses: The population of Ottawa is roughly 300,000, although another 1.4 million people are within an hour&rsquo;s drive. The television market is small&mdash;less than half a million households&mdash;and is already saturated with national broadcasts. A team would have to play out of the 10,000-seat Ottawa Civic Centre for at least two seasons. Many NHL owners just aren&rsquo;t interested in another Canadian partner.Status: Hanging in there as one of the top four groups, but the odds are still piled against this bid to be one of the first two teams.<h3>SAN DIEGO</h3>Strengths: A deep-pocketed moneyman in Harry Cooper, who owns the San Diego Sports Complex and the IHL&rsquo;s San Diego Gulls. Location is the key here, as a team in San Diego would help fill in the west coast. A population of 2.4 million with the 24th largest TV market in the country and major league baseball and football teams.Weaknesses: The arena is small at 13,000 seats for hockey and antiquated&mdash;a new building would be necessary. Cooper has indicated a preference for 1994 at the earliest. An uncertain hockey market.Status: Not a possibility for 1992, but this bid looks much better if the NHL grants conditional franchises for 1994 or 1995.<h3>SEATTLE</h3>Strengths: This bid would be a lost cause if the NHL didn&rsquo;t love the market so much. Northwest location is ideal, and the population of 2.4 million with the 15th largest TV market in the country is appealing. A new 18,000-seat facility will be in place by April, 1993, and the city has major league baseball, basketball and football teams. Seattle also has a strong junior hockey history.Weaknesses: There is no ownership group. Barry Ackerley, owner of the NBA&rsquo;s Seattle Supersonics, will build the arena and own a small interest in the team, but no major investors have been forthcoming. Poor crowds for NHL exhibition games raised some questions about the viability of pro hockey.Status: Dead in the water for the first round of expansion, but will be given every opportunity in succeeding rounds. A conditional franchise is not out of the question.<h3>HAMILTON</h3>Strengths: A fine hockey facility in Copps Coliseum, and a rich hockey tradition. Some financial backing has emerged in Tim Horton&rsquo;s Donuts and a local scrap dealer, and Japanese investors are possibly interested.Weaknesses: Where to start? A fluid ownership situation, a local population of 310,000, a saturated TV market, and the high cost of indemnification payments to Buffalo and Toronto are just the start of Steeltown&rsquo;s problems. More to the point, the NHL&rsquo;s American owners have no interest in putting a team here.Status: Little chance, but high marks for effort and persistence.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021172/5820480-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="1461" height="1156"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Esposito and his Tampa Bay bid were hit hard when the Pritzker family dropped out but could see banner days if Japanese investors step forward.</figcaption></div><h3>TAMPA BAY</h3>Strengths: Shares the same location and TV market as the highly-regarded St. Petersburg bid. The NFL&rsquo;s Tampa Bay Buccaneers lend a major-league atmosphere. A high-profile spokesman in Hall of Famer Phil Esposito.Weaknesses: No major money after the Pritz-ker family (owners of the Hyatt hotel chain) pulled out in October&mdash;although Esposito is talking to several Japanese investors. Also, Tampa Bay doesn&rsquo;t have an arena.Status: Stick a fork in Esposito&rsquo;s group&mdash;they&rsquo;re done.<h3>ANAHEIM</h3>Strengths: The entire bid rests on the formidable reputation and deep pockets of Jerry Buss, owner of the NBA&rsquo;s Los Angeles Lakers and former owner of the Los Angeles Kings.Weaknesses: This bid isn&rsquo;t even necessarily situated in Anaheim. Buss wants to be granted a team, and then would locate it wherever he could cut the best deal. At present, no arena exists in a major city out of which he could play.Status: It&rsquo;s tough to win an expansion franchise without a location, even if you are Jerry Buss. &#9632;

f0007-01

FIELD OF TEAMS

<div class="byline">BY BOB MCKENZIE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011468/5820549-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The San Jose Sharks, considered a 1992 expansion team given early admittance, will play for two seasons at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.</figcaption></div>The NHL&rsquo;s Plan of Sixth Expansion wouldn&rsquo;t be No. 1 on anyone&rsquo;s bestseller list. But the confidential 20-page document is essential reading. It outlines all terms and conditions expansion applicants must meet to be granted a franchise.The Hockey News has obtained a copy of the official plan. What follows are the document&rsquo;s highlights. Be advised, the board of governors is free to amend expansion terms when it meets in Florida.<h2>EXCLUSIVE</h2>&#9633; The league is not obliged to commit to expansion at the December meetings. The mandate is to expand by one or more teams in 1992 and that has been accomplished with the granting of a conditional franchise to San Jose, to be known as the Sharks. The NHL considers San Jose a 1992 expansion club granted early admission. The Sharks will begin play in the fall of 1991.&#9633; Payments and finances are as follows:Each expansion application had to be accompanied by a $100,000 (U.S.) deposit, $35,000 of which was non-refundable. For the successful applicant(s), the remaining $65,000 will be put towards a $5 million (10 per cent) downpayment on the $50 million (U.S.) franchise fee. Unsuccessful applicants will have the $65,000 returned to them.The $5 million downpayment is due upon awarding of conditional franchise(s) at the Florida meetings. Another payment of $22.5 million is due June 15, 1991 and the final installment of $22.5 is due Dec. 15, 1991.The Sharks must make their final payment on June 15, 1991. The Sharks are the only 1992 team who will share in the league&rsquo;s expansion revenue. They will get the Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; share for the first three expansion franchises granted, including their own.For a conditional franchise to become unconditional or final, the club must have minimum working capital of $5 million (in the currency of the club&rsquo;s country) for the first season, and provide to the league an irrevocable bank letter of credit in the amount of $5 million (U.S.).&#9633; Expansion clubs will initially be restricted in their ability to make player transactions. Until an expansion club has completed its first expansion, supplemental and entry drafts, it requires prior approval from the board to make a transaction involving players, their playing rights or draft choices of any description.Additionally, expansion clubs may not sell, assign or trade the rights to their first-round picks in the 1992 entry draft (or 1991 in San Jose&rsquo;s case). Any players taken in the first round of the expansion club&rsquo;s first entry draft may not be traded, assigned or sold for two years.&#9633; In any year an expansion franchise is granted, the expansion draft will be held first, followed by the supplemental and entry drafts. In the 1991 expansion draft, each existing NHL club will be able to protect two goaltenders and 16 skaters. In the 1992 expansion draft, assuming there is one, existing clubs will be able to protect two goalies and 14 skaters.&#9633; Expansion clubs will have the first pick in each round of their first supplemental and entry drafts: If there is more than one expansion club awarded in the same year, the order of selection will be determined by lot. The exception to this is that San Jose will pick second overall, not first, in the first round of the 1991 entry draft. After the first round, San Jose will pick first in each round.&#9633; There will be no waiver draft in any year when there is an expansion draft.&#9633; New divisional and conference alignments and the number of games each NHL club plays will be determined at the Florida meetings.&#9633; There is no change planned for the playoff format. But the governors may alter it if they see fit.&#9633; Expansion clubs must abstain from voting, until the 1997 annual meeting of the NHL board, on any resolution or matter that requires unanimous approval. This would include amending the league&rsquo;s constitution or the transfer of a franchise from one city to a new one, unless that resolution had a specific impact on the expansion club.&#9633; Within one year of the granting of a conditional expansion franchise, the club must achieve the following for final admission to the league: Make all payments as per the fee schedule; sell 10,000 fully-paid season tickets for the first season, which produce minimum net gate receipts of $9 million; sell 1,000 premium seat season tickets for the first season at a price of not less than $4,000 per seat; purchase or arrange with a minor-league club to serve as player development club; a multitude of conditions (listed below) pertaining to the construction, availability and lease or ownership of playing facilities; and, any other conditions the board deems to impose at the time of awarding a conditional franchise.&#9633; The NHL has a ranked preference for ownership structure. Topping the list is a &ldquo;sole proprietor with substantial net worth and personal commitment to the game, the franchise and the league.&rdquo; Next is a partnership (limited or otherwise) with very few partners, with preference given to a single substantial partner in control of finances and operations. Third choice is a small, privately-held corporation, followed by partnership and/or private corporation with more investors than above and, finally, a publicly-held corporation, which is &ldquo;not recommended but will be considered if same commitments to game, franchise and league as in case of sole proprietor are met and centrality of control can be constructed and maintained.&rdquo; The NHL is opposed to any governmental or quasi-govemmental ownership of a club.&#9633; Prospective ownership must demonstrate they have necessary financial net worth, cash flow, income and the willingness to sustain substantial losses for the first five years of operation. The aggregate net worth for an ownership group&rsquo;s principals should be at least $100 million. Ownership principals should also be able to state: their identification with and community leadership in the area for which the franchise is sought; what long-term commitment they will have to the community and franchise; and, what experience they have in dealing with governmental and municipal affairs.&#9633; Ownership of an arena is preferable to being a tenant, although as long as the lease meets terms and conditions below, it is satisfactory. In general, the NHL expects the building to have: good access to public transportation and major highways; not less than 18,000 seats,Additionally, the building is expected to have: an ice and playing surface that conforms to NHL rules; state-of-the-art broadcast facilities, camera and announcer positions, studios etc.; state-of-the-art dressing rooms, press facilities, medical rooms etc.; stroboscopic (photography) equipment subject to club/NHL control; club rooms, state-of-the-art concession area, quality and convenient restrooms, adequate entry and exit; and, first-class facilities for signage, dasherboards, scoreboard, video replay, etc.&#9633; An expansion club&rsquo;s arena lease should be for at least 20 years. The club must also have: full control of dasherboards (board advertising) and retain a substantial share of revenue; control of and substantial revenue from all concessions, parking and signage; a building with a replay facility and scoreboard approved by the league, with club having advertising control or substantial financial interest in it.&#9633; The NHL will permit use of a temporary facility. If an applicant can&rsquo;t build a new arena in time for admission to the league or can&rsquo;t make modifications to an existing arena in time, the league may let it start in a temporary facility.&#9633; The NHL&rsquo;s criteria for selecting markets is as follows: 1) Viability of NHL hockey; 2) Contribution to the overall image of the NHL as a major league; and, 3) Contribution to the economic growth of the NHL.Each expansion applicant was to submit a report which includes: area population, number of TV households, number of cable households, cable penetration, average income per household, accessibility of cable systems; hockey history in the market area; other pro sports franchises operating in the area with those clubs&rsquo; 10year attendance history relative to league averages, TV and radio ratings and share for local and national telecasts (including cable) and average ticket prices; character of corporate support for sports; attitude of state, provincial or local government towards pro sports and hockey in particular; and, transportation and airline access for fans and existing NHL teams.&#9633; If an expansion club is within 50 miles of an existing NHL market, it should reasonably expect to pay indemnification, to be determined by the board.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011419/5820542-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="702" height="1812"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ice conditions at pre-season games in Florida raised some questions.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0008-01

LEAGUE EXPANSION PLAN ON MUST-READ LIST

With most pundits predicting that Canada will be shut out when the NHL announces expansion plans in early December, some Canadians are already getting mad.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s gonna be a crime,&rdquo; says Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry. &ldquo;The Americans are gonna keep us out, and you know why? Just because we&rsquo;re from Canada.&rdquo;The concern the NHL may spurn the two Canadian bids in favor of potentially lucrative U.S. markets has even reached Parliament Hill.About 20 members of parliament have formed a &ldquo;hockey caucus&rdquo; with the expressed aim of convincing Canadian NHL governors and influential U.S. owners of the traditional support for the NHL in Canada.&ldquo;This is vital to Canada,&rdquo; argues London, Ont., MP Terry Clifford, who has also enlisted the help of Derek Burney, Canada&rsquo;s ambassador to the U.S.&ldquo;This is not just a sport. This is big business, and we need to protect our share in the marketplace.&rdquo;The argument of Canadian-team proponents is simple: Hockey is a Canadian game.&#9632; 75 per cent of the players are Canadian.&#9632; The game originated in Canada and has deep, traditional roots in the country.&#9632; No pro teams have failed in Canada since the Montreal Maroons withdrew from the NHL in 1938.&#9632; Whenever the NHL has expanded to Canada it has survived, if not always, thrived.Cherry argues fans would attend games in Ottawa and Hamilton in greater numbers than for existing teams in New Jersey, Minnesota and Hartford, an important consideration given that the NHL is still very much a gate receipt league.Cherry says the prime markets the NHL is targetting may not be prime for hockey.&ldquo;What markets? Like Oakland? Like Atlanta? Like Cleveland, Denver and Kansas City?&rdquo; he says.&ldquo;The NHL has to get its head on straight and concentrate on getting franchises that are solid in places where they know hockey.&rdquo;Calgary Flames&rsquo; president and general manager Cliff Fletcher admits some U.S. governors just aren&rsquo;t interested in looking to Canada for expansion.&ldquo;If the Ottawa application is as strong as the others, I&rsquo;d support Ottawa,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to see another Canadian team.&rdquo;Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; president Pat Quinn has long suggested rising player salaries will make it tough for the NHL to operate in Canada, a situation that an expansion club would feel even greater.&ldquo;Even without a $50-million franchise fee, the existing teams in Canada are going to have problems over the next few years,&rdquo; he said. &#9632;

NO CANADA? STANDING ON GUARD FOR THEE

<h2>ISLANDERS</h2>Although he&rsquo;s been silent about his contract impasse since briefly leaving the Islanders in late September, Pat LaFontaine admitted he&rsquo;s frustrated about the lack of progress. After getting a goal and assist in a 2-2 tie with the Rangers Nov. 24, he said he didn&rsquo;t want to raise the issue during the latter stages of his wife&rsquo;s pregnancy (Marybeth LaFontaine gave birth to the couple&rsquo;s first child, Sarah Elizabeth, Nov. 9). But he added his Toronto-based agent, Don Meehan, would have something to say publicly about the stalled contract talks before meeting with GM Bill Torrey in early December&hellip;Assistant coach Darcy Regier has introduced a more aggressive penalty-killing approach that was successful in 36 of 37 attempts before Philadelphia scored a power-play goal Nov. 25&hellip;Right winger Brad Dal-gamo&rsquo;s first goal since Feb. 16, 1989 proved to be the game-winner in the Islanders&rsquo; 3-1 win over Winnipeg Nov. 22.<h2>FLYERS</h2>Jeff Chychrun suffered a fracture in the navicular bone in his left wrist during the 4-1 win over Toronto Nov. 23. The defenseman was expected to miss a minimum of six weeks, said team physician Dr. Arthur Bartoloz-zi. The Flyers called up defensemen Scott Sandelin and Darren Rumble from Hershey of the American League. Sandelin made his Flyer debut in the 4-1 win over the Islanders Nov. 25. Rumble was given jersey No. 5, the number worn by Kerry Huffman before he quit the team Nov. 16&hellip;Scott Mellanby recorded his third two-goal game of the season in the 5-4 win at Pittsburgh Nov. 21. Mellanby&rsquo;s first eight goals were scored on the road&hellip;Rookie goalie Bruce Hoffort made his season debut at Pittsburgh in the third period when Pete Peeters was shaken up after a collision with Kevin Stevens. Hoffort allowed two goals but got the victory-&hellip;The Flyers&rsquo; Michigan Fan Club is expanding to the entire U.S. midwest and Ontario. Those interested in joining can contact Brian Taylor at P.O. Box 84, Taylor, Mich., 48180.<h2>CAPITALS</h2>As of Nov. 24, the Caps were first in the NHL in both penalty-killing and power-play efficiency. However, in the game that night against Pittsburgh, they were 1-for-8 on the power play and the Penguins scored on two of four extra-man chances. Through 26 games, the Capitals were outscored 65-52 in even-strength goals&hellip;There were indications the Capitals were negotiating with Sokol Kiev in hopes of bringing over 21-year-old Soviet center Dmitri Hris-tich. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to answer that,&rdquo; GM David Poile said, when asked if the negotiations were going on. The Capitals picked the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Hristich in the sixth round of the 1988 draft&hellip;Defenseman Joel Quenneville hadn&rsquo;t played in the minors since the beginning of the 1978-79 season. But the Capitals sent him to Baltimore of the AHL Nov. 20. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to pout,&rdquo; said Quenneville. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t do anybody any good. I guess I have to prove them wrong.&rdquo;<h2>PENGUINS</h2>Wendell Young, who got only one start and 125 minutes of playing time in the first 23 games, said he will not ask to be traded, but thinks it might be just &ldquo;a matter of time&rdquo; before one of the three goalies is dealt&hellip;Randy Gilhen, who never scored more than five goals in any previous NHL season, got six in one nine-game stretch during November&hellip;Right winger Rob Brown apparently has fallen out of favor again. He was scratched for consecutive games against Washington&hellip;Right winger Joe Mullen ranked third on the team in goal-scoring with 11 after 23 games, despite going eight games in a row without a goal&hellip;Center Barry Pederson also was slumping, going 12 games without a point.<h2>DEVILS</h2>Sean Burke stopped 39 shots in a 5-3 victory at Minnesota Nov. 24, snapping a personal four-game losing streak. It was Burke&rsquo;s first appearance in nine days after a Nov. 15 loss to the Hartford Whalers at the Meadowlands Arena, after which he criticized home fans who booed him. Asked if he felt confident enough to play at home again, he said: &ldquo;I think so. I&rsquo;m not worried about it. There are still more than 30 games left at home. What I said is in the past. If what I said affects what people think of me, I&rsquo;ll have to deal with it. I made my bed and I&rsquo;ll have to lie in it. &ldquo;&hellip;Kirk Muller played in his 500th NHL game in the win over Minnesota.<h2>RANGERS</h2>Representatives for Jan Erixon set Dec. 1 as the deadline for the Rangers to re-sign the left winger or face having him play out his option. GM Neil Smith said the deadline was established more because Erixon,&rdquo;doesn&rsquo;t want to keep thinking about it further into the season. If he plays out his option, we can see what his options are.&rdquo; Erixon wasn&rsquo;t optimistic an agreement would be reached before the deadline passed&hellip;With an assist in 2-2 tie at Nassau Coliseum Nov. 24, Erixon raised his season point totals to 4-11-15, his highest since the 1987-88 season, when he collected 26 points&hellip;Center Bernie Nicholls scored his first goal in 13 games in a 5-5 tie at Buffalo Nov. 21. The streak stretched back to an Oct. 25 game at home to Philadelphia&hellip;Darren Turcotte was named the chairman of the Greater New York March of Dimes &ldquo;Goal for Dimes&rdquo; program. Ranger fans have been asked to pledge an amount of their choice for each goal Turcotte scores. Money raised will go towards the campaign for healthier babies. &#9632;

THE NHL

ISLES’ STAR DISMAYED ABOUT CONTRACT

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE FISH</div>All through training camp and the exhibition season, the Philadelphia Flyers were touting their goaltending as the best in the league.Everyone thought they meant Ron Hextall and Ken Wregget.Little did anyone know the Flyers had an ace up their sleeve.That hole card happened to be 33-year-old Pete Peeters, who since entering the Flyers&rsquo; nets Nov. 4, has been coming up spades.A 4-1 win over the New York Islanders Nov. 25 raised Peeters&rsquo; record to 6-3-1 and dropped his goals-against average to 2.21.With Hextall (sprained knee) and Wregget (strained hip flexor) out of the lineup, Peeters has played more like a 23-year-old, which was his age when he recorded a 29-5-5 mark as a Flyer rookie in 1979-80.But that sensational season was more than a decade ago and everyone thought Peeters&rsquo; best days were behind him, especially after he went 113-5 with a 3.74 GAA as a fill-in last season.Peeters, the Vezina Trophy winner in 1982-83 for Boston, turned around and fooled everyone this year. The Flyers, 15-10-1 and in second place in the Patrick Division, were simultaneously astounded and pleased by his performances.&ldquo;He really stood tall and made some big saves for us,&rdquo; said coach Paul Holmgren after the Islanders&rsquo; game. &ldquo;I certainly think everyone feels comfortable and confident in him.&rdquo;Peeters said he couldn&rsquo;t recall the last time he played in 12 straight games. He had to go all the way back to the 1984-85 campaign in Boston because the Washington Capitals alternated their goalies on a regular basis.&ldquo;I feel very good physically,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I had no idea what was going to happen this year. The injuries gave me an opportunity to play. I&rsquo;m just taking advantage of the playing time.&rdquo;The Flyers&rsquo; defense seemed to be adjusting to Peeters&rsquo; style as the wins continued to mount.&ldquo;We have better communication with him now,&rdquo; said defenseman Gord Murphy. &ldquo;We talk before each game. It seems to be picking up the last few games. He&rsquo;s showing no signs of fatigue at all; he&rsquo;s coming in and making the big saves for us.&rdquo;Peeters hesitated to say the stretch of fine work would change the outlook on his career. Actually, Peeters sounds like he wants to play for at least a few more years, regardless of playing time.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen Chico (Resch) play until he was 38 or 39. Billy Smith was 37.Tony &lsquo;O&rsquo; (Esposito) played for quite a while. Reggie Lemelin (36) is probably the elder statesman now and he&rsquo;s still playing well. I think the key is, personally, two things: Do you think you can still play? And, do you still want to play?&ldquo;I can say &lsquo;yes&rsquo; to both of those.&rdquo; Peeters kept the Flyers in some close games during their three-game winning streak (5-4 over Pittsburgh Nov. 21; 4-1 over Toronto Nov. 23; and the Islanders).&ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing great,&rdquo; rookie center Mike Ricci said.&ldquo;Pete&rsquo;s a veteran. He works hard in practice and he knows how to step in and play.&rdquo;<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 24: Scott Sandelin, D, and Darren Rumble, D, recalled from Hershey (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ron Sutter, Keith Acton, Mike Ricci. Martin Hostak.LW&mdash;Murray Craven, Pelle Eklund, Derrick Smith, Craig Berube. Tony Horacek.RW&mdash;Rick Tocchet, Scott Mellanby. Norm Lacombe, Dale Kushner.LD&mdash;Terry Carkner, Murray Baron, Darren Rumble, Mark Howe.RD&mdash;Kjell Samuelsson, Gord Murphy, Scott Sandelin.G&mdash;Pete Peeters, Bruce Hoffort.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jeff Chychrun, D, broken left wrist, indefinite. Ron Hextall, G, sprained left knee, indefinite. Ken Wregget, G, strained right hip flexor, indefinite. Jiri Latal, D, separated left shoulder, indefinite. Tim Kerr, RW, arthroscopic surgery right knee, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Tocchet, 16. A&mdash;Craven, 19. P&mdash;Tocchet, 27. PIM&mdash;Mellanby, 62. &#9632;

REJUVENATED PEETERS DEALT A NEW HAND

<div class="byline">BY MARK HERRMANN</div>The New York Islanders demonstrated how much they respect Jeff Norton by leaving him alone.That is, he alone represents the team&rsquo;s selection of rushing, offensive defensemen.That status was confirmed while he was recovering from a dislocated right shoulder, which kept him out for three games in mid-November.Just before he returned, Doug Crossman&mdash;the Islanders&rsquo; only other offensive defenseman&mdash;was dealt to the Hartford Whalers for center Ray Ferraro.In announcing the deal, general manager Bill Torrey said Norton would pick up the slack offensively.And unless defensemen Wayne McBean or Jeff Finley are recalled from the minors, Norton will carry the bulk of the defensive corps&rsquo; offensive duties.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got responsibilities. We certainly hope&mdash;no, we&rsquo;re convinced&mdash;he&rsquo;s going to do it,&rdquo; coach Al Arbour said. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ve just got to play better defensively and offensively and I think some players have to step up a little bit in that regard. I think we&rsquo;re capable. If we move the puck up to our forwards, I think our forwards should be able to score. A guy like (Gary) Nylund is capable, certainly, as well as Norton.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to hear,&rdquo; said Norton, who was named to the 1987 CCHA second All-Star team in 1987 with the University of Michigan. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve felt they&rsquo;ve had confidence in me since I&rsquo;ve been here. They&rsquo;ve stuck by me when I was going through tough times. Things are going pretty well now, and I&rsquo;ll do whatever they want.&rdquo;Norton, who turned 25 Nov. 25 and recently signed a one-year contract, has been with the team since the 198788 season. In three seasons, he&rsquo;s scored seven goals and 91 points.Norton says his teammates have recognized his expanded role.&ldquo;Nordy&rsquo;s got to pick up the bulk even more now,&rdquo; said Nylund. &ldquo;He knows that.&ldquo;Maybe if we think more defensively and play better defense at the beginning, it will create more offensive opportunities. We&rsquo;ve still got a pretty solid blue line.&rdquo;&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a great opportunity for one of the other five, or all of us, to jump up,&rdquo; said defenseman Ken Baumgartner. &ldquo;Every one of us can, but a lot of times, we haven&rsquo;t been called upon to be in that position.&ldquo;If there are shoes to fill, it makes a player play better to fill them.&rdquo;But Norton refuses to view his new status as a burden.&ldquo;Al just wants us playing defense. We&rsquo;ve got to do our own job in our end and if any defenseman has a chance to move up with the play, he wants us to move up,&rdquo; Norton said. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t put any extra pressure on me. If I&rsquo;m trying to do too much, Al will tell me.&ldquo;I have to pick my spots. He doesn&rsquo;t want me giving up anything on defense to go on offense, and I like that,&rdquo; said Norton, who&rsquo;s been with the Islanders longer than his defensive peers. &ldquo;Nothing&rsquo;s going to change. The only thing that&rsquo;s changed is we don&rsquo;t have Crossman anymore.&rdquo;The season has only recently become a success for Norton. An eightgame suspension for high-sticking Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Jeff Daniels in the preseason, and the shoulder injury, held him back.But he rebounded with three assists in his first two games after the injury and scored his first goal of the season short-handed on a breakaway in a 3-1 win against Winnipeg Nov. 22.It was his first non-power-play tally of his career.&ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t know what I did,&rdquo; Norton said of the goal. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not in that situation too often.&rdquo;But considering Norton&rsquo;s new role on the Islanders&rsquo; defense, he&rsquo;ll probably see more situations like that in the future.<h2>N.Y. ISLES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 20: Tom Fitzgerald, RW, and Greg Parks, C, assigned to Capital District (AHL). Dave Chyzowski, LW, and Brad Lauer, RW, recalled from Capital District.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pat LaFontaine, Brent Sutter, Ray Ferraro, Hubie McDonough.LW&mdash;Bill Berg, David Volek, Dave Chyzowski, Derek King, Don Maloney.RW&mdash;Randy Wood, Patrick Flatley, Brad Dalgamo. Mick Vukota, Brad Lauer.LD&mdash;Jeff Norton, Rich Pilon, Ken Baumgartner.RD&mdash;Craig Ludwig. Gary Nylund, Joe Reekie.G&mdash;Glenn Healy, Jeff Hackett.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mark Fitzpatrick. G, eosinophilic fasciitis (swelling of muscles and tissues), indefinite. Alan Kerr, RW, bruised left eye, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;LaFontaine, 15. A&mdash;Lafontaine, 14. P&mdash;LaFontaine, 29. PIM&mdash;Baumgartner, Nylund, 53. &#9632;

NORTON READY TO FILL CROSSMAN’S SKATES

<div class="byline">BY DAVE SELL</div>It was probably the best week of Jim Hrivnak&rsquo;s professional life. Unfortunately, it ended in pain.The Washington Capitals had lost five straight when coach Terry Murray turned to Hrivnak, his rookie goalie,&rdquo;looking for a little magic.&rdquo;Houdini would have applauded the hocus pocus Hrivnak turned in Nov. 19 in Detroit. By the end of two periods, he had already faced as many shots as the Capitals had allowed in an entire game this season, but the Red Wings hadn&rsquo;t scored.Detroit did score twice late in the third period to force overtime, but Hrivnak&rsquo;s superb performance was rewarded with a victory when John Druce scored in overtime. It proved to be the first of three straight victories for Hrivnak and the Capitals, who beat Toronto and then Pittsburgh at home.The run of luck for both Hrivnak and the team came to an end Nov. 24, though. In the second period of a game in Pittsburgh, Hrivnak injured his left knee and left the game. He did walk out of the arena and the injury did not appear serious, but it did put a damper on the evening.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t ever been hurt in my life, so the timing isn&rsquo;t very good,&rdquo;_ said Hrivnak, who played in 11 games last season, his first as a pro. &ldquo;It could be a couple days, but I don&rsquo;t have a clue.&rdquo;Hrivnak&rsquo;s three victories sent a new ripple through the Capitals&rsquo; goaltending plans. Hrivnak was with the team simply because Don Beaupre had been out of action since Oct. 30 with a pulled groin.The plan for this season was to have Beaupre and Mike Liut carry the load. That&rsquo;s what was happening, but Hrivnak was making it hard to think about sending him back to the minors.&ldquo;I hope so,&rdquo; he said after the Detroit victory. However, the 22-year-old goalie did say he would rather play a lot in Baltimore of the AHL than sit frequently as a third goalie with he Capitals in Washington.What made his play surprising was that, before his victory in Detroit, Hrivnak had played his worst game as a Capital. On Nov. 14, he was pulled after two periods in what was eventually a 5-3 loss to Toronto.&ldquo;I knew I had to have a good game, Hrivnak said. &lsquo;I couldn&rsquo;t afford two bad games in a row. There are two older goalies and I wanted to show them I can play.&rdquo;By &ldquo;them&rdquo; he meant management, which he thinks sometimes misinterprets his mostly placid demeanor.Coach Terry Murray acknowledges that he is still learning how to read Hrivnak, a Montreal native who is a 1986 draft choice and former Merrimack College star.&ldquo;I find sometimes his intensity level is a little up and down, a little inconsistent,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s part of becoming a pro. Physical talent will take you so far and the mental skills have to bring you the extra yard.&ldquo;You have to put a lot of pressure on yourself to reach that level and become the best you can be. It&rsquo;s pressure from himself, from me, from the organization. Then you have to see how he responds.&rdquo;<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 20: Joel Quenneville, D, assigned to Baltimore (AHL). Nov. 23: Chns Felix, D. assigned Io Baltimore. Felix recalled from Baltimore.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Dale Hunter, Mike Ridley, Mtchai Prvonka.&rsquo;Tim Bergiand. Rob Murray.LW&mdash;Kelly Miller, Dave Tippett. Bob Joyce. Nick Kypreos.RW&mdash;John Druce. Peter Bondra. Steve Leach. Alan MayLD&mdash;Rod Langway. Calle Johansson. Mike Lalor.RD&mdash;Kevin Hatcher, Bob Rouse. Chris Felix.G&mdash;Mike Liut.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Don Beaupre. G. groin pull, day today Dino Ciccareill, RW, fractured right thumb, indefinite. Jim Hrivnak. G. sore left knee, day-to-day. Neil Sheehy, D, broken left leg and ankle, indefinite. Mikhail Tatarinov, D. sore back, day-to-day Peter Zezel C, sprained left ankle, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Druce. 14. A&mdash;Ptvonka, 16. P&mdash;Druce. 27 PIM&mdash;Hunter. 76. &#9632;

SECOND DEBUT LEFT HRIVNAK WITH SMOOTH-LOOKING ROLE

<div class="byline">BY DAVE MOLINARI</div>It was, in almost every regard, a typical Tony Tanti goal.He was hovering in front of the Washington net and tipped a Paul Coffey shot past Capitals&rsquo; goalie Jim Hrivnak during a 5-on-3 power play for Pittsburgh&rsquo;s first goal in a 3-2 overtime victory Nov. 24.If there was anything unusual about the goal, it&rsquo;s simply that Tanti scored it. For it was his first since Oct. 28 and just his second in 22 games this season.That&rsquo;s not exactly the pace people expect of a guy who hadn&rsquo;t scored fewer than 24 in any of the previous seven seasons.Tanti said his goal-scoring slump this season is &ldquo;probably the longest&rdquo; of his career, but not necessarily the most frustrating because the Penguins have remained competitive even though he has contributed little to the offense.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had 10 or 15 games before, but no one knows what it&rsquo;s like to be a scorer who&rsquo;s not scoring and (your team is) losing,&rdquo; Tanti said. &ldquo;When I was in Vancouver, if I&rsquo;d go 10 or 15 games, we&rsquo;d be 1-10 or something. That&rsquo;s when you lose a lot of sleep.&rdquo;Tanti contended his inability to score was not affecting his game, but some who work with him said the strain was starting to show.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been snakebitten, and he lets little things bother him,&rdquo; Pittsburgh coach Bob Johnson said.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s no different from a lot of athletes in a lot of different sports. He&rsquo;s got to relax out there and do the thing he does best.&rdquo;Tanti said he has not been overly concerned about his lack of goals, if only because he&rsquo;s had numerous scoring chances. He had 42 shots in his first 22 games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a lot of chances,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just haven&rsquo;t put them in. The chances I get, if I get a shot away, the goalie&rsquo;s making a good save and a lot of times I&rsquo;m either too early or too late getting to the hole.&rdquo;<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 21: Jeff Daniels, LW, assigned to Muskegon (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;John Cullen, Bryan Trottier, Barry Pederson, Randy Gilhen.LW&mdash;Kevin Stevens, Bob Errey, Phil Bourque, Brad Aitken.RW&mdash;Mark Recchi, Jaromir Jagr. Tony Tanti, Joe Mullen, Rob Brown, Jay Caufield.LD&mdash;Paul Coffey, Zarley Zalapski, Gordie Roberts, Chris Dahlquist.RD&mdash;Paul Stanton, Jim Johnson, Gord Dineen.G&mdash;Tom Barrasso, Frank Pietrangelo, Wendell Young.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Gilbert Delorme, D. left leg stress fracture, indefinite. Randy Hillier, D, bruised foot, day-to-day. Jamie Leach. RW, torn ligaments in left knee, indefinite. Mario Lemieux. C, back infection, indefinite. Troy Loney, LW, right knee surgery, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Recchi, 13. A&mdash;Cullen, 33. P&mdash;Cullen, 42. PIM&mdash;Bourque, 37. &#9632;

SNAKEBITTEN TANTI MAINTAINS DILIGENCE

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div>After 11 professional seasons in three different leagues, Pat Conacher has probably played in more North American cities than Gone With the Wind.Another player might&rsquo;ve retired long ago and accepted the unspecified position which awaits him in the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; organization. But retirement isn&rsquo;t in Conacher&rsquo;s plans.&ldquo;Oh yeah, I&rsquo;m going to play again next season,&rdquo; said Conacher, 31. &ldquo;Everybody says: &lsquo;Why don&rsquo;t you quit?&rsquo; Why? Because I love to play and whenever I play I have fun. What&rsquo;s the difference if I start in the real world at 32, 33 or 34?&rdquo;It&rsquo;s that attitude which has defined the line of Conacher, center Dave Maley and right winger Doug Brown. There are other lines on the team with more talent, and certainly Devils&rsquo; coach John Cunniff has assembled units with more flair and glamor.You could not, however, find a line with more heart and determination than the three veterans who were resurrected in time to help the Devils emerge from a three-game losing streak with four victories in six games Nov. 13-24.Perhaps it is the measure of adversity all three have experienced during their careers. Maybe experience has something to do with it. In any case, they have set an example of team play that many of their teammates could emulate.&ldquo;Every player when you first come up is awestruck and you want to play well for yourself. You feel as long as you play well you&rsquo;ll be here,&rdquo; said Conacher, who did not dress in 16 of the first 17 games this season. &ldquo;After a while you realize if the team does well, I do well. The quality players realize the team comes first.&rdquo;&ldquo;We all have to learn to swallow our pride at times,&rdquo; added Brown, who had played in three straight games through Nov. 24 after sitting out 14 of the previous 15. &ldquo;Sometimes it take a little longer for us to get our opportunity. Maybe it takes more times to prove our worthiness. We don&rsquo;t convince people the first time. I believe we can be counted on to come back and try again.&rdquo;After missing the first three games of the season with a hand injury, Maley hasn&rsquo;t been out of the lineup since. At 27, he has emerged as one of the most versatile and valuable players on the team. However, he has had his share of adversity in the past.&ldquo;One thing you realize is you&rsquo;ve seen the other side,&rdquo; said Maley, who&rsquo;s seen minor-league action in the American League with Sherbrooke (then Montreal&rsquo;s top affiliate) and Utica. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like people don&rsquo;t wear a seat belt until they&rsquo;ve been in an accident. All three of us have been in the minors and ridden the buses. You know how hard it is to get to the NHL and you know what it takes to stay there.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think any of us really care about the recognition. Our biggest thing going out as a line is we don&rsquo;t want to be scored upon. That&rsquo;s our common thread. Cunny has also let us know that We could be a line that gets the game-winning goals because we&rsquo;re not one of the first lines that gets checked all the time. So the opportunities are there.&rdquo;It was Conacher&rsquo;s late goal that sparked a 5-3 comeback victory over Minnesota Nov. 24.What makes the three veterans so compatible? Familiarity.&ldquo;I believe in the case of our line all three of us have played together before,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;That really helps us find each other on the ice and communicate.&rdquo;&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s experience,&rdquo; Conacher said. &ldquo;Consistency is expected from you every night.&rdquo;<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 19: Dave Marcinyshyn, D, assigned to Utica (AHL). Nov. 23: Tommy Albelin, D, and Al Stewart. LW, assigned to Utica.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Patrik Sundstrom, Peter Stastny, Jon Morris, Dave Maley.LW&mdash;Brendan Shanahan, Kirk Muller. Walt Poddubny, Zdeno Ciger, Pat Conacher.RW&mdash;John MacLean, Claude Lemieux. Troy Crowder, Doug Brown, Paul Yse-baert.LD&mdash;Viacheslav Fetisov, Bruce Driver. Ken Daneyko.RD&mdash;Alexei Kasatonov, Eric Weinrich, Myles O&rsquo;Connor.G&mdash;Chris Terreri, Sean Burke<h3>INJURIES</h3>Laurie Boschman, C, bruised shoulder, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;MacLean, 13. A&mdash;Muller, 20. P&mdash;I Muller, 29 PIM&mdash;Stewart, 79. &#9632;

LINE EMBODIES SPIRIT OF TEAMWORK

<div class="byline">BY FRANK BROWN</div>If only Brian Leetch and James Patrick would co-operate, it would be one of the truly delicious feuds in hockey history.It would pit the unquestioned offensive stars of the Rangers&rsquo; defense, one against the other, in a cold war that would rival the Viacheslav Fetisov-Alexei Kasatonov silent treatment that continues to frost the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; dressing room across the Hudson River.Trouble is, Leetch and Patrick aren&rsquo;t even rivals. As heated hatreds go, this one&rsquo;s cold as a dead fish; because to hear the Rangers&rsquo; senior defenseman speak, Leetch has a big fan in James Patrick and vice-versa.&ldquo;As far as playing him or ranking him ahead, no problem,&rdquo; says the 27-year-old Patrick, in his seventh full Ranger season. &ldquo;As far as the publicity, the recognition, whatever, I think Leetchie deserves what he gets and what he&rsquo;s going to get.&rdquo;One specific recognition is financial. The 22-year-old Leetch doesn&rsquo;t even enter his option year until next season, yet already he is being touted as the first million-dollar Ranger. Patrick, meanwhile, is in the final stages of negotation on a three-year contract that will total $2.25 million in value&mdash;well short of the megabucks seemingly headed Leetch&rsquo;s way.Great grist for a feud, right?With two other guys perhaps. There would seem plenty of room for resentment to exist, with the newcomer backing up a van to the pay window and the senior guy becoming &ldquo;the other guy&rdquo; to a lot of people&rsquo;s thinking.Leetch will let others think as they please.&ldquo;Just by talking to other players I know, I know what other teams say is, &lsquo;You try to eliminate 2 and 3,&rsquo;&rdquo; said Leetch, who wears No. 2 while Patrick wears No. 3. &ldquo;James has been here for so long. He plays in the World Championships. He has played in the Canada Cup, so the other players (in the league) know he&rsquo;s a good player. So do the other coaches. I think everyone realizes how good he is and how valuable he is.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011337/5820810-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="545" height="752"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Leetch appreciates fellowdefenseman James Patrick.</figcaption></div>As feud tirades go, that little speech just won&rsquo;t cut it.Each came to the team with a &ldquo;savior&rdquo; tag as the defenseman who would rush the Rangers out of the wilderness, but Leetch, in barely three seasons, has amassed a pile of points and has come closer to meeting the description.&ldquo;James, by nature, I think, is the more conservative perfectionist,&rdquo; said general manager Neil Smith,&rdquo; the guy who is more concerned about, &ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t do something utterly spectacular, that&rsquo;s okay as long as I don&rsquo;t make a mistake.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s the way he plays.&ldquo;Brian is more of a dazzling high-risk-taker. He does things that, if they work&mdash;and most of the time they do&mdash;they &lsquo;re going to make you jump out of your chair.&rdquo;That is about the way Patrick sees it.&ldquo;When you look at a young Steve Yzerman or a young Pat LaFontaine, as far as defensemen are concerned, I think you can talk about Leetchie the same way,&rdquo; Patrick said. &ldquo;I like to play both ends of the ice, and I think I have some offensive skills. But I think Brian may be stepping into being a first-round, all-star defenseman-type of player.&rdquo;They room together on home-gamedays. They run the power play, Leetch from the left point, Patrick from the right. They both prefer the background, frankly, though Patrick seems to have done the better job of finding it. And they like each other, for crying out loud.Shucks. It could have been such a lovely feud.<h2>N.Y. RANGERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 28: Mark Hardy, D, began serving five-game league suspension. Eligible to return Dec. 11 at Los Angeles.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Kelly Kisio, Kevin Miller, Bernie Nicholls, Darren Turcotte, Mark Janssens.LW&mdash;John Ogrodnick, Jan Erixon. Kris King, Troy Mallette.RW&mdash;Brian Mullen, Ray Sheppard, Mike Gartner, Jody Hull, Paul Broten.LD&mdash;Brian Leetch, Dennis Vial, Lindy Ruff, Normand Rochefort.RD&mdash;David Shaw, James Patrick, Miloslav Horava.G&mdash;Mike Richter, John Vanbiesbrouck.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Randy Moller, D, dislocated left shoulder, indefinite. Bob Froese, G, ligament surgery, right shoulder, out for season.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Ogrodnick, Turcotte, 13. A&mdash;Leetch, 25. P&mdash;Turcotte, 33. PIM&mdash;Mallette, 70. &#9632;

f0015-01

BLUE LINE TWOSOME GETTING ALONG FINE

Dennis Ververgaert was never a sniper during his NHL career.But for 10 seconds during the 1976 All-Star Game at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Ververgaert was one of the finest scorers in NHL history.Between 4:43 and 4:53 of the third period, Ververgaert scored two goals for the Campbell Conference all-stars, setting an NHL record for the fastest two goals in an All-Star Game.It&rsquo;s a record that may never be equalled.&ldquo;It was one of the biggest highlights of my career,&rdquo; says Ververgaert, now an insurance salesman in Burnaby, B.C. &ldquo;It was a thrill to be playing in the game in the first place.&rdquo;Prior to setting the mark, it would&rsquo;ve been easy to forget Ververgaert was even at the game.Dwarfed by perennial stars such as Montreal&rsquo;s Guy Lafleur and Pete Mahovlich, Philadelphia&rsquo;s Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach, and Buffalo&rsquo;s Gilbert Perreault, Ververgaert was merely a spoke in the wheel.And after the Wales Conference jumped out to a 7-2 lead after two periods, he was virtually invisible.But not for long.Bryan Trottier, the pesky New York Islanders&rsquo; center, helped Ver-vergaert make his presence known. Trottier set up both recordsetting goals.&ldquo;I was playing on my off-wing with Trottier and the puck went into the corner to the side of the net,&rdquo; Ververgaert said of his first goal. &ldquo;Trottier dug it out in front and I just one-timed it. Off the faceoff, the same thing happened and I one-timed it again. Both goals happened on the same kind of play.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011229/5820872-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="559" height="619"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dennis Ververgaert set an All Star Game scoring mark in 1976.</figcaption></div>Prince of Wales&rsquo; goaltender Wayne Thomas had no chance on either goal.And it could&rsquo;ve been better. On the next faceoff, Ververgaert dinged a shot off the goal-post.&ldquo;If I&rsquo;d have scored, I&rsquo;d have won the car (the game&rsquo;s first star, Pete Mahovlich was awarded an $8,000 car. Ververgaert was the third star.) But it was nice. It was the first time in a long time I had all the media attention. In Vancouver, the writers usually hung around Gary Smith&rsquo;s locker because he was always the colorful one.&rdquo;A dependable right winger for Vancouver, Philadelphia and Washington from 1973-74 to 198081, Ververgaert was Vancouver&rsquo;s first-round pick (third overall) in the 1973 entry draft.He spent 51/2 seasons with Vancouver, scoring 139 goals and 304 points. His best season was in 1975-76, when he scored 37 goals and 71 points.But Ververgaert says being the No. 1 pick put added pressure on him and often hampered his play.After scoring just nine goals in 35 games during the 1978-79 season, he was dealt to Philadelphia for center Drew Callander and defenseman Kevin McCarthy.&ldquo;In Philadelphia it was a different atmosphere. They had a different attitude,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The Flyers were a successful team and there was a lot less pressure.&ldquo;In hockey, the less pressure you have, the better. I didn&rsquo;t feel that pressure from the fans and media with the Flyers.&rdquo;During his 1&frac12; seasons with Philadelphia, Ververgaert experienced his other memorable NHL highlight: Helping the Flyers set an NHL record 35-game unbeaten string from Oct. 14, 1979 to Jan. 23, 1984.&ldquo;It was great to be part of that. We had so many great players, like Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber. They were very determined and you got caught up in their energy,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I always admired Bobby Clarke. He went out every night and gave 120 per cent.&rdquo;After he was released by the Flyers following the 1979-80 season, Ververgaert signed as a free agent with Washington Oct. 6, 1980.He retired after the 1980-81 season and returned to Vancouver.Still a hockey fan, Ververgaert is a member of the Vancouver Police League and the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; Oldtimers. &#9632;

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‘UNKNOWN’ VERVERGAERT ALL-STAR GAME HERO

You won&rsquo;t find Wayne Gretzky or Brett Hull on this team, but then again this team doesn&rsquo;t need an NHL superstar. It has a much more powerful authority on its side&mdash;God.Christian Sports Outreach International of Minneapolis, Minn., has been sending hockey players from Canada and the United States overseas for the past five years. In this, the sixth year of operation, CSOI is icing a team to participate in a tournament in Czechoslovakia from Dec. 26 to Jan. 6. Teams from Czechoslovakia, Austria and Poland will also be participating.In February a second team will travel to Scandinavia and the Soviet Union for three weeks of hockey. That trip runs from Feb. 25 to March 15.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re looking for guys who love the game and who have a good relationship with the Lord,&rdquo; says CSOI director Jack Isleib. &ldquo;A noncommitted Christian may feel uncomfortable around us.&rdquo;More than 200 hockey players have participated overseas since the program began. The Crusaders&rsquo; teams have played in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia and Russia.The main objective of the trips is to spread the word of God and have some fun playing hockey. It also gives the players a chance to see parts of the world they would otherwise never visit.&ldquo;I will never forget my first trip onto Russian soil,&rdquo; says Troy Buder, a center who played college hockey at United States International University. &ldquo;Meeting and playing against our Soviet friends was a dream come true.&rdquo;&ldquo;The Europeans and Soviets expect us to play a physical game, while we anticipate more of a wide-open skating game,&rdquo; says Mark Liggett, a three-year veteran with the Crusaders. &ldquo;The hockey was a great experience and the trip changed my whole outlook on life.&rdquo;Each player on the team is a born-again Christian. They see their role as being missionaries through hockey.&ldquo;There is no better vehicle I know to reach to the lost than sports,&rdquo; says Isleib. &ldquo;We take the Gospel to the arenas and the streets. You&rsquo;re not going to find the lost in churches. You&rsquo;re going to find them out doing things they enjoy. Sports is something people enjoy all over the world.&rdquo;The players often sing hymns and give testimonies between periods. They also bring a gift for opposing players&mdash;the Bible.Between playing hockey and spreading the word of God the players are kept busy on their trips. Compared to NHL teams which usually play three games a week, the Crusaders&rsquo; five-games-a-week schedule is hectic. But the players don&rsquo;t mind that one bit.&ldquo;Travelling and playing hockey abroad was a fulfillment of a lifelong desire of mine,&rdquo; says Todd DeKorte.CSOI also sends out teams in 11 other sports including football, baseball, basketball and volleyball.For more information, call Isleib toll free from Canada or the United States at 1-800-451-3643. &#9632;

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND HOCKEY

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011078/5820927-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="511" height="624"><figcaption class="caption-body">STEVE DRYDEN</figcaption></div>If the New York Rangers end a 50-year streak of futility next spring, they should have Craig Patrick fitted for a Stanley Cup ring. That is how great Patrick&rsquo;s contribution is to the current team&mdash;even though it has been four years since his firing as club general manager.Dust the Rangers&rsquo; roster for prints and you&rsquo;ll find Patrick&rsquo;s all over it. So, too, will you find sets belonging to Phil Esposito and Neil Smith&mdash;the two men who have filled the position since Patrick. New York&rsquo;s strong performance this season is a triumph of more than one man at the helm. Look at the lineup. It represents a hybrid of players and blend of management styles.Patrick believed in the draft. (Nine current Rangers were picked by him.) Esposito didn&rsquo;t. (Nine current Rangers were obtained by him, eight in trades.) Smith has faith in the draft but has overseen only one with the Rangers. (Six current Rangers have been brought in during the past 16 months, all in trades.)Here&rsquo;s the breakdown: Patrick (1980-1986), Paul Broten, Jan Erixon, Mark Janssens, Brian Leetch, Kevin Miller, James Patrick, Mike Richter, Darren Turcotte and John Vanbies-brouck; Esposito (1986-1989), Mark Hardy, Miloslav Horava, Kelly Kisio, Troy Mallette, Brian Mullen, John Ogrodnick, Normand Rochefort, Lindy Ruff and Dave Shaw; Smith (1989-present), Mike Gartner, Jody Hull, Derek King, Randy Moller, Bernie Nicholls and Ray Sheppard.Examine the goals and points produced by each player this year (as of Nov. 25) and you see that Patrick&rsquo;s players&mdash;as a group&mdash;are the most skillful. Check out each group&rsquo;s points-pergame averages. (Remember that star netminders Vanbiesbrouck and Richter aren&rsquo;t included in this assessment.) The scoring: Patrick, 158 games, 43 goals, 133 points (0.84 points per game); Esposito, 155 games, 28 goals, 63 points (0.41); and Smith, 126 games, 31 goals, 77 points (0.61).Nobody knows better than Smith that Patrick deserves enormous credit for helping build the Rangers. Smith sent Patrick a letter of thanks last year while Patrick was still athletic director at the University of Denver. It was an unusual and thoughtful gesture.&ldquo;What I have seen happen in other places,&rdquo; Smith says,&rdquo;is that a new GM comes in and he either casts blame on the old GM, saying: &lsquo;Look at the mess I&rsquo;m left with&rsquo;; Or if things go well, (he) allows people around him to say, &lsquo;Look at how he&rsquo;s turned the whole thing around.&rsquo; I was just trying to take another route, saying: &lsquo;Craig, before they start giving me all the credit for this stuff, I want you to know that I know that it&rsquo;s a lot of your players and you should feel pretty proud of the team.&rsquo;&rdquo;Patrick, now GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is proud of the job he did.&ldquo;We took the view that we were going to build the Rangers for the long term, not try to do something that was quick and shortlived,&rdquo; Patrick says. &ldquo;Maybe that attitude could have hurt me personally with my job but I was doing the job I thought I had to do. I&rsquo;m pleased I did it that way and I&rsquo;m going to do it again in Pittsburgh.&ldquo;Patrick was fired after the Rangers lost in the 1985-86 conference championships. He could not take his team to the promised land; his players might yet. Patrick presided over one of the finest stretches of drafting in NHL history. Among his selections were: Patrick, Erixon and Vanbiesbrouck in 1981; Tomas Sandstrom, Tony Granato and Kelly Miller in 1982; Dave Gagner in 1983; Terry Carkner, Broten and Kjell Samuelsson in 1984; Ulf Dahlen and Richter in 1985; Leetch, Janssens and Turcotte in 1986.Some of these draftees, of course, have been traded and gone on to success with other teams&mdash;including Sandstrom, who was dealt to Los Angeles along with Granato for Nicholls. While Smith is the first to credit Patrick for his part in putting together one of the NHL&rsquo;s best teams, he sees his role as more than just an ace reliever aiming to nail down a victory.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t like to think of it (his job) as a closer because I give us a little bit more credit than that,&rdquo; Smith says. &ldquo;I think that we saw the team was pretty good when nobody else would say that. Nobody else recognized it.&rdquo;If Smith had the good sense to realize his new team&rsquo;s strengths, he also had good timing and good hiring skills on his side. &ldquo;My major contribution,&rdquo; Smith says,&rdquo;has been to hire the right people around here.&rdquo; He calls the selection of Roger Neilson as head coach his most important move. He says Neilson deserves the credit for getting the most out of the Rangers&mdash;particularly those players drafted in the later rounds.&ldquo;You certainly have to give credit to Craig and to some extent Phil,&rdquo; Smith says,&rdquo;but Roger has made these guys play like they hadn&rsquo;t played before.&rdquo;Steve Dryden is Managing Editor of Inside Hockey. &#9632;

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JUST A NOTE OF THANKS FROM ONE GM TO ANOTHER

A left winger for the Rangers, Boston, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Minnesota from 1952-53 to 1973-74, Dean Prentice is the Ontario representative for Hockey Ministerial International. &ldquo;My highlight was making it to the final against Montreal in 1966-67 with Detroit,&rdquo; Prentice said. &ldquo;In the semifinals against Chicago, I scored the two biggest goals of my career.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02830/5820958-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="590" height="407"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dean Prentice</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-02

THEN & NOW

After a three-goal, five-point performance in an 8-4 win over Toronto Nov. 17, Steve Yzerman went pointless for three straight games, the first time that&rsquo;s happened since March 1519, 1987. Washington, Minnesota and St. Louis kept him off the scoreboard, yet the Wings won two of the three games. More importantly, his teammates were speaking of his unselfishness and of his good work in the defensive end as important elements to the team&rsquo;s success&hellip;Increasing economic problems in the Soviet Union could have a beneficial effect in Detroit. If the Soviets are in need of cash, they might open discussions with the Wings, who are willing to make deals for two Soviet draftees. The Wings are particularly interested in defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov, an 11th-round pick in the 1989 draft. They also own the NHL rights to center Viacheslav Kozlov, a third-round pick last June. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re obviously willing to talk. They need the money,&rdquo; GM-coach Bryan Murray said, referring to other recent deals between the Soviets and NHL teams&hellip;Tim Cheveldae appeared in 23 straight games, the most by a Detroit goalie since Roy Edwards played in 23 straight to start the 1967-68 season. But it&rsquo;s far off the club record of 171 straight games&mdash;including every minute of the 70-game 1950-51 and 1951-52 seasons&mdash;played by Terry Sawchuk.<h2>BLUES</h2>Rookie center Nelson Emerson took Michel Mongeau&rsquo;s spot as the Blues&rsquo; emergency replacement for injured centers Adam Oates and Cliff Ronning Nov. 21 and made a successful NHL debut two nights later in Detroit. Emerson, the Blues&rsquo; third pick in 1985, assisted on two goals by Rich Sutter in the Blues&rsquo; 5-3 loss to the Red Wings. Before being called up from Peoria, Emerson led the International League with 9-25-34 totals in 18 games&hellip;Veteran center Rick Meagher, winner of the Selke Trophy last season, has been making steady progress in his return from off-season surgery on his right knee. Meagher, the Blues&rsquo; oldest player at age 37, resumed skating in the second-last week of November. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting there,&rdquo; Meagher said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s an unbelieveable feeling being out there again. I don&rsquo;t even mind going through the pain of getting back in shape.&rdquo;&hellip;With 23 goals in 23 games, Brett Hull was six games ahead of his pace last season, when he led the NHL with 72 goals, a record for right wingers. He didn&rsquo;t score his 23rd goal last season until the 29th game.<h2>MAPLE LEAFS</h2>With their roster swelling to 26 players as a result of GM Floyd Smith&rsquo;s flurry of activity, it was only a matter of time before the axe fell. Center Gilles Thibaudeau was the first to go. &ldquo;I slowed down for about a week and paid for it,&rdquo; Thibaudeau said as he headed for Newmarket (AHL) Nov. 20. &ldquo;But I know what I have to do to come back.&rdquo; Thibaudeau had two goals and seven assists in 20 games with the Leafs&hellip;Veteran right winger Doug Shedden played in career game No. 400 Nov. 23 against Philadelphia (a 4-1 loss), ensuring him a $250,000 pension payoff at age 55&hellip;Defenseman Tom Kurvers, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Nov. 15, missed only four games before returning to the lineup Nov. 24.<h2>NORTH STARS</h2>Call it the Takko-Bell deal. Goalie Kari Takko, a regular in Minnesota for four-plus seasons, was sent to Edmonton Nov. 22 for defenseman Bruce Bell, who was assigned to Kalamazoo (IHL). The Stars could also net a middle-round draft pick depending on Takko&rsquo;s success with the Oilers&hellip;Left winger Basil McRae, bothered by an abdominal muscle strain most of the season, was scheduled to be evaluated in Vancouver Nov. 27, but team physicians privately predict surgery will be necessary later in the week. The surgery would sideline McRae for two month-s&hellip;Right winger Doug Smail played in his 700th NHL game Nov. 24&mdash;a 5-3 loss to New Jersey&hellip;Dave Gagner, who had arthroscopic surgery to remove damaged cartilage from his left knee Nov. 11, played in a 4-3 loss to Detroit 10 days later. He had a goal and four assists in his first three games back&hellip;Defenseman Link Gaetz, who walked away from Kalamazoo to go hunting, returned before Thanksgiving. His suspension continued until he gets into game shape&hellip;Ulf Dahlen&rsquo;s agent, Lou Oppenheim, asked the North Stars to play his client or trade him. &ldquo;He said what?&rdquo; Dahlen asked. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d better talk with him; I haven&rsquo;t asked anybody to trade me. &ldquo;GM Bob Clarke confirmed the request by Oppenheim, then said,&rdquo; I told him to tell Ulfie that if he&rsquo;s unhappy about his playing time to play better.&rdquo;<h2>BLACKHAWKS</h2>GM-coach Mike Keenan was summoned to New York Nov. 19 by NHL president John Ziegler for a meeting regarding the Oct. 27 incident at Boston when the Hawks had an apparent game-tying goal disallowed as time expired in the third period. Keenan, who made critical comments toward the Bruins&rsquo; off-ice officials and the league following the game, said Ziegler did not discuss a fine or disciplinary action toward him. &ldquo;Mr. Ziegler wasn&rsquo;t pleased with some of the things I said, but the focal point of the meeting was how to alleviate these situations in the future,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;Basically, it was a discussion of the incident and the overall situation&rdquo;&hellip;By going 5-1 on a recent six-game road trip, it marked the first time a Hawks&rsquo; team had completed a winning trip of five games or more since 1982-83. &#9632;

RARE SCORING SLUMP PLAGUES YZERMAN

<div class="byline">BY DAVE LUECKING</div>Although the St. Louis Blues have managed to survive with Adam Oates out of the lineup&mdash;they went 7-2-1 in the first 10 games without him&mdash;coach Brian Sutter is anxiously awaiting his return.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d love to have him back, the little bugger,&rdquo; Sutter said.Trouble is, he isn&rsquo;t quite sure when Oates will be able to return. Through Nov. 26, Oates had missed nine consecutive games since injuring his abdominal muscles in a practice Nov. 5. He also missed the season opener with sore ribs.Dr. Jerome Gilden, the Blues&rsquo; orthopedic surgeon, initially said Oates had strained an abdominal muscle, but updated that recently, saying Oates suffered a &ldquo;partial tear of a muscle where it attaches to the pelvic bone.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t know when you first see them whether it will be minor or severe, both hurt the same,&rdquo; Gilden said. &ldquo;It tends to be slow in healing. It lasted longer than we anticipated.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s looking better. He&rsquo;s definitely improved.&rdquo;But not as much as he or Sutter had hoped. On Nov. 21, after Oates took his first skate since a brief skate a week earlier, Sutter was beaming.&ldquo;He came off the ice and said he didn&rsquo;t feel anything,&rdquo; Sutter said that day. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going good. It&rsquo;s good to see him out there.&rdquo;At the time, Sutter hoped Oates would be able to play by the time Toronto visited St. Louis Nov. 27. Several days later, however, he wasn&rsquo;t as optimistic.Sutter said Oates was sore after a skate on the morning of Nov. 24.&ldquo;Some days, you&rsquo;re not going to feel as good as other days,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;He hadn&rsquo;t done anything, really, for 17 days. If you laid in bed for 17 days, you&rsquo;d be a little stiff.&rdquo;Rest and relaxation are the only sure remedies.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a tough man to keep off the ice, but when you&rsquo;ve come this far, there&rsquo;s no sense rushing things,&rdquo; Sutter said.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen substantial progress, and he&rsquo;s gaining strength every day.&rdquo;Sutter said the location of the injury makes it difficult for Oates to skate pain-free.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s sore and he can skate, but he&rsquo;s having problems pushing on it,&rdquo;. Sutter said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what the heck to say. I&rsquo;m anxious to get him back, but I&rsquo;m not anxious to the point where I want to hurt somebody. We want him to get better every day.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t know it would take this long. You think it&rsquo;s something that will be better in a couple of days, but you don&rsquo;t know how it will progress every day.&ldquo;I wish I could tell you when he&rsquo;ll be back. I wish you could tell me. I wish the trainer could tell me. It&rsquo;s something to be patient with. If I could tell you when he&rsquo;ll be back, I&rsquo;d be a prophet.&rdquo;Despite missing 10 games, Oates still led the Blues with 18 assists. He had 20 points through 13 games, still good for third on the team in scoring.Sutter said Oates wasn&rsquo;t going to play until he was fully recovered.&ldquo;It seems rather senseless to play a guy now if he isn&rsquo;t 100 per cent,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;You go on what the trainer says. He&rsquo;s the expert. You have to respect his position. You want to make sure guys are 100 per cent.&rdquo;<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 21: Michel Mongeau, C, and Guy Hebert, G, assigned to Peoria (IHL). Nelson Emerson, C, recalled from Peoria on an emergency basis.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Rod Brind&rsquo; Amour, Nelson Emerson, Bob Bassen, Ron Wilson.LW&mdash;Gino Cavallini, Geoff Courtnall, Dave Lowry, Sergio Momesso.RW&mdash;Brett Hull, Rich Sutter, Herb Raglan, Paul MacLean.LD&mdash;Scott Stevens, Robert Dirk, Glen Featherstone, Harold Snepsts.RD&mdash;Jeff Brown, Paul Cavallini, Mario Marois.G&mdash;Vincent Riendeau, Curtis Joseph.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Rick Meagher, C, major surgery on right knee, indefinite. Adam Oates. C, strained lower abdominal muscles, day-to-day. Cliff Ronning, C, broken right index finger, day-to-day.<h3>INJURIES</h3>G&mdash;Hull, 23. A&mdash;Oates, 18. P&mdash;Hull, 31 PIM&mdash;Featherstone. 45. &#9632;

OATES’ RETURN STILL UP IN THE AIR

<div class="byline">BY KEITH GAVE</div>The world according to Garp is unlike anything he could ever imagine before leaving Europe to pursue his dream of playing in the NHL.It has been filled, most astonishingly, with flashing red lights and lavish cheers from fans who have been giddy over another rookie in the Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; lineup. For a few nights, Johan Garpenlov (pronounced GARP-ehn-lawv) was the toast of Detroit.It began when he put the finishing touches on a Wings&rsquo; comeback, scoring the winning goal midway through the third period in a 4-3 victory over Minnesota Nov. 21. It was his fifth goal of the season.For an encore two days later, Garpenlov did something not even Brett Hull or Wayne Gretzky or any other player in the NHL has done this season. He scored four straight goals, two each in the first and second periods, en route to a 5-3 Detroit win over St. Louis.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t been playing so good the last five or six games,&rdquo; he said in halting English. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just trying to skate harder and shoot a little more.&rdquo;After connecting on his first four shots against the Blues, he said,&rdquo;I have not dreamed&hellip;to score four. And when you score early in the game it is&mdash;what do you say?&mdash;more easy. I feel better about things then.&rdquo;And so did coach Bryan Murray, who only a few days earlier let Garpenlov watch from the press box as the Wings won for the first time on the road, 8-4 at Toronto Nov. 17.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t happy with his play,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;I had a meeting with him and told him to start playing harder. I told him to do things with the puck, get more involved physically and creatively. He had really taken a step backward the last few weeks.&rdquo;The four-goal performance was the 16th by a Red Wing and the first by a Detroit left winger since Paul Henderson scored four straight goals in a game Oct. 27, 1966 in a 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers at Olympia Arena.The five-goal splurge&mdash;Wings&rsquo; archivists were scrambling to determine the last time a Detroit player has done that&mdash;gave Garpenlov nine goals and 16 points. It also lifted him into second place behind teammateSergei Fedorov (10-14-24) among NHL rookies. The next night, Quebec rookie Mats Sundin scored three times in an 11-4 loss to Winnipeg to pass Garpenlov and move into second place with 17 points. In four seasons with Djurgarden, Garpenlov never scored four goals in a game and never scored more than 20.In practices the few days after his four-goal game, Garpenlov used a different stick, preserving the one with all the goals in it.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s not superstitious,&rdquo; said injured left winger Gerard Gallant, whose place Garpenlov is occupying on the Steve Yzerman line,&rdquo;that&rsquo;s just being smart.&rdquo;<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 22: Tom Bissett, LW, assigned to Adirondack (AHL). Nov. 23: Alain Chevrier, G, assigned to San Diego (IHL). Glen Hanlon, G, recalled from San Diego.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Steve Yzerman, Jimmy Carson, Sergei Fedorov, John Chabot.LW&mdash;Johan Garpenlov, Shawn Burr, Marc Habscheid.RW&mdash;Dave Barr, Bob Probert, Brent Fedyk, Joe Kocur.LD&mdash;Bobby Dollas, Steve Chiasson, Brad McCrimmon, Per Djoos.RD&mdash;Lee Norwood, Rick Zombo, Yves Racine, Rick Green.G&mdash;Tim Cheveldae, Glen Hanlon.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Gerard Gallant, LW, sore back, indefinite. Sheldon Kennedy, RW, shoulder surgery, indefinite. Greg Stefan, G, right knee surgery, Jan. 15.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Yzerman, 13. A&mdash;Yzerman, 17. P&mdash;Yzerman, 30. PIM&mdash;Kocur, 108. &#9632;

GARPENLOV’S WORLD A GOAL-SCORING PARADISE

<div class="byline">BY TIM SASSONE</div>It may have taken the Chicago Blackhawks 25 games into the regular season to get defenseman Doug Wilson healthy, but the wait was well worth it.Wilson made his long-awaited season debut Nov. 24 at Calgary and had two assists in a 5-3 win that helped the Hawks complete their most successful road trip in eight years.The Hawks finished their six-game swing with a 5-1 record that included wins at Edmonton and Calgary. It was the first time the Hawks have ever completed the Alberta sweep.Wilson&rsquo;s presence seemed to give the Hawks the little spark they may have needed on the final night of their 12-day, coast-to-coast journey. Wilson admits his recovery from offseason surgery to reconstruct ligaments in his right ankle took longer than expected, but the 13-year veteran didn&rsquo;t want to play until he felt confident it was healed.&ldquo;It was getting real frustrating sitting out watching the guys do so well,&rdquo; Wilson said after the Calgary win. &ldquo;But, at the same time, that made it easier for me to make sure I was 100 per cent ready to come back.It just feels good to be back after watching for so long. I think the beer will taste a little better tonight.&rdquo;Both of Wilson&rsquo;s assists against the Flames came on the power play. Everyone associated with the Hawks has been licking their chops waiting to get a look at the power play with former Norris Trophy winners Wilson and Chris Chelios at the points, and their first game together was no disappointment.&ldquo;Whenever Doug&rsquo;s out there, he&rsquo;s a threat to shoot,&rdquo; Chelios said. &ldquo;Now, with two shooters, they can&rsquo;t cheat to one side like they&rsquo;ve been doing. That should open things up even more for Larms (Steve Larmer) down low.&rdquo;&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t ask for two better guys to have at the point,&rdquo; Adam Creighton said. &ldquo;With Willy back, everyone&rsquo;s got that big shot to worry about now.&rdquo;Wilson&rsquo;s return gives the Hawks a glut of eight defensemen. Against the Flames, Trent Yawney was the odd man out and watched from the press box while veteran Bob McGill was used at right wing, where he has been playing recently.Yawney learned how to count a long time ago, so he needs no one to remind him of the crowd on defense.&ldquo;They say you can never have enough defensemen who can play, but you&rsquo;ve got to face reality,&rdquo; Yawney said. &ldquo;Having eight defensemen is like having three goaltenders, and we&rsquo;ve got that, too. I don&rsquo;t know if you can keep everybody happy.&rdquo;Keenan calls the situation on defense a problem most teams would, love to have.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a real luxury to have eight defensemen who can play in the NHL,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;I just have to make the decision who plays based on who we&rsquo;re playing.&rdquo;For the time being, it looks like Keenan would go with Wilson, Chelios, Dave Manson, Keith Brown, Steve Konroyd and Czech rookie Frantisek Kucera on the back line.Because of the depth on defense, it&rsquo;s a possibility Keenan will solve his &ldquo;problem&rdquo; by trading someone.&ldquo;If they move a guy, they move a guy,&rdquo; Yawney said matter-of-factly. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;re not even thinking about that.&rdquo;Keenan didn&rsquo;t rule out trading a defensemen when asked if that was a possibility.&ldquo;Eventually, that might be part of the process,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;But that hasn&rsquo;t entered into it yet.&rdquo;Keenan called reports &ldquo;erroneous&rdquo; he might be contemplating dealing Manson to Calgary for Doug Gilmour.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t talked to Cliff Fletcher about a trade since I became general manager,&rdquo; Keenan said.<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Jeremy Roenick. Troy Murray, Adam Creighton, Mike Hudson.LW&mdash;Mike McNeill, Greg Gilbert, Steve Thomas. Jocelyn Lemieux. Stu Grimson.RW&mdash;Steve Larmer, Dirk Graham, Wayne Presley, Bob McGill.LD&mdash;Frantisek Kucera, Doug Wilson, Steve Konroyd.RD&mdash;Chris Chelios, Dave Manson, Keith Brown, Trent Yawney.G&mdash;Ed Belfour, Jacques Cloutier, Greg Millen.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Michel Goulet, LW, bruised right ankle, day-to-day. Mike Peluso, LW, bruised cheek, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Larmer, 16. A&mdash;Chelios, 20. P&mdash;Larmer, 34. PIM&mdash;Peluso, 92. &#9632;

RETURN OF WILSON GIVES HAWKS BIG ONE-TWO PUNCH

<div class="byline">BY GARY OLSON</div>Brian Propp played his first l0 &frac12; seasons in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers with whom he played in the Stanley Cup finals on three different (losing) occasions.Last March, he was traded to Boston and played for the Cup (and lost) again.Now, he&rsquo;s a Minnesota North Star, signed as a 31-year-old free agent during the heat of summer by former teammate and former boss Bobby Clarke.He&rsquo;s probably one of the veterans Clarke was accused of sticking with too long as general manager of the Flyers. At least in Minnesota, we know why he stuck with Brian Propp.Propp likely won&rsquo;t get a chance to play for the Cup this spring as a North Star, but he&rsquo;s not just along for the ride to retirement. He&rsquo;s not coasting toward the end of a career.Sure, he&rsquo;s one of the oldest players on a team getting old as fast as it&rsquo;s getting better. However, he&rsquo;s also been one of Minnesota&rsquo;s best players, one of its most consistent.&ldquo;I hate to keep talking about the same guy,&rdquo; North Stars&rsquo; coach Bob Gainey said,&rdquo;but Brian Propp keeps forcing me to talk about him.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s been one of our best players. He&rsquo;d be a great example for our younger players to follow as a good, hardworking player. He plays hard every night and he plays at both ends of the ice.&rdquo;Gainey found a special fondness for Propp during a four-game stretch from Nov. 17-23 when he scored two points in each game. He had nine goals and 19 points, third best among the North Stars through 25 games.&ldquo;Isn&rsquo;t it something when one of your oldest players is one of your hardest working,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;How can a young kid let that happen?&rdquo;Since arriving in Minnesota, Propp has sat quietly in his comer of the dressing room, certainly unwilling to toot his own horn and reluctant to say much about his teammates.Gradually, the losses started to get to him. After a particularly galling 4-3 defeat in Detroit the day before Thanksgiving, he&rsquo;d seen enough.&ldquo;There are no excuses anymore,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We had a lead in the last four or five minutes of the second period and we let it get away. We just got outworked. We didn&rsquo;t forecheck or take the body and they just took the puck away from us.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t allow that to happen. We just can&rsquo;t stand for it. Every player has to get himself prepared. And every player has to understand that he&rsquo;s playing for the guy next to him and for himself. We&rsquo;re not getting a total team effort.&rdquo;Many players have thought the same things this season and in seasons past but it&rsquo;s rare to find one willing to say it out loud. Because Propp comes to Minnesota from winning traditions and because he&rsquo;s usually so soft-spoken, it carries more meaning.&ldquo;I try not to worry about the losing,&rdquo; Propp said. &ldquo;I just try to show some leadership and hope it will rub off.&rdquo;A lot of the North Stars seem to have Teflon, no-stick finishes.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been playing pretty well lately, but only-well enough to lose,&rdquo; Propp continued. &ldquo;For a while, we were playing good but we couldn&rsquo;t score any goals. We&rsquo;ve been close enough to win a lot of the games that we haven&rsquo;t won.&ldquo;At the start of the season, the first l0 or 15games, I think everyone played a little tentative, a little hesitant. We created gaps and let the other team come at us. Lately, we&rsquo;ve changed that.&ldquo;At last I think I can say we seem to be headed in the right direction.&rdquo;<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 18: Perry Berezan, C, recalled from Kalamazoo (IHL). Nov. 22: Karl Takko, G, traded to Edmonton for Bruce Bell, D. and a conditional draft pick. Bell assigned to Kalamazoo.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Neal Broten, Dave Gagner, Mike Modano, Bobby Smith, Perry Berezan.LW&mdash;Gaetan Duchesne, Brian Bellows, Brian Propp, Larry DePalma.RW&mdash;Doug Smail, Ulf Dahlen, Ilkka Sinisalo, Kevin Evans, Mike CraigLD&mdash;Mark Tinordi, Brian Glynn, Rob Zettler, Peter Taglianetti.RD&mdash;Shawn Chambers, Larry Murphy, Curt Giles.G&mdash;Jon Casey, Brian Hayward<h3>INJURIES</h3>Shane Churla, RW, torn rib cartilage, day-to-day. Stewart Gavin, RW, tom left knee ligaments, indefinite. Basil McRae. LW. abdominal strain, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Gagner, Bellows, 10. A&mdash;Broten. 19. P&mdash;Broten, 23. PIM&mdash;Churla, 148. &#9632;

PROPP NOT AN INANIMATE OBJECT

<div class="byline">BY MARK HARDING</div>It used to be said of the Toronto Maple Leafs that if they could ever muster any kind of defensive cohesiveness, their odds of challenging for the Norris Division title would improve considerably.But because they had shown little or no interest in playing that style in recent seasons, there was no reason to expect coach Tom Watt could change matters.The Leafs, however, to the surprise of a great many of their fans and followers, have shown a willingness to play an aggressive, close-checking, solid defensive style of late and actually went six games in which they held the opposition to fewer than 40 shots.But two major problems persisted.First, while the shots allowed were down, the Leafs&rsquo; goalies were still surrendering four or five goals per game.Last season, that would not have posed a serious problem. The Leafs would merely score five or six goals and walk away with a win.Which brings us to reason No. 2.This season, the Leafs have been in a horrendous offensive slump. In fact, slump might not be a strong enough word to describe their woes. Last year, Leaf snipers could put a puck in a keyhole. These days, they&rsquo;d have trouble hitting a soccer net.After 26 games, the Leafs had scored 35 fewer times than over the same period last year.&ldquo;Cross-bars, posts, missed open nets, pucks bouncing over sticks, goalies making unbelievable saves, it&rsquo;s incredible the way things have been going for us,&rdquo; said right winger Daniel Marois, one of the more snakebitten of the Leaf forwards. &ldquo;You come off the ice after some shifts saying, &lsquo;Why? Why?&rsquo;&rdquo;After scoring 337 goals last season, which represented the third-best offensive total in the league, the Leafs&rsquo; recent slide has everyone in the organization both frustrated and perplexed. The team had scored four or more goals in just eight of their first 26 games and were 0-17-1 in games in which they scored three or fewer. Last year, the Leafs scored four or more times in 50 games and posted a 34-124 mark in those contests.But as the losses continued to mount, Watt could do little in his postgame interview sessions except praise his club for fine defensive efforts, a strong work ethic and lament the lack of offense.&ldquo;I have to like the way we&rsquo;re playing,&rdquo; Watt said after a 4-1 loss to Edmonton Nov. 24, which marked the ninth time this year the Leafs had scored just once in a game. &ldquo;I think we&rsquo;re playing sound hockey. We&rsquo;re just not scoring any goals, it&rsquo;s as simple as that. We&rsquo;re building on some solid play, we&rsquo;re not all helter skelter.&rdquo;In a four-game stretch from Nov. 19-24, the Leafs managed seven goals. Five of those seven goals came from defensemen.&ldquo;You try to stay positive, but it&rsquo;s hard,&rdquo; said Marois, who had 12 goals in his first 19 games last season but had only eight in 25 this year. &ldquo;You look at the guys in this room and you wonder why we can&rsquo;t score.&rdquo;Newcomer Mike Krushelnyski said the drought might be easier to deal with if the Leafs were pulling out the odd victory or tie, but the constant losing was only magnifying the problem.<h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 20: Gilles Thibaudeau, C, assigned to Newmarket (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Vincent Damphousse, Mike Krushelnyski, Dave Hannan, Scott Thornton.LW&mdash;Paul Fenton, Wendel Clark, Joe Sacco, Aaron Broten.RW&mdash;Daniel Marois, Lucien DeBlois, Dave Reid, Lou Franceschetti, Doug Shedden, Kevin Maguire.LD&mdash;Dave Ellett, Luke Richardson, Tom Kurvers, Todd Gill, Brad Marsh.RD&mdash;Rob Ramage, Al latrate, Michel Petit, Brian Curran.G&mdash;Peter Ing, Jeff Reese.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tom Fergus. C, groin surgery, indefinite. Gary Leeman, RW, separated shoulder, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Damphousse, Reid, 9. A&mdash;Damphousse, 14. P&mdash;Damphousse, 23. PIM&mdash;Clark, 77. &#9632;

DEFENSE ISN’T TO BLAME FOR POOR RESULTS

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01806/5821133-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="460" height="620"><figcaption class="caption-body">DAVE MOLINARI</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s been a nightmarish season in Minnesota thus far, so maybe the North Stars&rsquo; latest attempt to lure people into the Met Center isn&rsquo;t really out of line.It&rsquo;s just a little disconcerting to watch a couple of guys wearing goalie masks running up and down the aisles in an arena, trying to hand out money. Usually to people who didn&rsquo;t show up for the game.They are kind of like benevolent Jasons, and that&rsquo;s entirely appropriate because practically every day has been a Friday the 13 th for the North Stars this season.The North Stars are losing games faster than just about any other team in the NHL, and that&rsquo;s the good news in Minnesota. For the really grim stuff, you&rsquo;d have to check with the North Stars&rsquo; accountants.They&rsquo;re the guys who could explain how owner Norman Green wouldn&rsquo;t go through money nearly as fast if he just, say, used it for fuel in the fireplaces of a 50-room mansion.Every empty seat at the Met Center&mdash;and there have been vast tracts of them nearly every time the North Stars have played this season&mdash;takes cash out of Green&rsquo;s wallet. It&rsquo;s doubtful that he knows just how much the team has cost him, or even that he wants to, but you can assume it&rsquo;s a figure that would make a significant dent in the federal deficit.And it&rsquo;s not unreasonable to suggest that Minnesota&rsquo;s dismal record at home&mdash;3-6-2 after 11 games&mdash;has been influenced by the small crowds at the Met Center. It&rsquo;s pretty tough to get pumped up for a game nobody seems to care is being played.It has been suggested in some quarters that Green is the victim of a backlash of frustration and anger spawned by years of bad hockey and poor management. It&rsquo;s true that there aren&rsquo;t a lot of Stanley Cup banners hanging in the Met Center&mdash;at last count the total had risen to, uh, none&mdash;but a legacy of mediocrity doesn&rsquo;t seem to impede the turnout in other places.Does anyone, for example, recall the last time they had a Stanley Cup parade down Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh?Besides, Minnesota&rsquo;s hockey tradition predates Norm Green. And Howard Baldwin. And Lou Nanne. And Bill Goldsworthy. And the 12-team league. And maybe even the six-team one.It is one of the few areas in the United States with a deep-seated passion for the game. Youth hockey is a staple in many communities. The state high school tournament is contested with the zeal of a religious revival. The public and press in the Twin Cities dote on the University of Minnesota&rsquo;s program.In a perverse way, Minnesota&rsquo;s well-documented affection for the game might have contributed to the North Stars&rsquo; attendance troubles. Green apparently didn&rsquo;t realize at first that selling tickets might require more than hanging an &ldquo;Open&rdquo; sign on the box office.&ldquo;I thought I had to create the right kind of atmosphere and the right kind of building,&rdquo; he told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. &ldquo;I thought those two things ought to be enough.&rdquo;If Green was wrong, he&rsquo;s certainly trying to correct the oversight. Go to the Met Center now, and you get the full package. Maybe even a glimpse or two of a professional hockey game, providing you don&rsquo;t get too distracted by the side shows.Jasons I and II&mdash;they&rsquo;re the guys with &ldquo;Lucky Star $&rdquo; emblazoned on their sweaters, just in case the goalie masks don&rsquo;t establish their identity&mdash;spend most of the evening trying to distribute some of Green&rsquo;s cash back to the fans. Another inventive Minnesota recycling program.And let&rsquo;s not forget the trumpeter who roamed the building during a recent game. At one point, he tried to coax what passed for a crowd into cutting loose with the traditional &ldquo;Charge&rdquo; cry.The muted response sounded distressingly like a stomach growling.Then there is the Electric Stars performance team. That&rsquo;s a collection of young people with North Stars caps, black pants, white sweatshirts, saccharine smiles and an annoying habit of gyrating in the aisles any time there&rsquo;s a stoppage in play.Couple them with the blaring music that appears to activate their limbs and you have a disco with multi-colored seats and a $28.50 cover charge.That, it seems, is entertainment, or at least what&rsquo;s passing for it in Bloomington these days. It certainly isn&rsquo;t hockey.And if Minnesota needs the former to be attracted to the latter, perhaps it&rsquo;s time for the state to admire&mdash;or more to the point, ignore&mdash;its professional hockey team from a distance.Dave Molinari is a hockey writer for the Pittsburgh Press. &#9632;

f0022-01

MET CENTER HAS BECOME HOUSE OF HORRORS

Dec. 11, 1985: Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; center Wayne Gretzky ties an NHL record for the most assists in a road game in a 12-9 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Gretzky joins Detroit&rsquo;s Billy Taylor in the record book. Taylor picked up seven assists in a 10-6 road win over Chicago on March 16, 1947.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02565/5821164-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="636" height="403"><figcaption class="caption-body">Wayne Gretzky</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0022-02

FLASHBACK

<h2>JETS</h2>Shawn Cronin made history Nov. 24 in Quebec. The defenseman&rsquo;s accomplishment didn&rsquo;t exactly send shockwaves throughout the NHL, but it did create a stir in Winnipeg where Cronin has become somewhat of a folk hero. Cronin took a pass from Thomas Steen and fired a shot that was blocked by the Nordiques. The puck came right back to Cronin who stepped into the slot and rifled it by goalie Ron Tugnutt 45 seconds into an 11-4 victory. It was his first goal in the NHL in his 82nd game. &ldquo;It was a great feeling,&rdquo; said Cronin the Barbarian, who is known more for his fists than his finesse. &ldquo;I was more excited about getting a goal to get ahead more than anything else but that first one is great and the donation to the kids is great.&rdquo; McDonald&rsquo;s restaurants donated $4,400 to the Jets Goals for Kids foundation in honor of No. 44&rsquo;s accomplishment and will donate another $440 for each of Cronin&rsquo;s subsequent goals&hellip;Brent Ashton reached a milestone Nov. 25. The much-travelled 30-year-old dressed for the 173rd time in a Winnipeg uniform, the highest number of games he&rsquo;s spent with any one team in a 12-year NHL career. Ashton entered the league in 1979, playing 124 games with Vancouver, 156 with the Colora-do/New Jersey franchise, 97 with Minnesota, 172 in Quebec and 108 with Detroit.<h2>CANUCKS</h2>Goalie Kirk McLean, who led the NHL with 63 appearances last season, continued his nightmarish campaign by giving up six goals for the second game in a row in a 6-4 defeat to Minnesota Nov. 23. McLean, however, was sharp in relief of Troy Gamble in a 4-1 win over Chicago Nov. 21. Gamble, who has put together a brilliant rookie season, was burned twice by Brett Hull in a 3-3 tie with St. Louis Nov. 24. Hull was a non-factor in Gamble&rsquo;s first career shutout, a 4-0 win over the Blues at Pacific Coliseum Oct. 12. Hull didn&rsquo;t record a shot on goal that game&hellip;The Canucks played a lineup featuring eight rookies&mdash;slumping veterans Dan Quinn and Petri Skriko were scratched&mdash;in their second meeting against St. Louis. &ldquo;A lot of people underestimate Vancouver, but they don&rsquo;t know how good they are,&rdquo; said Blues&rsquo; coach Brian Sutter. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re young, but they&rsquo;re a very tough, fast-skating hockey team.&rdquo;&hellip;After going 13 games without scoring, center Igor Larionov had goals in consecutive games against Calgary and Chicago, Nov. 19 and 21&hellip;Canucks won for the 11th time this season when they beat Chicago in their 22nd game. Canucks didn&rsquo;t win their 11th last year until Dec. 12, their 31st game.<h2>OILERS</h2>Coach John Muckier would like to see Esa Tikkanen revert to his pesky, obnoxious ways on the ice. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got to be feisty and upsetting,&rdquo; said Muckier of the 25-year-old Finn. &ldquo;If he goes back to playing the way he used to play, everything else will take care of itself.&rdquo; Tikkanen had five goals through games of Nov. 24, but four have come in two matches against Vancouver. &ldquo;In Tik&rsquo;s defense, it&rsquo;s tough to catch up when you missed training camp. That&rsquo;s not an excuse, that&rsquo;s a fact,&rdquo; said Muckier, alluding to the fact Tikkanen underwent arthroscopic knee surgery the first week of August and missed the pre-season&hellip;Mark Messier drew his 600th assist on Charlie Huddy&rsquo;s goal 21 seconds into a 4-1 win in Toronto Nov. 24. &ldquo;I guess if that&rsquo;s a milestone, it&rsquo;s okay,&rdquo; said Messier,&rdquo;but it&rsquo;s a long way from any record&hellip;Craig Simpson is starting to find the net for the Oilers after a slow start. The 23-year-old had two goals in Toronto, giving him seven in an eightgame span.<h2>FLAMES</h2>From the some-guys-will-do-any thing-to-get-back-into-the-lineup-department: Right winger Tim Hunter, out since the second game of the season because of a tom shoulder muscle, ran over center Joel Otto in a Nov. 21 practice session. Otto suffered a severe charley horse on the play and missed the Flames&rsquo; next two games. So who fills Otto&rsquo;s spot? You guessed it, Hunter&hellip;Flames&rsquo; GM Cliff Fletcher says he opposes the idea of a draft lottery similar to the National Basketball Association. The question of a lottery came up after Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; defenseman Michel Petit charged his former team, the Quebec Nordiques, were tanking games in order to finish last overall and get the first pick in the entry draft. &ldquo;My theory is this,&rdquo; said Fletcher. &ldquo;If you get a team like Pittsburgh who gets 80 points last year and they already have a Mario Lemieux and it&rsquo;s an Eric Lindros year and they win the lottery, well, that&rsquo;s not what you&rsquo;re trying to accomplish with the draft,&rdquo; said Fletcher.<h2>KINGS</h2>A 4-2 win in Montreal Nov. 24 was the Kings&rsquo; second there in 18 games, a stretch covering 11 seasons. The Kings were 1-14-2 in Montreal in the previous 17 games&hellip;Tim Watters was unconscious for about a minute following a collision with right winger Frank Breault in the morning skate before the Canadiens&rsquo; game. Watters was taken to Montreal General Hospital for X-rays and a CATscan. Except for a headache, he was fine. &ldquo;It was a little scary. I&rsquo;d never been knocked out before,&rdquo; Watters said&hellip;Left winger Luc Robitaille&rsquo;s suspension for attempting to injure Craig Simpson ended with the Nov. 27 game in Detroit. He was eligible to return from the four-game penalty Nov. 29 in St. Louis, the Kings&rsquo; last of five straight road games. &#9632;

CRONIN’S GOAL PAYS OFF FOR KIDS

<div class="byline">BY RICK SADOWSKI</div>Nearly every puck that touches Tomas Sandstrom&rsquo;s stick has been turning to goal.The Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; right winger shrugged off a sore right eye to end a three-week-long slump. He broke out with eight goals in three games, a hot streak that included the fifth and sixth hat tricks of his career.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting the puck a lot,&rdquo; said the soft-spoken Sandstrom, whose 17 goals in 23 games were second in the NHL to St. Louis&rsquo; Brett Hull.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s just unbelievable. Once in a while you can&rsquo;t put anything in. Now, they&rsquo;re all going in. I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;ve ever had a streak like this before. I just go out and try to play hard. I&rsquo;m just happy to be playing.&rdquo;Sandstrom was fortunate to be playing at all.In a Nov. 14 game against Buffalo, he was struck beneath the right eye by a puck shot by Sabres&rsquo; defenseman Greg Brown. Sandstrom wears a visor, but the puck went underneath it when he turned his head. Over a week later, the eye was still bloodshot and the area beneath it was discolored and swollen.Sandstrom, in the midst of a one goal-in-eight games slump, visited an eye specialist and was cleared to continue playing.&ldquo;I never even thought about missing any time,&rdquo; he said.The Kings were glad he didn&rsquo;t.Sandstrom scored three goals and set up the game-winner in a 5-4 decision over New Jersey Nov. 20. He scored twice in a 6-3 loss to Calgary Nov. 22, then added three more goals Nov. 24 when the Kings defeated Montreal 4-2.Sandstrom failed to score a goal Nov. 25 in the Kings&rsquo;s 4-4 tie with Quebec, but he did contribute two assists.&ldquo;You might say he&rsquo;s a little hot,&rdquo; coach Tom Webster said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to see him taking advantage of his opportunities. He went through a spell before where he wasn&rsquo;t shooting, so this is very encouraging. We need his goals.&rdquo;General manager Rogie Vachon took quite a bit of heat for shipping Bernie Nicholls to the New York Rangers last Jan. 20 in exchange for Sand-strom and Tony Granato, but recently there have been few complaints.When Sandstrom chipped a 10-footer over the glove of Montreal&rsquo;s Patrick Roy at 2:19 of the second period to complete his hat trick and hike the Kings&rsquo; lead to 3-1, club owner Bruce McNall turned to Vachon in the press box and muttered,&rdquo;Bernie who?&rdquo;Sandstrom and Granato have combined for 29 goals. Nicholls, a 70-goal man in 1989-90, had eight.&ldquo;(Sandstrom) is finding the holes and getting some breaks,&rdquo; linemate Wayne Gretzky said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to the net, he has a big reach, and he&rsquo;s got so much power. He&rsquo;s got a great shot.&rdquo;Sandstrom credited Gretzky, who assisted on six of his goals during the streak, and Granato, who had four assists.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never played with guys like Gretz and Tony before,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It seems like every time I get open, they find me. The way Gretz sees the game, it&rsquo;s scary sometimes.&rdquo;Sandstrom was a fairly frightening sight himself&hellip;to enemy goaltenders.<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 19: Mike Donnelly. LW. recalled from New Haven (AHL). Nov. 26: Luc Robitaille. LW. serving NHL-imposed suspension. Eligible to return Nov. 29.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Wayne Gretzky, Todd Elik, Steve Kasper. John McIntyre. Scott BjugstadLW&mdash;Tony Granato. Brad Jones, John Tonelli. Mike Donnelly.RW&mdash;Tomas Sandstrom, Dave Taylor, Bob Kudelski. Jay Miller, Frank Breault.LD&mdash;Steve Duchesne, Larry Robinson. Tim Watters. Brian Benning.RD&mdash;Rod Buskas. Marty McSorley. Rob BlakeG&mdash;Kelly Hrudey. Darnel Berthiaume.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tom Laidlaw. D, inflamed disc in back, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Sandstrom. 17. A&mdash;Gretzky. 30. P&mdash;Gretzky, 45. PIM&mdash;Granato. 64. &#9632;

SANDSTROM SHOWS OFF HIS MIDAS TOUCH

<div class="byline">BY MIKE BEAMISH</div>If you&rsquo;re Petri Skriko, you have to wonder about your future with the Vancouver Canucks.For six seasons a fixture at left wing in Vancouver, the 28-year-old Skriko was scratched for four of five games ending Nov. 25. The play of rookiesRobert Kron and Garry Valk made him irrelevant. The days when coach Bob McCammon was forced to play veteran players such as Skriko, even when they weren&rsquo;t producing or putting out, appear to be over.Skriko opened the season at a pace notably improved from a season ago when his goal total slipped to 15 after four consecutive 30-plus goal seasons. But after going 11 games without a goal, Skriko was benched for the first time under McCammon Nov. 16 against the New York Islanders. He played Nov. 19 against Calgary, but, following another lacklustre effort, Skriko sat in the press box for three consecutive games.Skriko is being overshadowed by two 23-year-old rookie wingers who could keep him sitting out a long time.&ldquo;Obviously, it&rsquo;s not fun to sit out,&rdquo; said Skriko,&rdquo;but those things happen. I don&rsquo;t want to comment on it. I&rsquo;d much prefer not to say anything because in this situation it always causes trouble and I have to answer for it. I&rsquo;ve tried to work hard. That&rsquo;s all I can do. A lot of players here, like me, have lost their confidence.&rdquo;Valk, recalled Nov. 6 from Milwaukee of the International League, scored points in five straight games and had four goals and four assists in his first 10 games. After a slow start, Kron scored his third goal in four games as the Canucks upset the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 Nov. 21 at Pacific Coliseum.Kron, moved to right wing on a line with Valk and center Brian Bradley, scored his sixth goal of the season and Valk set up Bradley for his seventh as the Canucks overcame a 3-1 deficit to tie the Blues 3-3 Nov. 24 at St. Louis Arena.With newcomers Valk and Kron performing well, McCammon has some roster depth and the luxury of choice for the first time in his four-year tenure as Canucks&rsquo; coach.When Dan Quinn, the Canucks&rsquo; supposed No. 1 center, went 18 games without a goal, McCammon benched him too and inserted rookie Petr Nedved on the line with right winger Trevor Linden and left winger Dave Capuano. Quinn, obtained in a mid-season trade from Pittsburgh, was the Canucks&rsquo; leading scorer last season with 25 goals and 38 assists.Jack Gordon, who was often portrayed as a bungling Inspector Clouseau in his term as Canucks&rsquo; GM, deserves credit for tracking down some of the fresh faces who seem to want no part of the Canucks&rsquo; losing tradition.Gordon drafted rookie goalie sensation Troy Gamble in the second round in 1985 and Kron in the fifth round that year, after watching the perky Moravian winger in the European junior championships. Two of Gordon&rsquo;s scouts, Ron Delorme and Darcy Rota, discovered Valk in Tier II hockey in Alberta. He was taken in the fifth round in the &rsquo;87 draft, Pat Quinn&rsquo;s first as GM.Valk, who played three years at the University of North Dakota, is a classic NHL winger who likes to bump and bang and doesn&rsquo;t mince around.<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 19: Gino Odjick, LW, and Don Gibson, D, recalled from Milwaukee (IHL). Rob Murphy. C, and Jay Mazur, RW, assigned to Milwaukee for conditioning purposes.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Petr Nedved, Brian Bradley, Steve Bozek, Igor Larionov, Dan Quinn.LW&mdash;Dave Capuano, Garry Valk, Gino Odjick, Greg Adams, Petri Skriko, Craig Coxe.RW&mdash;Trevor Linden, Robert Kron, Stan Smyl, Jim Sandlak. Andrew McBain.LD&mdash;Doug Lidster, Kevan Guy, Don Gibson.RD&mdash;Garth Butcher, Jyrki Lumme, Robert Nordmark.G&mdash;Troy Gamble, Kirk McLean.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jim Agnew, D, sprained knee, indefinite. Adrien Plavsic. D, sprained knee, indefinite. Ron Stern, RW, broken wrist, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Linden, 11. A&mdash;Quinn, 14. P&mdash;Linden, 17. PIM&mdash;Agnew, 61. &#9632;

VETERANS WATCH AS YOUNGSTERS SHINE

<div class="byline">BY ERIC DUHATSCHEK</div>Mark it down as the second consecutive lost year in the career of Colin Patterson.Patterson, the Calgary Flames&rsquo; left winger, learned Nov. 21st he would&rsquo; need major reconstructive surgery to repair his right knee. Since it will take six to nine months from the date of the operation to recover, Patterson will miss the entire season.The injury occurred in a September exhibition game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on an innocent-looking play. Somebody in blue-and-white&mdash;and to this day, Patterson doesn&rsquo;t know who&mdash;bumped him as he shot.&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t even much of a hit,&rdquo; Patterson said,&rdquo;but all my weight went on my knee and it just gave way. It was just the position I was in after taking the shot.&rdquo;Originally, the injury was diagnosed as a hamstring pull. The Flames thought Patterson would only miss a maximum of four or five days.&ldquo;After we had it scoped, we realized it was a bit more serious than that,&rdquo; Patterson said.But it was weeks before that happened. Patterson was actually skating for five days in the meantime.&ldquo;We thought it was going to be all right,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When I was just going up and down the ice, it felt really good. We had some braces in and I was wearing them and feeling great. Then one day we did a drill when we were making tight turns and as soon as I made the turn, boom, I knew it wasn&rsquo;t right.&ldquo;Then I waited a few days and tried again. Now, it just happens consistently.&rdquo;Patterson met with Cy Frank, the specialist who used to treat coach Doug Risebrough&rsquo;s knees, to get the diagnosis confirmed: A tom anterior cruciate ligament. His injury is similar to the one center Joe Nieuwendyk suffered at last year&rsquo;s world championships. So why does Patterson need surgery when Nieuwendyk did not?&ldquo;I asked the same question myself,&rdquo; Patterson said. &ldquo;The short answer is that everybody&rsquo;s different.It depends on a lot of variables, the shape of your knee, the way your muscles react to it, whether you&rsquo;ve damaged any cartilage, things like that.&ldquo;I knew that something was wrong. My knee kept shifting out on me, even doing the simplest everyday stuff.&rdquo;In the next couple of weeks, Patterson must choose a surgeon to perform the operation. The injury occurred during the third exhibition game of the season.&ldquo;After last year, after getting five goals and three assists, I was looking at this year as being my redemption season,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I started off in pre-season and things were going pretty well. I felt good.&ldquo;Career-wise, I figured this would be an important year because if you have two bad years in a row, all of a sudden, people aren&rsquo;t looking at you anymore. But if you follow a bad year with a good year, they just write it off as one bad season.&rdquo;However, he is optimistic that he can get his career back on track.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve kept myself in pretty good shape. This past summer, I worked pretty hard. So I&rsquo;m not worried about the conditioning part of it. And I&rsquo;ve seen enough guys come back from the injury that it&rsquo;s not going to be something that wears on my mind all the time. I&rsquo;ll think about it, but I think I&rsquo;ll know better after a month or two of working out.&ldquo;Plus, this summer, I&rsquo;ll play summer hockey. In summers before, I haven&rsquo;t. I&rsquo;d just go out a couple of weeks before camp opens and skate. But you know I&rsquo;m going to miss basically a year and a half, so I&rsquo;m going to have to work on it all summer.&rdquo;<h2>CALGARY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, Robert Reichel. Gary Roberts, Jiri Hrdina.LW&mdash;Paul Ranheim, Tim Sweeney, Brian MacLellan, Stephane Matteau, Sergei Priakin.RW&mdash;Sergei Makarov, Theo Fleury. Mark Hunter, Tim Hunter.LD&mdash;Gary Suter, Jamie Macoun, Frank Musil.RD&mdash;Al Maclnnis, Ric Nattress, Dana Murzyn, Roger Johansson.G&mdash;Mike Vernon, Rick Wamsley.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Joel Otto, C, Charley horse, day-to-day. Colin Patterson, LW, torn anterior cruciate, right knee, out for season.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Nieuwendyk, 15. A&mdash;Maclnnis, 26. P&mdash;Maclnnis, 35. PIM&mdash;Roberts, 57. &#9632;

PATTERSON’S ‘COMEBACK’ YEAR ENDS EARLY

<div class="byline">BY GRANT MCGINNIS</div>For most opponents of the Winnipeg Jets this season, the only ice necessary for post-game therapy has been found in their celebratory cocktails.In the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; dressing quarters Nov. 18, there was plenty of ice. Bags of the stuff on knees and shoulders and necks.Perhaps it&rsquo;s just coincidence&mdash;yes, the losing side usually hurts more more than the winners&mdash;but the Jets did something that night they hadn&rsquo;t done all year. Hit.In the week that followed, with bruising Paul MacDermid and big Brent Ashton back in the lineup, the Jets did become more physical although it only yielded one win in four starts on the road.&ldquo;I think our whole physical game has been at a low point,&rdquo; Jets&rsquo; assistant coach Clare Drake acknowledged. &ldquo;We addressed that very problem at our meeting before the (St. Louis) game. We were questioning our physical presence and whether or not other teams feel too comfortable when they&rsquo;re playing against us.&rdquo;The answer to that is a resounding &ldquo;yes.&rdquo;Winnipeg is the least penalized team in the NHL (they were averaging 15.5 minutes per game through Nov. 25). And for good reason.It isn&rsquo;t because they&rsquo;re so well-disciplined as coach Bob Murdoch would like you to believe. It&rsquo;s because they&rsquo;re prone to taking the easy way out.Against St. Louis, the Jets started out hitting and returned to more physical hockey in the third period in time to record a 4-3 comeback win. It was the first time this season Winnipeg had won a game it trailed after one or two periods.It was thanks largely to the return of Ashton.It&rsquo;s no coincidence the Jets&rsquo; string of no-hitters was extended while Ashton nursed a groin strain for seven games and MacDermid missed the same number with back spasms.Ashton, MacDermid and their departed linemate Paul Fenton developed a knack last spring of altering the course of a game with their physical play. Defensemen who are about to get throttled tend to be more erratic than those allowed to cruise unimpeded.Few others&mdash;save for the hyperaggressive but undersized duo of Phil Sykes and Doug Evans&mdash;have shown any desire to bother opponentsThe Jets are no longer a tiny team, a longtime excuse. Newcomers such as Mark Osborne (6-foot-2, 205 pounds), Ed Olczyk (6-1, 200), Don Barber (6-1, 205) and Scott Arniel (6-1, 190) are plenty big.With the return of MacDermid and Ashton, the Jets may have been more physical but they weren&rsquo;t any more successful. Only an 11-4 laugher over Quebec Nov. 24 salvaged another sorry road trip, after which the club&rsquo;s record was 9-15-2. The Jets were wt^ ners only twice in their previous starts, only three times on the road all season.<h2>WINNIPEG</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Thomas Steen, Ed Olczyk, Brent Ashton, Dave McLIwain.LW&mdash;Mark Osborne, Scott Arniel, Doug Evans, Phil Sykes.RW&mdash;Pat Elynuik, Paul MacDermid, Greg Paslawski, Danton Cole, Don Barber, Mark Kumpel.LD&mdash;Phil Housley, Randy Carlyle, Shawn Cronin.RD&mdash;Teppo Numminen, Fredrik Olaus-son, Gord Donnelly.G&mdash;Bob Essensa, Rick Tabaracci.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Moe Mantha. D, bruised ankle, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Elynuik, 9. A&mdash;Steen, 19. P&mdash;Steen, 25. PIM&mdash;Donnelly, 69. &#9632;

PLAYING BIGGER DOESN’T MAKE CLUB ANY BETTER

<div class="byline">BY DICK CHUBEY</div>The trade was Takko for Bellsalsa not included.General manager Glen Sather&rsquo;s latest deal was hardly a blockbuster and not intended to alter the course of NHL history&hellip;although the Edmonton Oilers would settle for anything for a simple change of luck on the road this season.Goaltender Kari Takko, acquired Nov. 22 in exchange for minor league defenseman Bruce Bell and future considerations, came off the bench to replace an oozy Bill Ranford and backboned the Oilers to a 4-1 victory over the 21 st-ranked Toronto Maple Leafs Nov. 24. In Toronto, no less.Another masterful Sather trade?&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see,&rdquo; smiled Sather. &ldquo;The guy does have ability, he&rsquo;s a good goalie. Besides, I needed a Finnish guy to keep Tik happy.&rdquo;Not a bad move considering Esa Tikkanen also scored his first goal in 17 games as the Oilers won for the first time on the road (1-7-1) this season.Ranford, who had started 43 straight regular-season and playoff games, was kayoed with 2:22 remaining in the first period on the Leafs&rsquo; lone goal. Former Oiler Mike Krushelnyski re-directed a pass into the net for his first goal as a Leaf and carried on, knocking Ranford to the ice and out cold.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what happened, but (assistant coach) Ron Low said I got kicked in the head,&rdquo; said Ranford, who wasn&rsquo;t expected to miss his next start.In came Takko and the 27-year-old Finn finished with 29 saves, including 17 during the second period.&ldquo;He played great, he played really well,&rdquo; said Ranford, who watched the game on TV in the dressing room. &ldquo;When you come in like that you have nothing to lose, either you play well or you don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;Takko wasn&rsquo;t arguing.&ldquo;It was just one of those nights when it worked out for me. After last season, I don&rsquo;t have anything to lose,&rdquo; said Takko, who made his first appearance since a 5-4 Minnesota loss in Toronto Oct. 30. &ldquo;I was so down last year and early this year from not playing. This was only 40 minutes of hockey, boys, and there&rsquo;s 60 games left&hellip;but I needed it big time!&rdquo;Coach John Muckier was impressed with Takko&rsquo;s debut.With Takko&rsquo;s arrival, Pokey Reddick, who has backed up Ranford for 19 NHL games this season, was sent to Cape Breton (AHL).&ldquo;Pokey hasn&rsquo;t played and we need three goalkeepers in our organization in case we run into injuries,&rdquo; explained Muckier. &ldquo;This gives us insurance. We&rsquo;ll make a decision on Pokey somewhere along the line, but, in the meantime, he&rsquo;s got to get playing.&rdquo;Reddick wasn&rsquo;t overwhelmed with the news.&ldquo;If I get picked up on waivers so much the better,&rdquo; said Reddick, who would relish a trade to another NHL team. &ldquo;You go from playing 40-50 games (in the NHL) to none, how could you be happy in the American League? But, you don&rsquo;t have any say, you just go. At least I&rsquo;ll get playing and maybe things will work out for the better.&rdquo;<h2>EDMONTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 22: Bruce Bell, D, and a conditional draft pick traded to Minnesota for KaTakko, G. Eldon Reddick, G. assigned to Cape Breton (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mark Messier, Mark Lamb, Craig MacTavish, Ken Linseman, Esa Tikkanen.LW&mdash;Craig Simpson, Petr Klima, Martin Gelinas, Adam Graves.RW&mdash;Glenn Anderson, Joe Murphy, Kelly Buchberger, Max Middendorf, Dave Brown, Anatoli Semenov.LD&mdash;Kevin Lowe. Steve Smith, Geoff Smith.RD&mdash;Craig Muni, Charlie Huddy, Chris Joseph, Jeff Beukeboom.G&mdash;-Bill Ranford, Kari Takko.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Simpson, 10. A&mdash;S. Smith, 10. P&mdash;Simpson, 18. PIM&mdash;S. Smith, 71. &#9632;

TAKKO DEAL SEES QUICK RETURN

<div class="byline">BY NICK GATES</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01709/5821339-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Carlson brothers, from left, Jeff, Steve and Jack helped spawn the movie Slap Shot. Steve Carlson, inset, now coaches the Johnstown Chiefs.</figcaption></div>It might not be one of the greatest movies of all time, but Slap Shot is considered by many to be one of the best hockey movies.In Johnstown, Pa., where the movie starring Paul Newman was filmed in 1975, it is as much a part of history as the Great Hood of 1889, the steel mills or this season&rsquo;s 50th anniversary of minorleague hockey.&ldquo;It seems like (the movie) was just yesterday,&rdquo; says Steve Carlson, coach of the Johnstown Chiefs of the East Coast League. &ldquo;The questions never stop.&rdquo;Carlson, 35, and older brothers Jeff and Jack played for the 1974-75 Johnstown Jets, the North American League championship team on which Slap Shot was based.&ldquo;We played as a line,&rdquo; Carlson says. &ldquo;I was the skilled player and I actually got a lot of room because my brothers would beat the hell out of anyone who got near me. Our philosophy was to search and destroy and we created havoc.&rdquo;The similarity between the Jets and the mythical Charlestown Chiefs was that Steve and Jeff Carlson&mdash;with former Jets&rsquo; defenseman Dave Hanson&mdash;played the infamous Hansen brothers (Steve, Jeff and Jack) in the movie and the Chiefs also had a player named Dave Carlsen.However, the similarity between the 1990-91 ECHL team and the Federal League Chiefs is in nickname only. Johnstown is not Charlestown revisited.&ldquo;Not at all,&rdquo; Carlson explains. &ldquo;If it was a reflection of me, we&rsquo;d play short-handed the whole game.&ldquo;Hockey is a physical game. You&rsquo;ve got to have finesse players, but you&rsquo;ve also got to have someone to go into the comers and get the puck.&rdquo;Carlson&rsquo;s Chiefs were sixth in penalty minutes (398) this season after 10 games and he doesn&rsquo;t advocate dirty play.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t tell them to crunch people into the boards,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I ask them to take the man out.&rdquo;Carlson, who met his wife Lynn in Johnstown, was an assistant coach in Baltimore of the American League when he learned about the coaching vacancy in Johnstown three years ago. He leaped at the opportunity to coach in Johnstown.Carlson led the league in scoring in &rsquo;74-75 with the Jets. He had 79 points in 70 games while Jack had 248 penalty minutes in only 50 games with 49 points.But the Carlson brothers were just a few players in a long line to wear the uniforms of the Johnstown Blue Birds (1941-42), Jets (1950-77), Wings (1978-79), Red Wings (1979-80) and Chiefs (since 1987).Dick Roberge and Don Hall, whose numbers were retired Nov. 9 as part of Johnstown&rsquo;s season-long celebration, became Eastern League legends. Eddie Johnston, who is now the general manager at Hartford, John Muckier, coach of the Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers, and New York Rangers&rsquo; assistant GM Larry Pleau all played in Johnstown.Steve Carlson, a hard-working center whose pro career lasted nine seasons, also made it to the big leagues&mdash;playing one season with the Los Angeles Kings (1979-80) after four seasons in the World Hockey Association with Minnesota and New England (from 1975-76 to 1978-79). His first pro season came after the movie when he joined Jack in the WHA with Minnesota. Jeff also played for the Fighting Saints that season.Steve admits playing with his brothers was beneficial and fun.&ldquo;I called them my protectors,&rdquo; he says. When Steve played he was 6-foot-3, 180 pounds while Jack and Jeff were both 6-foot-3 and 205 and 210 pounds respectively. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not saying they didn&rsquo;t have talent. Jack played six seasons in the NHL (with Minnesota and St. Louis). He got called up (part way through the 1974-75 season) and never played in the minors again.&rdquo;Jack was with the Fighting Saints and wasn&rsquo;t available to join Steve and Jeff for the movie and was replaced by Dave Hanson&mdash;who went on to rack up over 500 penalty minutes in 133 games in the WHA and NHL (from 1976-77 to &rsquo;79-80).The eccentric Hansens, who wore thick, blackrimmed glasses played for the Chiefs and spawned a booster club sporting false noses and glasses.Off the ice, the fictional Hansens played with toy cars; on the ice they taped their fists with aluminum foil for fighting. They also skated by the opponents&rsquo; bench using their sticks like kids running a branch along a picket fence. They were assassins goaded on by aging Reggie Dunlop, the main character played by Newman.The screenplay was written by Nancy Dowd, the sister of Jets&rsquo; forward Ned Dowd. Ned Dowd took a tape recorder into Johnstown&rsquo;s dressing room to document the Jets&rsquo; ascension from basement to penthouse.Carlson admits to similarities between the Carlsons and Hansens. However, he says the film was 50 per cent fact, 50 per cent fiction.&ldquo;Where we went into the stands and got arrested happened in Utica, N.Y.,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;And we really did jump a team during warmups.&rdquo;Carlson was paid $10,000 for his role. He had no prior acting experience and didn&rsquo;t need any.&ldquo;It was easy,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We were in our environment. All we had to do was act natural. We knew how to go in the stands.&rdquo;There are people in hockey who abhor violence and consider Slap Shot degrading and detrimental to the sport. Carlson disagrees.&ldquo;Have you seen a better hockey movie?&rdquo; Carlson asks.&ldquo;You must take it for what it is&hellip;an entertaining, off-the-wall comedy,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;If you do, you&rsquo;ll enjoy it.&rdquo;If a hockey team travels by bus, the movie can usually be found among the videos.Chiefs&rsquo; GM John Daley agrees there is an appeal about the movie. &ldquo;Some people up in Canada are just nuts about the movie,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a real cult thing.&rdquo;Rumors of a sequel have circulated in Johnstown for years and there was a reunion of players from the &rsquo;74-75 Jets earlier this season as a promotion for the Chiefs. &#9632;

f0030-01

SLAP SHOT-PART II

<div class="byline">BY NICK GATES</div>Inconsistent is the only way to describe the early season plight of the Nashville Knights.Coach Peter Horachek&rsquo;s team lost its first three games, then bounced back to win five of seven.Nashville showed its split personality during a Nov. 16-17 road trip to Hampton Roads and Knoxville.The Knights were blitzed by the Admirals 10-3 in the first game, then ambushed the league-leading Cherokees 8-5 the next night behind the stellar goaltending of John Reid and a pair of short-handed goals by center Glen En-gevik.&ldquo;We were coming off probably our worst game of the season,&rdquo; Horacek said after saddling Knoxville with its first home-ice loss. &ldquo;We had a 10-hour bus trip before playing the best team in the league and we played our best game.&rdquo;Engevik&rsquo;s penalty killing enabled Nashville to erase a 3-1 deficit in the first period. He also picked up two assists. An assigned pro from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Engevik led the Knights in scoring with nine goals and six assists in 10 games and was named ECHL player of the week for the period ending Nov. 18.&ldquo;We allowed three quick goals and were demoralized,&rdquo; Horacek said. &ldquo;Engevik&rsquo;s goal gave us the momentum heading into the second period.&ldquo;The guys came out and got themselves back in the game. I&rsquo;m proud of the way they responded.&rdquo;Reid stopped 46 shots and foiled seven Knoxville power plays before the Cherokees struck seconds after a two-man edge expired.A blistering slapshot in the second period cracked the top of Reid&rsquo;s facemask. The stunned netminder had no choice but continue because Alain Raymond had been called up by the International League&rsquo;s Peoria Rivermen earlier in the day.&ldquo;I was worried the one time he went down,&rdquo; Horacek said. &ldquo;We had only the one goaltender. I told him no matter what, you can&rsquo;t get hurt.&rdquo;<h2>WAIVE GOODBYE</h2>Knoxville waived center Pat Noiseux, the team&rsquo;s all-time (47) and single-season (38 in 1988-89) goal scorer Nov. 17 and traded left winger Todd Norman to Louisville for future considerations&hellip;Goalie John Blue was sent to Knoxville from Kalamazoo (IHL) on Nov. 14 and won his first start 7-4 over Greensboro on Nov. 16&hellip;Hampton Roads led the league in attendance (41,191) after six games. The Admirals averaged 6,865, more than any team in the AHL&hellip;Erie coach Ron Hansis&rsquo; assessment of his team&rsquo;s play after a9-7 loss at Cincinnati on Nov. 13: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t call that hockey. To me that was just throw the puck on the pond and let&rsquo;s have a good time.&rdquo; The Panthers are 0-4-1 on the road&hellip;Cincinnati (0-6) is still looking for its first point away from home&hellip;Roanoke Valley coach Claude Noel received an automatic two-game suspension after center Scott MacPherson left the penalty box during a fight at Greensboro on Nov, 13&mdash;a 3-2 win over Roanoke Valley. MacPherson served his three-game suspension and then retired Nov. 19&hellip;Left winger Wayne Muri was returned the Rebels Nov. 15 after playing one game at Cape Breton of the American League. &#9632;

NASHVILLE’S PLAY LIKE KNIGHT AND DAY

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN OKLOBZIJA AND PAUL ABRAMOWITZ</div>Like the NHL, the American League is having potential franchises think twice about its expansion fee&mdash;and wanting to negotiate.The AHL wants $750,000 (U.S.) to grant a 16th franchise to St. John&rsquo;s, Nfld., but the city of 161,000&mdash;which would own the team&mdash;thinks it&rsquo;s too much to pay.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not prepared to pay that,&rdquo; St. John&rsquo;s ity manager Frank Power said Nov. 19, after Tailing to negotiate a compromise with the AHL&rsquo;s expansion committee in Boston.&ldquo;With all due respect to them, we have not been able to justify where that figure came from,&rdquo; he said,&rdquo;and frankly, neither have they, but they don&rsquo;t have to, that&rsquo;s the price they set. We did meet with them and we basically agreed to disagree on a number of things.&rdquo;St. John&rsquo;s has a five-year agreement for affiliation with the Minnesota North Stars for operation in the 1991-92 season. But it&rsquo;s unlikely the city will receive the franchise.The AHL wasn&rsquo;t overly receptive to the idea, anyway, as many teams thought Newfoundland was too remote. Besides the steep expansion fee, another stipulation was that St. John&rsquo;s subsidize travel and lodging costs as some International League teams must do.&ldquo;On the positive side, we&rsquo;re not giving up.&rdquo; Power said. &ldquo;The city of St. John&rsquo;s is still interested and we think the AHL is interested in us.&rdquo;AHL expansion committee chairman Peter Cooney said talks will resume.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01653/5821394-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="709" height="792"><figcaption class="caption-body">Owen Nolan watched his first Halifax game from the press box.</figcaption></div>Owen Nolan and Keith Primeau, the first and third players selected in last June&rsquo;s entry draft, were at the Glens Falls Civic Center Nov. 21. Nolan&rsquo;s Halifax Citadels lost 7-4 to Primeau&rsquo;s Adirondack Red Wings.Nolan, sent down Nov. 20, and Primeau, sent down Nov. 15, were on two-week conditioning stints, but Nolan watched his first Halifax game from the press box. Primeau, being converted to a left winger from center, played his second game for the Red Wings. In two games, he had two goals and two assists.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough to adjust to the NHL, but when you change positions it&rsquo;s even tougher,&rdquo; said Primeau, who had no goals and two assists in 13 games with Detroit.Nolan, the sixth No. 1 pick overall to play in the AHL, was assigned by Quebec, which had lost 13 straight games. Nolan had a goal and two assists in 15 games.&ldquo;Because the team is losing a lot of games,&rdquo; Nolan said,&rdquo;they didn&rsquo;t want me to get used to the atmosphere of losing.&rdquo;<h2>LONG COMMUTE</h2>The Los Angeles Kings complain about their travel problems, but here&rsquo;s what Utica&rsquo;s Myles O&rsquo;Connor went through in one day.On Nov. 12, the defenseman learned he was to report to New Jersey. So he got up at 7 a.m. the next day to take a cab from Newmarket, Ont.&mdash;where the Devils were playing that night&mdash;to the Toronto airport to fly to Newark, N.J.O&rsquo;Connor then took a cab from the Newark airport to a nearby hotel, went to grab a bite to eat, then returned to his room to be told that Eric Weinrich&rsquo;s illness wouldn&rsquo;t keep him out of the game and O&rsquo;Connor wasn&rsquo;t needed.So O&rsquo;Connor took a cab back to the Newark airport, flew to Toronto, took another cab to Newmarket and was in the Utica dressing room before his teammates for that night&rsquo;s game with the Saints&mdash;a 6-5 Devils&rsquo; win in overtime.<h2>10 TO FIVE</h2>Maine Mariner defenseman Bruce Shoebottom had a 10-game suspension reduced to five after the AHL reviewed the incident in which Shoebottom head-butted linesman Brad Weeden late in the first period of a Nov. 17 game against Moncton&mdash;a 6-0 Hawks&rsquo; win.Shoebottom and Moncton defenseman Bryan Marchment got into a fight with 3:10 left in the first period. Weeden and fellow linesman John Costello stepped in, but Costello had trouble containing Marchment, who got in a few punches. In an effort to get free, Shoebottom headbutted Weeden and received a Category II physical abuse of officials infraction from referee Dennis LaRue that calls for a suspension of at least 10 games. The ruling was switched to Category III (at least a three-game suspension).<h2>CITADELS NO. 1</h2>On the day the Nordiques assigned Nolan, they also sent Everett Sanipass and recently acquired Scott Pearson to Halifax. That gave the Citadels eight No. 1 picks on their roster&mdash;not all by Quebec. The eight: Pearson (No. 6 overall by Toronto in 1988), Nolan (No. 1 by Quebec in 1990), Sanipass (No. 14 by Chicago in &rsquo;86), Dave Latta (No. 15 by Vancouver in &rsquo;85), Ken McRae (No. 18 by Quebec in &rsquo;86), Trevor Stienburg (No. 15 by Quebec in &rsquo;84), Daniel Dore (No. 5 by Quebec in &rsquo;88) and Shawn Anderson (No. 5 by Buffalo in &rsquo;86)&hellip;Referee Dennis LaRue was delayed in arriving to Sydney for the Nov. 18 game against Fredericton because his plane was fogged in at Halifax. Lucky for the Cape Breton Oilers that Sydney native Alf Lejeune, a former AHL and NHL referee, was at the game. Lejeune heard on the radio the game was being delayed, and brought his gear to the rink. He worked the first period before LaRue took over for the last two periods&hellip;Cape Breton defenseman Bruce Bell had a change of scenery when he was traded Nov. 22. The parent Edmonton Oilers traded him to Minnesota for goalie Kari Takko. Takko reported to the Oilers, while Bell reported to the Kalamazoo Wings of the International League. &#9632;

f0031-01

ST. JOHN’S BALKS AT LEAGUE’S EXPANSION FEE

<div class="byline">BY ADAM TEICHER AND BILL PICKETT</div>In his first six seasons with the IHL in various capacities, Tom Berry never once saw the IHL commissioner have to suspend a player for as many as 10 games.A quarter of the way through this season, his second as commissioner, Berry has already handed down four 10-game suspensions.Mickey Volcan of Phoenix became the fourth player to get a 10-game suspension Nov. 14 after Berry determined Volcan abused the referee in a Nov. 9 game at Salt Lake City. Earlier, 10-game suspensions were given to Scott Shaughnessy of Muskegon, Jim Revenberg of Milwaukee and Mike Butters of Fort Wayne.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not interested in handing out 10-game suspensions,&rdquo; Berry said. &ldquo;This is a developmental league. We want to try to let the kids skate and they can&rsquo;t do that if they&rsquo;re sitting in the stands. But in two of the cases (Shaughnessy and Butters), a guy went over the boards (to join in a fight) and in two cases there was abuse of the officials. Neither one of those things enhance the game of hockey.&rdquo;Berry hopes that notice has been served. No suspensions were pending.&ldquo;I think things are back to normal,&rdquo; Berry said. &ldquo;I really don&rsquo;t think these things are a trend. These kind of things happen in the game of hockey and they all just happened within roughly a week&rsquo;s time.&rdquo;<h2>WINGS FLYING</h2>The Kalamazoo Wings set an IHL record Nov. 25 winning their 10th in a row on the road.The 6-3 win over the Kansas City Blades broke the record of nine road wins tied last season by the Wings. The Cincinnati Mohawks had set the mark in 1956-57.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just kind of quietly played our game,&rdquo; said Wings&rsquo; coach John Marks. &ldquo;We have a team where everyone contributes.&ldquo;Look at our scoring. We don&rsquo;t have any of the league&rsquo;s top three goal scorers or point leaders but most of our forwards are in double figures. Every line that goes on the ice is capable of scoring.&rdquo;The Wings tied the IHL record with a 4-3, shootout win at Milwaukee Nov. 7, then were home for more than two weeks.Kalamazoo experienced a few personnel changes in the two weeks.&ldquo;Brian DePalma (who had four goals and eight points in six games) was recalled earlier,&rdquo; Kalamazoo public relations director Steve Doherty said,&rdquo;and Kevin Evans and Brian Hayward were recalled by Minnesota Nov. 11.&rdquo;Evans was leading the Wings with 10 goals when he departed; Hayward had two victories and a 2.50 goals-against average &middot;They also lost defenseman Jayson More (traded to Montreal for Hayward) and right winger Scott Robinson had a sore back.Through it all, the Wings (18-3-0) built on their lead in the East Division over the Fort Wayne Komets (11-6-3). Kalamazoo had also moved into a first-place overall tie with the Peoria Rivermen (18-3-0).<h2>RIVERMEN GROUNDED</h2>The Milwaukee Admirals finally figured out how to sink the Peoria Rivermen.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02449/5821425-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="707" height="728"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Bruce had four game-winning goals in Peoria&rsquo;s streak.</figcaption></div>The Admirals put a stop to Peoria&rsquo;s professional record of 18 wins in a row by beating the Rivermen 5-3 Nov. 23. Milwaukee followed that up the next night by shutting out the Rivermen 1-0 in overtime.&ldquo;To go through 18 games winning them all is a pretty impressive feat,&rdquo; said Admirals&rsquo; coach Mike Murphy. &ldquo;A great deal of credit should be given to (Peoria&rsquo;s) coaches and to every player.&rdquo;&ldquo;It (the 5-3 win) was a very close game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It could have gone either way. No team dominated.&ldquo;In order to beat Peoria, you need great goaltending and that&rsquo;s what we got in both games.&rdquo; Steve Weeks played the first game while Steve McKichan earned the shutout the next night.Some facts and figures about Peoria&rsquo;s winning streak.&#9632; Nine different players were credited with game-winning goals in the 15 victories not decided in a shootout. Right winger Dave Bruce had four game-winners.&#9632; Of the 14 games not won in either overtime or a shootout, only two&mdash;win No. 3 Oct. 12 at Kansas City and win No. 18 Nov. 22 in Fort Wayne&mdash;were decided by one goal.&#9632; The streak&rsquo;s crucial goal came Nov. 10 in win No. 15 at home against Salt Lake City. With Peoria down 3-1, right winger Steve Tuttle scored at 12:18 of the third period, bringing the Rivermen to life. They eventually won 4-3 in a shootout.<h2>TRIPLE PLAY</h2>The defending Turner Cup champions put together three straight victories for the first time this season as the Indianapolis Ice climbed to two games above the.500 mark at 10-8-0.Coach Dave McDowall credited good goaltending for the three-games during which opponents managed just three goals.Last season&rsquo;s Hockey News minor league player of the year, Jim Waite, was in goal for the first two of those triumphs&mdash;an 8-2 win over Kansas City (Nov. 10) and a 2-1 victory at home against Muskegon (Nov. 16).Dominik Hasek returned from a one-game trip with the parent Chicago Blackhawks and shut out Salt Lake City 4-0 (Nov. 17).<h2>BACK TO BACK</h2>The Kansas City Blades won back-to-back games for the first time in their history, beating San Diego 7-4 Nov. 16 and Phoenix 5-3 Nov. 17 with goaltender Wade Flaherty making 50 saves against the Roadrunners. The Blades won both games on the road, where they hadn&rsquo;t won all season. Their 12 goals were also a veritable offensive eruption. They had scored 40 goals in their first 18 games. &ldquo;Better late than never,&rdquo; coach Doug Soetaert said. &#9632;

f0031-02

BERRY HANDS OUT ONE MORE SUSPENSION

<div class="byline">BY HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0032-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01698/5821456-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">With goaltenders like St-Hyacinthe&rsquo;s Martin Brodeur, it&rsquo;s no wonder scoring in the Quebec League is down. Not only this season, but the past five.</figcaption></div>The Quebec League is getting defensive&mdash;and it has nothing to do with its shoddy records at the Memorial Cup and NHL entry drafts.This is one of those stories that would be hard to believe were it not for documented proof.Long noted for its high-scoring, wide-open games, QMJHL teams finally appear almost as content to guard the net as readily as they attacked it in the past.Of course, some habits die hard.With players such as Trois-Rivieres&rsquo; Yanic Perreault, who had scored an incredible 34 goals and 79 assists in 24 games; his teammate Todd Gillingham (18-41-59 in 22 games); the Laval line of Denis Chalifoux (13-31-44 in 22 games), Martin Lapointe (21-21-42-in 25 games) and Jean Blouin (21-16-37 in 23 games), not to mention Drummondville teammates Eric Plante (22 goals) and rookie Rene Corbet (19), the red light still shines frequently.In fact, through the league&rsquo;s first 155 games this season, 1,270 goals, or an average of 8.193 were scored per game. This compares to an average of 8.446 (3,252 in 385 games) last season.Yet statistics don&rsquo;t lie. In 40 of the 155 games, a maximum of six goals were scored. In nine of those 40, three goals or fewer were scored.Already this season there has been a 1-0 victory by St-Hyacinthe against Laval; a 1-1 tie between Granby and St-Jean, and three games ending in 2-0 scores&mdash;Beauport over Victor-iaville. College Francais over Chicoutimi and Chicoutimi over Granby.It appears that the thought of playing defence no longer makes the stomachs of QMJHL players turn over.&ldquo;I would say there are lower-scoring games because the league is better balanced,&rdquo; St-Hyacinthe coach Norman Flynn says. &ldquo;No one team is getting clobbered around every game, like Verdun was when it was in the league. Now, even (newer) teams like Victoriaville and Beauport play exciting hockey.&rdquo;Some teams, such as the expansion Harfangs or the Granby Bisons, attempt to get involved in low-scoring games by necessity.Beauport, which stocked its team through waiver and midget drafts, doesn&rsquo;t have many scorers. The Harfangs, therefore, must play a defensive, almost tentative style, sitting back, waiting for scoring opportunities and then seizing what chances they get.&ldquo;We must play well defensively,&rdquo; Beauport coach Alain Chainey says. &ldquo;If we can shut down our opponents to bet ween 15 and 25 shots, play a defensive style, be patient and wait for our chances&hellip;&rdquo;So far the formula appears to be working. The Harfangs are a surprising fourth in the Dilio Division at 11-14-1. In nine of their 26 games, six goals or fewer were scored.And consider the plight of the 13-10-2 Bisons, third in the Lebel Division. Twelve of Granby&rsquo;s 25 games have been decided by six goals or fewer. With 85 goals against, the Bisons had the league&rsquo;s stingiest defence.&ldquo;In my case, my philosophy has always been that you have to keep the puck out of the net and play sound defence,&rdquo; Granby coach-general manager John Paris says. &ldquo;But this year that has become a necessity because we don&rsquo;t have the goal scorers. We have to play as a team because we don&rsquo;t have the potential to blow a team away.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing more pleasurable than coaching in a 3-2 game. The challenge is there and you have to be more aware of what&rsquo;s going on. When players get used to playing in tight, pressure situations, they react better.&rdquo;The defense-comes-first edict actually originated from QMJHL president Gilles Courteau at the beginning of the season.Displeased at having only 14 players from his league selected at last June&rsquo;s entry draft, not to mention seeing the QMJHL fail to win the Memorial Cup for a ninth consecutive year at Hamilton, Courteau thought a change in on-ice strategy might alter the league&rsquo;s fortunes. He delivered his message collectively to all 12 coaches at a closed-door meeting.Courteau is in a Catch-22 situation. He realizes the fans&mdash;the league&rsquo;s bread and butter&mdash;relish high-scoring games. But the president knew he must use his head, not his heart.&ldquo;Preparing a team for high competition is something different,&rdquo; Courteau says. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t exactly say to cut down the goals against. With the quality players and coaches, they must teach them to play offense&mdash;and defense. That&rsquo;s why you&rsquo;re seeing closer games and fewer goals.&rdquo;That was easy enough. The rest was up to the coaches.Some, like Paris, used the get-tough approach.&ldquo;Some coaches always had the belief of (stressing defense), but weren&rsquo;t always able to put it into practise. I put my nose to the grindstone. The bottom line is you have to tell them &lsquo;It&rsquo;s my way or the highway.&rsquo;&rdquo;Others, such as St-Jean&rsquo;s Richard Liboiron, have taken a more passive approach.&ldquo;When you talk defense, it&rsquo;s easy for me say every player can play, Liboiron says. It&rsquo;s hard playing offense well because not everyone has good hands to score or pass. Defense, if they want to learn and listen, they can do it.&ldquo;I try teaching a basic, defensive philosophy; no two-on-ones or three-on-twos and don&rsquo;t panic in our end. Each player has a job to do and each has to concentrate before the game to play well. If they&rsquo;re only thinking about scoring goals they&rsquo;ll have a problem.&rdquo;At times it has been an uphill battle; after all, Rome wasn&rsquo;t built in a day. The QMJHL still has its share of 8-7 games&mdash;three at last count.It&rsquo;s going to take time to break tradition. In a league that has produced offensive wizards like Mike Bossy, Mario Lemieux and Denis Savard, it&rsquo;s only natural to expect some players to believe their chances of a pro career will be enhanced by scoring.&ldquo;When you have the type of team that I have,&rdquo; Flynn says,&rdquo;you can&rsquo;t stop them from being offensive. Last year I had as good a team offensively as anyone. This year I feel I have more talent up front, yet they have to remember defense. That&rsquo;s my main job. Sometimes I have to impose it on them.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough for a coach of an offensive team to get them to step back. I have to spend a lot of time on my defensive system. It&rsquo;s tough to get it in their minds. But when the game is tight, the score is low and one goal will do it, you have to play well defensively.&rdquo;If one player has benefitted it&rsquo;s Granby goal-tender Boris Rousson, who, at 20 and at the end of his junior career, finally is gaining notoriety.Through 23 games, Rousson had a 2.91 goals-against average, 12-7-2 record and a save percentage of.949. This compares to a GAA of 4.57 and a 10-26 record in 39 games last season. &#9632;

f0032-01

GETTING DEFENSIVE

The QMJHL isn&rsquo;t the exclusive preserve of high-powered forwards after all. In fact, the QMJHL is the lowest-scoring of the three major junior leagues this year with 8.14 goals per game. Both the Western League (8.89) and Ontario League (8.83) had higher averages through games of Nov. 18.Over the past five years, the QMJHL average has dropped by more than two goals from a Canadian Hockey League-high 10.3 per game in 1986-87. The QMJHL has long had a reputation for goals more than defensive grit. Here&rsquo;s a look at the averages from CHL regular-season games since 1986-87.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02501/5821487-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="672" height="354"></div> &#9632;

f0032-02

DEANS ON DEFENSE

<div class="byline">BY VANCE OLIVER</div>The Moose Jaw Warriors ended their two-fold winless streak against the Saskatoon Blades at sweet 16.The Warriors, 0-16 against the Blades in two years, defeated Saskatoon 5-2 Nov. 17 in Moose Jaw to end one streak. They hadn&rsquo;t beaten Saskatoon since a 9-4 win Oct. 21, 1988. The following night, the Warriors ashed the Blades 9-4 to halt a 0-151 winless streak in Saskatoon. The last time the Warriors won in Saskatoon was Nov. 7, 1986&mdash;a 7-5 victory.&ldquo;As far as the Saskatoon jinx goes,&rdquo; Moose Jaw co-coach Lorne Molleken said,&rdquo;we just put what happened in the past years out of our mind and concentrated on this year.&ldquo;The first two games we lost (to Saskatoon this season) we had the opportunity to win, but it was a matter for the kids to overcome the mental part and battle back.&rdquo;<h2>30-something</h2>The Kamloops Blazers stopped the Lethbridge Hurricanes&rsquo; 30-game regular-season unbeaten streak at home with a 8-6 win Nov. 18.The last time the Hurricanes were beaten at The Sportsplex was Dec. 6, 1989&mdash;6-4 to the Saskatoon Blades. Their record during the streak was 27-0-3 which left them only eight games short of the longest unbeaten home streak over two seasons.The defunct New Westminster Bruins went undefeated for 38 games from March 18, 1973 to Oct. 6, 1974.&ldquo;It was two different teams,&rdquo; Lethbridge coach Bob Loucks said. &ldquo;(We won) 20 games last year and 10 games this year. We never really discussed it in our dressing room.&ldquo;(But) if you only lose one out of 31 games you play at home, you&rsquo;re going to be in pretty good shape.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01623/5821542-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="553" height="734"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Loucks saw the Hurricanes&rsquo; 30-game home streak end.</figcaption></div><h2>FAN POWER</h2>The Saskatoon Blades established a WHL single-game attendance record Nov. 16 when 12,341 fans filled Saskatchewan Place for a game against the Prince Albert Raiders.The promotion, dubbed the Great Saskatchewan Hockey Sellout, was held to celebrate the addition of an extra 3,579 seats in the two-year-old building.The previous record was set by the Seattle Thunderbirds and Spokane Chiefs at the Seattle Coliseum Feb. 9, 1990 when 12,253 fans were in attendance.<h2>NELSON RATING</h2>Third-year center Jeff Nelson is WHL player of the week for the period ending Nov. 18. A two-time winner of the CHL Scholastic Player-of-the-Year Award, Nelson had five goals and 10 points in four games.<h2>HOT BLAZERS</h2>Overage Kamloops forwards Murray Duval and Cal McGowan are burning a blazing path lately. Duval had eight goals and 29 points during a 14-game point-scoring streak, while McGowan had 13 goals and 26 points during an 11-game road-scoring streak&hellip;Spokane Chiefs&rsquo; center Pat Falloon was blanked in the season opener Sept. 29, but has scored in 20 games since, collecting 13 goals and 41 points. The team record is 23, set by Grant Delcourt in 1986-87. &#9632;

f0033-01

WARRIORS SNAP FUTILITY STREAK

<div class="byline">BY HERB ZURKOWSKY</div>Andre Bouliane&rsquo;s days in Sha-winigan are near an end.The 19-year-old goaltender was suspended indefinitely for a series of curfew violations. The latest occurred the morning of Nov. 15. Bouliane arrived at his Shawinigan boarding home between 3:30 and 4 a.m.&mdash;seven hours past curfew.&ldquo;Over the years we&rsquo;ve let it go by a few times, but now it has gone too far,&rdquo; a source in the Cataractes&rsquo; organization said. &ldquo;He said he was going to bars because he was losing, but that&rsquo;s like having a bad cold and going out in a T-shirt when it&rsquo;s 40-below.&rdquo;Bouliane has a 4.05 goals-against average, an 8-10-1 record and one shutout in 19 games.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve checked him out a lot and he&rsquo;s missed curfew,&rdquo; the source said. &ldquo;If he was 10 minutes late&hellip;but not 3 or 4 in the morning. He doesn&rsquo;t understand that he&rsquo;s been caught the last 48 times. It&rsquo;s like a cancer that won&rsquo;t go away.&rdquo;Bouliane wasn&rsquo;t the only player caught that night. Others included Eric Bissonnette, Steve Dontigny, Hughes Mongeon and Stephane Bourget. All but Bourget were fined between $50 and $100 and reinstated. Bourget was suspended indefinitely for previous transgressions.<h2>TURN FOR WORSE</h2>After winning their first seven games of the season, it looked like College Francais was too strong for the Quebec League.But oh, how the mighty have fallen. The Longueuil-based team won just eight of its next 20 games.Although still above water at 1512, the team appeared to be reeling following three consecutive losses. In each of those games College Francais&rsquo; starting goaltenders&mdash;Jean-Francois Gagnon or Philippe Derouville&mdash;had to be replaced.College Francais&rsquo; coach-general manager, Gerard Gagnon, isn&rsquo;t overly concerned.&ldquo;When you know what the problems are there&rsquo;s no need to worry,&rdquo; he said.Eric Desrochers, College Francais&rsquo; third-string goalie toiling for its junior-AA farm team, surrendered one goal in two victories for the major-junior team. He was named the league&rsquo;s player of the week, but shortly thereafter was demoted.Desrochers practises twice a week with College Francais.<h2>RETURNS HOME</h2>Shawinigan rookie right winger Martin Beauchamp has returned home to Buckingham, Que., to ponder his future and consider playing Tier II hockey.Beauchamp, 17, was attempting to make it at the major-junior level despite suffering from cystic fibrosis. He had two goals and four assists in 15 games. Beauchamp was the Cats&rsquo; seventh-round midget pick in May.<h2>HARFANGS ON ROLL</h2>It has been a rollercoaster ride for the expansion Beauport Harfanga Three consecutive victories pushed them into fourth place in the Dilio Division with an 11-14-1 record.The team&rsquo;s accomplishments were remarkable considering three regulars were missing with injuries.Defenseman Mario Dumoulin has a dislocated shoulder; right winger Matthew Barnaby has a broken wrist and left winger David Boudreau has a second-degree knee sprain.<h2>PAYS FOR SPEAR</h2>St-Jean defenseman Marco Desmarais was suspended three games for an attempt to injure in a Nov. 6 game against Trois-Rivieres, white Drummondville center Roger Larch sat out two games for spearing during a Nov. 6 game against Shawinigan&hellip;St-Hyacinthe defenseman Ronald Kay will miss up to six weeks with a broken ankle suffered after running into teammate Pierre Sevigny during a practice. &#9632;

CATARACTES’ NIGHT OWL GETS WINGS CLIPPED

The Moncton Blue Eagles were having trouble regaining their championship form.The Eagles, defending CIAU champions, lost two exhibition games by lopsided margins and had a mediocre 3-4-1 record through eight regular season games.Moncton lost goaltenders Alain Harvey and Michel LeBlanc, and a No. 1 backstopper had yet to emerge.&ldquo;Our goaltending is very, very unpredictable,&rdquo; said head coach Len Doucet of his rookies Richard Ruest, Patrick Cote, and Tony Hill. &ldquo;From one game to the next, you don&rsquo;t know if they&rsquo;re going to come up big or not.&rdquo;Doucet was also upset with the lack of consistent production from the top line of Dany Gauvin, Richard Linteau and J.C. Lautour.<h2>AUAA</h2>After St. Thomas came back to beat the Eagles 4-3 Nov. 18, Tommies&rsquo; talented center Brent Grant said: &ldquo;To be down 3-0 and come back against the national champions&hellip;it&rsquo;s a real big win. We have to respect them. They lost a great captain in (Claude) Gosselin and it seems like their chemistry is not there.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01707/5821597-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="555" height="732"><figcaption class="caption-body">Grant Delcourt is scoring at a torrid pace this season.</figcaption></div><h2>CWUAA</h2>The British Columbia Thunderbirds, a Hockey News pre-season pick for second place in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, surged to the top of the pack after Week 5.The Thunderbirds pulled off a road sweep over the Saskatchewan Huskies Nov. 16-17, a team no one had handled all season long.The Thunderbirds, stinging from a 7-6 loss to the lowly Lethbridge Pronghorns Nov.10, bore down to win 4-2 and 7-6 at the Doghouse in Saskatoon.Under head coach Terry O&rsquo;Malley, UBC has finally structured a program that can compete, despite the worst road schedule in the CIAU.The Thunderbirds haven&rsquo;t spent time at the top in Canada West since the &rsquo;70s, but if left winger Grant Delcourt (7-10-17) and center Scott Fearns (8-8-16) continue their pace, that might change.<h2>OUAA</h2>The Trois-Rivieres Patriotes have been breaking hearts and breaking spirits in their early-season march to the top of the national poll.The Patriotes were 8-0 through Nov. 19 and were the only team in Canada yet to lose a conference game in the Ontario Universities Athletic Association season.In addition, Trois-Rivieres had scored seven goals or more in five of its first eight games.As usual, Trois-Rivieres is winning games with defense. Veteran Denis Desbiens (1.60 GAA) and freshman Ghislain Lefebvre (2.00 GAA) top the association&rsquo;s goaltending statistics.A new statistic for the Patriotes though, is the number of players&mdash;five&mdash;among the league&rsquo;s top ten scoring leaders.Defenseman Jean Bois led the club with six goals and 13 assists after eight games.Bois&rsquo; 19 points put him two behind OUAA scoring leader Mike Maurice of Laurentian, who had 26 points after eight games. &#9632;

f0034-01

TARNISHED EAGLES LOSING TOUCH

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01671/5821628-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Huskies have built a solid program in short order by recruiting local products such as Tim Hanus. Through 12 games, the Minnesota native had 8-9-17 totals.</figcaption></div>Six weeks into its inaugural season in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, St. Cloud State has run across two very important lessons.&ldquo;We have to start respecting people a little bit more,&rdquo; coach Craig Dahl said, referring to an affliction that had contributed to a four-game league losing streak through Nov. 17. &ldquo;You have to respect each opponent.&rdquo;And from Dr. Morris Kurtz, the SCS athletic director: &ldquo;Nothing can prepare you for the week in, week out high level of competition in the WCHA. It&rsquo;s a great learning experience.&rdquo;Chances are, more lessons are on the way. But that shouldn&rsquo;t present too much of a problem. Time and again, those associated with the Huskies&rsquo; program have proven to be adequately equipped to deal with challenges.Their greatest achievement has been getting the program right where it was supposed to be in relation to the grand plan laid out amid snickers and doubts in the spring of 1986. The idea was to go from Division III to Division I, then ultimately gain admission into the WCHA.&ldquo;We set up a four-year plan and it took a little more than four years,&rdquo; Kurtz said.<h2>WCHA</h2>Herb Brooks, famed coach of the gold-medal-winning U.S. team in the 1980 Winter Olympics, was the project&rsquo;s mastermind who Hater would surprise observers by declining a job offer with the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL to become the Huskies&rsquo; coach during its final Division III campaign (1986-87).&ldquo;The program wouldn&rsquo;t be here without Herbie,&rdquo; Kurtz said.Or without a tremendous amount of hard work, planning and luck.On May 18, 1987, the Minnesota Legislature approved funding for a $9.5 million ice arena for St. Cloud State. The money was part of a bonding bill providing money for amateur sports facilities across the state.On Dec. 16, 1989, the National Hockey Center went on display for the first time. An audience of 3,680 was on hand to watch the Huskies defeat Northern Michigan 5-4.The brand new facility gave Dahl something unique&mdash;something state rivals Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth did not have&mdash;to pitch to potential recruits. Getting players from talentrich, hockey-mad Minnesota high schools is one of the current focal points for Dahl.&ldquo;That was our biggest challenge,&rdquo; said the Brooks&rsquo; assistant who was hired to take over as head coach in 1987. &ldquo;Now I think it&rsquo;s changing. This is the first year we got the top five kids from Minnesota to come in for (recruiting) visits.&rdquo;The plan reached fruition on April 29, 1988, when the WCHA voted to admit the Huskies as their ninth team. Now St. Cloud&rsquo;s goal is to be competitive in one of the nation&rsquo;s toughest divisions. The Huskies started the season well, going 3-3-2 but have since dropped four in a grow.&ldquo;Right now we&rsquo;re in the middle of the pack,&rdquo; Dahl said,&rdquo;but on a four-game losing streak.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m tremendously happy with our work ethic. We&rsquo;ll get things going again. We&rsquo;ve always been a second-half team.&rdquo;Both Colorado schools&mdash;Colorado College and Denver&mdash;have struggled to start the season, with each going 1-11-0 in its first 12 games. Their only victories were against one another during a home-and-home series Oct. 26-27 and, ironically, both victories came on the road.What&rsquo;s been the problem?In Colorado Springs, coach Brad Buetow feels the goaltending he&rsquo;s received from Denis Casey, Jon Gustafson and Paul Badalich has been suspect. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s been the story. Our goaltending has been inconsistent all year,&rdquo; &ldquo;Buetow said.Meanwhile, 75 miles north, the Pioneers have crumbled under the weight of injuries.Sophomore right winger Grant Ostir is out for the season with a knee injury; junior left winger Darren Biggs sustained a separated shoulder and has missed three weeks of action; freshmen defensemen Ian DeCorby (sprained knee) and Mark Luger (broken hand) are out indefinitely; and senior goaltender Lucien Carignan has been bothered by back spasms, missing a two-game series at Boston University Nov, 16-17.<h2>CCHA</h2>Part of the reason for Ferris State&rsquo;s solid start (5-3-4 overall, 3-3-4 in CCHA action) has been the successful conversion of senior Bob Nardel-la from center to defense.Although the Melrose Park, III., native is only 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds and had never before worked on the blue line as a collegiate, coach Bob Mancini decided to experiment&mdash;and he hasn&rsquo;t been disappointed.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s playing really well,&rdquo; said Mancini. &ldquo;But he&rsquo;s very smart and with his speed, he helps us get the puck out of our zone.&rdquo;In Lake Superior&rsquo;s 10-5 home win over Michigan Nov. 16, Jim Dowd, second in the nation in scoring last season, was held without a point&hellip;With 4-2 and 6-3 home wins over Miami-Ohio Nov. 16-17, Illinois-Chicago (3-90 overall and in the CCHA) passed the Redskins (3-7-2, 1-7-2) to move out of the CCHA cellar for the first time this season.<h2>HOCKEY EAST</h2>Hockey East doesn&rsquo;t give out a comeback player of the year award, but if it did Boston University sophomore center David Sacco would have to be considered the odds-on-favorite.Following a freshman year which saw him tally 14 goals and 33 assists in 38 games while playing both defense and right wing, Sacco suffered a right shoulder injury last season which required surgery. He played in just three games, notching four assists, before being sidelined and receiving medical red-shirt status.Through BU&rsquo;s first seven games this season, Sacco was leading the Terriers in scoring with six goals and 11 assists.&ldquo;He moves the puck well and he makes great plays,&rdquo; said BU coach Jack Parker. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a real smart player who creates a lot of offense.&rdquo;Sacco is the younger brother of Joe Sacco, who passed up his senior year at BU to sign with the NHL&rsquo;s Toronto Maple Leafs during the offseason.Maine has lost the services of plus-minus leader, freshman defenseman Matt Martin (plus-11), for at least three weeks due to mononucleosis&hellip;Providence junior right winger Rob Gaudreau and senior left winger Lyle Wildgoose upped their scoring streaks to seven and six games, respectively, in a 7-1 win over Brown Nov. 20.<h2>ECAC</h2>Clarkson and Cornell are fit to be tied.The last four games between the two teams have ended in ties, including a 3-3 deadlock Nov. 17.Clarkson held a 2-0 lead in that game, but Cornell came back and forged the final tie at 3-3 on a power play goal by sophomore Ryan Hughes at 15:53 of the third period.The tie allowed both teams to remain undefeated, Clarkson at 6-0-1 and Cornell at 3-0-1.One of the reasons for Clarkson&rsquo;s early-season success has been its power play. Through seven games, the Knights had converted 50 per cent (21-of-42) of their power play opportunities.Some new faces have emerged as the league&rsquo;s early-season goal scoring leaders. RPI senior Derek DeCosty, who scored six goals during the entire 1989-90 season, had nine goals in the Engineers&rsquo; first seven games this year, including two hat tricks.St. Lawrence junior Martin Lacroix is also off to a hot start. He needed 32 games to score 11 goals last year, but had seven goals after seven games this season.&mdash;with files from Andy Baggot, Tom Boggie, Matt Carlson and Larry Mahoney &#9632;

f0035-01

CLOUD NINE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01638/5821673-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01554/5821666-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="3076" height="3622"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01642/5821659-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="3076" height="3602"></div> &#9632;

f0036-01

NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

<h2>Mon., Nov. 19</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01605/5821830-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="607" height="3428"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02426/5821823-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="584" height="2130"></div><h2>Tues., Nov, 20</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03320/5821816-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="581" height="1294"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04259/5821809-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="587" height="1931"></div><h2>Wed., Nov. 21</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05213/5821802-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="583" height="1491"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-06180/5821795-1-eng-US/f0039-062.jpg" title="f0039-06" width="594" height="3472"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-07162/5821788-1-eng-US/f0039-072.jpg" title="f0039-07" width="592" height="1655"></div><h2>Thur., Nov. 22</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-08145/5821781-1-eng-US/f0039-082.jpg" title="f0039-08" width="587" height="1699"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01322/5821774-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="577" height="629"></div><h2>Fri., Nov. 23</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02213/5821767-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="606" height="2873"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03151/5821760-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="608" height="3551"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04118/5821753-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="575" height="582"></div><h2>Sat., Nov. 24</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0599/5821746-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="594" height="2924"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01267/5821739-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="595" height="2111"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02172/5821732-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="601" height="2114"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03128/5821725-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="588" height="2120"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04104/5821718-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="587" height="837"></div><h2>Sun., Nov. 25</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0591/5821711-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="584" height="1193"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0684/5821704-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="596" height="2111"></div> &#9632;

f0039-01

NHL SUMMARIES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0041-07" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0774/5821868-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01279/5821861-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="3096" height="3632"></div> &#9632;

f0041-07

SCOREBOARD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01287/5821899-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0043-01

CLASSIFIED

The Hockey News Collectors World Price Guide is an attempt to accurately reflect the purchase prices of hockey cards. Remember, the Guide is just that. You may not find these cards at exactly the price listed. Our prices are the average of what the cards sell for across the United States and Canada. All prices are in Canadian funds. As of Nov. 26, the Canadian dollar was worth 86 cents U.S.Card prices will vary depending on geographic region. For example, you will likely pay more for a Brett Hull card in St. Louis than you will in Philadelphia. Hometown players command a premium in virtually all cases.Prices in this guide are for nearmint condition cards unless otherwise indicated.The Guide will appear in every weekly issue of The Hockey News.In this issue of Collectors World, we present all cards from 1961-62 to 1970-71. These include cards made by O-Pee-Chee, Parkhurst and Topps.In next week&rsquo;s issue of The Hockey News, the Guide will list all cards from 1951-52 to 1959-60. We will run a total of four regular Price Guides, and then start over again with the first series and its updated prices. There will also be occassional special guides dealing with such items as hockey coins and pre-World War II cards.The condition of a card is a crucial consideration when establishing its price. A card may be damaged in subtle or dramatic ways. Although condition is actually a grading scale (there may be a card that is less than near mint but better than excellent, for instance) there are some common standard conditions.The following terms are descriptions of cards&rsquo; wear and tear. Any type of wear and tear is called a defect.Mint (M): A perfect card, free of any defects. It should be perfectly centered with perfect color registration. All four comers should be sharp, pointed and there should be no creases or folds. Nor should there be any gum or wax stains on the front or back of the card. The card should not be altered in any way. There should be no pencil marks on the card, not even on checklists. The edges of the card should not be faded or discolored. Mint cards from the last 10 years command 100 per cent of guide price. Prior to that there is a 10-50-per cent premium on mint cards.Near Mint (NM): An almost perfect card. One small defect or two. very minor defects is enough to change a mint to a near mint. An elastic band indentation or one dulled corner on an otherwise perfect card or a &ldquo;perfect&rdquo; card which is fractionally off-center would be a near mint card. A near mint card is worth 60-75 per cent of mint price.Excellent (E): A card showing obvious wear or having a large defect. A badly off-center or off-registered card or a card with clearly dulled (not rounded) corners would be an excellent card. Very minor creasing near the comers but no heavy creasing nor foreign substances other than gum or wax stains are common excellent card defects. Ah excellent card is worth 30-40 per cent of a mint card.Very Good (VG): A very good card could have significant creasing but no rips, holes or tears. The comers could be rounded. There could be a number of defects that in total make a card very good, such as a badly off-center card with dulled corners, a small crease and a wax stain on the back. A very good card is worth 15-20 per cent of mint price.Good (G): A good card is basically intact with little else going for it. Heavy creasing, ink or pencil, badly rounded comers, extreme fading and/or discoloration are marks of a good card. A mint or near mint card with a hole or rip is also considered good. A good card is worth 5 to 10 per cent of a mint card.<h2>ABBREVIATIONS</h2>AS: All-starCO: CoachFAS: First team all-star (FCA): First card appearance FRDP: First-round draft pick GWG: Game-winning goals HL: HighlightsHOF: Hall of FamerIA: In actionMVP: Most valuable player RB: Record breaker (RC): Rookie cardROY: Rookie of the year SAS: Second team all-star SHG: Short-handed goals TL: Team leader cardTR: TrophyTW: Trophy winnerUSO: United States Olympic team<h2>61-62 PARKHURST</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01208/5822231-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="559" height="843"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02136/5822224-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="574" height="559"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0395/5822217-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="563" height="299"></div><h2>61-62 TOPPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0474/5822210-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="568" height="792"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0563/5822203-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="577" height="966"></div><h2>62-63 PARKHURST</h2>NOTE: 1962-63 PARKHURST HAS TWO UNNUMBERED CARDS IN ITS SET. THE &lsquo;ZIP&rsquo; CARD DOES NOT FEATURE A PLAYER OR TEAM. IT IS A PREMIUM CARD. THE UNNUMBERED CHECKLIST IS RARE IN UNMARKED CONDITION.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0655/5822196-1-eng-US/f0044-062.jpg" title="f0044-06" width="566" height="865"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0752/5822189-1-eng-US/f0044-072.jpg" title="f0044-07" width="573" height="992"></div><h2>62-63 TOPPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0841/5822182-1-eng-US/f0044-082.jpg" title="f0044-08" width="571" height="466"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01177/5822175-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="570" height="796"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02114/5822168-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="567" height="472"></div><h2>63-64 PARKHURST</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0384/5822161-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="570" height="818"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0463/5822154-1-eng-US/f0045-042.jpg" title="f0045-04" width="591" height="1265"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0551/5822147-1-eng-US/f0045-052.jpg" title="f0045-05" width="567" height="188"></div><h2>63-64 TOPPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0645/5822140-1-eng-US/f0045-062.jpg" title="f0045-06" width="573" height="804"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0739/5822133-1-eng-US/f0045-072.jpg" title="f0045-07" width="583" height="921"></div><h2>64-65 TOPPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0827/5822126-1-eng-US/f0045-082.jpg" title="f0045-08" width="578" height="1064"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0924/5822119-1-eng-US/f0045-092.jpg" title="f0045-09" width="580" height="97"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1021/5822112-1-eng-US/f0045-102.jpg" title="f0045-10" width="595" height="1863"></div><h2>65-66 TOPPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1120/5822105-1-eng-US/f0045-112.jpg" title="f0045-11" width="569" height="790"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1218/5822098-1-eng-US/f0045-122.jpg" title="f0045-12" width="583" height="823"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1314/5822091-1-eng-US/f0045-132.jpg" title="f0045-13" width="584" height="1009"></div><h2>66-67 TOPPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-1411/5822084-1-eng-US/f0045-142.jpg" title="f0045-14" width="574" height="791"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-159/5822077-1-eng-US/f0045-152.jpg" title="f0045-15" width="588" height="1440"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-166/5822070-1-eng-US/f0045-162.jpg" title="f0045-16" width="575" height="299"></div><h2>67-68 TOPPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-176/5822063-1-eng-US/f0045-172.jpg" title="f0045-17" width="566" height="763"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-186/5822056-1-eng-US/f0045-182.jpg" title="f0045-18" width="581" height="1647"></div><h2>68-69 O-PEE-CHEE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-196/5822049-1-eng-US/f0045-192.jpg" title="f0045-19" width="578" height="419"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01177/5822042-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="579" height="791"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02125/5822035-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="567" height="787"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0387/5822028-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="578" height="787"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0471/5822021-1-eng-US/f0046-042.jpg" title="f0046-04" width="577" height="156"></div><h2>68-69 TOPPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0553/5822014-1-eng-US/f0046-052.jpg" title="f0046-05" width="586" height="1346"></div><h2>69-70 O-PEE-CHEE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0645/5822007-1-eng-US/f0046-062.jpg" title="f0046-06" width="570" height="783"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0738/5822000-1-eng-US/f0046-072.jpg" title="f0046-07" width="581" height="849"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0827/5821993-1-eng-US/f0046-082.jpg" title="f0046-08" width="577" height="1345"></div><h2>69-70 TOPPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0925/5821986-1-eng-US/f0046-092.jpg" title="f0046-09" width="574" height="1225"></div>70-71 TOPPS<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-1020/5821979-1-eng-US/f0046-102.jpg" title="f0046-10" width="575" height="790"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01201/5821972-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="568" height="798"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02143/5821965-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="572" height="1118"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-03110/5821958-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg" title="f0047-03" width="578" height="505"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0477/5821951-1-eng-US/f0047-042.jpg" title="f0047-04" width="575" height="208"></div><h2>70-71 TOPPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0557/5821944-1-eng-US/f0047-052.jpg" title="f0047-05" width="573" height="211"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0644/5821937-1-eng-US/f0047-062.jpg" title="f0047-06" width="569" height="505"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0738/5821930-1-eng-US/f0047-072.jpg" title="f0047-07" width="578" height="506"></div> &#9632;

f0044-01

COLLECTORS WORLD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01141/5822262-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="552" height="620"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEVIN DUPONT</figcaption></div>He&rsquo;s back.Say what you will about Phil Esposito&mdash;and perhaps you&rsquo;ll roll your eyes over his trade-a-minute days as the New York Rangers&rsquo; general manager&mdash;but the man is irrepressible. And he may just have himself a deal in Tampa, after all, thanks to some more of his last-minute wheeling and dealing.Wasn&rsquo;t it just last month that the Hall-of-Fame center looked dead in Tampa Bay? The Pritzkers took their Hyatt Hotel money off the table and told Esposito to look elsewhere for the financial backing that would help him bring hockey to the Gulf Coast. He had to find $50 million and rustle it up in a hurry.Well, the going got tough and Esposito got himself to Japan, where he met with no fewer than six potential investors who, he said, were all in a hurry to send their yen to North America. Esposito arrived back to his home in Bedford, N.Y., on the afternoon of Nov. 23 and his enthusiasm could easily be discerned through a jet-lagged voice.&ldquo;The whole trip went great,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll be in Florida (for league expansion meetings) on Dec. 5 to make our presentation to bring hockey to Tampa. And there will be someone there from Japan as part of the deal, I can tell you that.&rdquo;Reluctant to divulge details, or name the interested Japanese investors, Esposito would only emphatically repeat that his proposal was on the map in Florida, and not in the state of rigor mortis it has been portrayed. Not only were the Japanese intrigued, he said, but they were pressing him to make an immediate commitment to them essentially as a co-partner in the deal.&ldquo;You know, I&rsquo;ve never eaten so much fish,&rdquo; said Esposito, whose six-day, let&rsquo;s-do-lunch-and-dinner tour of Tokyo left little time for sightseeing. &ldquo;And raw fish, too, something called a blowfish that had some kind of poisin in it, or something. Unbelievable.&ldquo;But here we are, ready to go, and we should have it all nailed down by Tuesday (Nov. 27).&rdquo;The question remains, as Butch and Sundance might say, who are those guys in Japan? How deep are their pockets? And, the $50 million question: Will the best little hockey league in North America welcome ownership from the Far East? What kind of ring does Tampa Bay Ham Fighters leave in the ear?Those are just some of the issues the league&rsquo;s heavyweights will sort out when they convene in southern Florida the first week of December. Up north, they&rsquo;ll have Esposito&rsquo;s bid and another from Jim Rutherford and friends in St. Petersburg. Closer, they&rsquo;ll review the Miami offer. And unless there are any late dropouts, there will be half-dozen more from Caifomia (2), Ottawa, Hamilton, Houston and Seattle.Esposito couldn&rsquo;t say right away, either, if his bid would be backed entirely by the Japanese. He said there were still potential smaller investors to consult in the U.S., and the chance, too, the Pritzkers would want to be involved. The last thing the Pritzkers told him, said Esposito, was to call back before he returned for his last expansion hearing.&ldquo;We had some tremendous management disagreements with them, way back,&rdquo; said Esposito, who goes about business the way he went about the game, taking one shot after another until he scores with one. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s basically what it was, a difference of opinion over how to run a franchise. But you never know what can happen. We parted amicably, I think, and we may talk again.&ldquo;Hey, business is business, you know?&rdquo;Unstated there, too, was the leverage that Japanese backing would give Esposito&rsquo;s group in dealing with any North American investors.&ldquo;No way am I ready to tell anyone who they are yet,&rdquo; said Esposito, asked again to reveal his Japanese backers. &ldquo;They haven&rsquo;t authorized me to say, and I&rsquo;m not going to say&hellip;but one of them has a big project going in the area already, and another owns a baseball team over there.&rdquo;The money, all the money, is over there, said Esposito. He can get it from one investor, two investors or more. He can borrow a lot there, add some over here and, presto, paradise will put up a parking lot and a new arena in the shade of palm trees in Tampa. Just like that.&ldquo;Sure, I&rsquo;m excited, but I&rsquo;m too tired to sound really excited,&rdquo; said Esposito, his voice bedraggled from his sojourn. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been through a lot here. Losing the Pritzkers, that hurt us&hellip;but we didn&rsquo;t just sit there, did we? We went over there and got it together and now we&rsquo;ll be there&mdash;Dec. 5.&rdquo;Hockey may or may not be better with Esposito, and it must be some kind of irony that the league could render a decision on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day. One thing is for sure, though. Trader Phil, now an international trader, always makes it interesting.Kevin Dupont is a hockey writer for the Boston Globe. &#9632;

f0048-01

ESPOSITO’S YEN FOR TEAM NOT DEAD YET

New Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; right winger Lucien DeBlois is one of three active NHL players to play for six different NHL teams. Winnipeg&rsquo;s Brent Ashton and Quebec&rsquo;s Tony McKegney are the others. DeBlois has played for the Rangers, 1977-78 to 1979-80; Rockies, 1979-80 to 1980-81; Jets, 198182 to 1983-84; Canadiens, 1984-85 to 1985-86; Rangers again, 1986-87 to 1988-89; Nordiques, 1989-90; and Toronto.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0293/5822293-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="710" height="430"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tony McKegney</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0048-02

NUMBERS

<h2>SABRES</h2>Czechoslovakian right winger Jiri Sejba (pronounced SHAY-ba) made his NHL debut in a 5-5 tie with the New York Rangers Nov. 21 and earned an assist. Sejba, 28, a member of the Czechoslovakian 1988 Olympic team, had been in the U. S. for four months before getting clearance to play. He was the Sabres&rsquo; ninth pick in the 1985 entry draft, but came to Buffalo as a free agent with some strings attached. &ldquo;This has been an unbelievable situation,&rdquo; said GM Gerry Meehan. &ldquo;He came over with a release document, or what was said to be a release document. Once we decided we wanted to offer him a contract, all of a sudden it wasn&rsquo;t a release document, it was a tryout document.&rdquo;&hellip;Goaltender Daren Puppa has been forced out of the lineup with a back ailment, but the details get fuzzy from there. Initial reports found Puppa had some sort of minor back strain, but it wasn&rsquo;t responding to treatment and simple rest was prescribed. It&rsquo;s not clear when Puppa sustained the injury, (or when he&rsquo;ll return), though there was some reference to his being &ldquo;banged about&rdquo; Nov. 7 in a 6-2 loss to the Rangers at New York. At that time, however, it was said that Puppa was having problems with a knee. Puppa&rsquo;s roster spot was filled briefly by David Liftman&mdash;recalled from Rochester (AHL) Nov. 23 then demoted Nov. 25&mdash;and Darcy Wakaluk&mdash;recalled from Rochester Nov. 26.<h2>CANADIENS</h2>Defenseman Petr Svoboda and right winger Stephane Richer were named assistant captains when Brian Skrudland and Mike McPhee went down with injuries&hellip;The 4-2 loss to Los Angeles Nov. 24 marked the first time in eight tries over two years the Canadiens failed to sweep a Saturday-Sunday doubleheader at home. The Habs swept all five of the back-to-back sets when they were introduced last season and swept the first two sets this year&hellip;Defenseman Gerald Diduck, obtained from the New York Islanders for Craig Ludwig during training camp, continued to have a tough time adjusting to his new team and surroundings. He was left out of the lineup for three straight games by coach Pat Burns. &ldquo;My first reaction was to scream and yell, but on second thought, I decided not to because it wouldn&rsquo;t do either of us any good,&rdquo; said Diduck&hellip;Russ Courtnall got into a rare fight when the Habs beat Winnipeg 4-3 Nov. 25 when he scrapped with Doug Evans. The Forum crowd loved it. What did he eat before the game, Courtnall was asked, raw meat? &ldquo;Nah, just a cheese sandwich and some fries,&rdquo; said Courtnall. &ldquo;I was just trying to stir up the team,&rdquo; he said of his bout, which he won.<h2>NORDIQUES</h2>Owen Nolan, suffering from back spasms, was sent down to Halifax (AHL) for a two-week conditioning stint Nov. 20. Left wingers Everett Sanipass and newcomer Scott Pearson were asked to report to the Citadels the same day&hellip;Right winger Guy Lafleur said reports out of Montreal claiming he is at odds with the coaching staff and GM Pierre Page, are totally inaccurate&hellip;After the team&rsquo;s humiliating 11-4 loss at home to Winnipeg Nov. 24, coach Dav&middot; Chambers said the team was looking for a goaltender. &ldquo;We spoke about our situation with Pierre Page and he knows what to do,&rdquo; said Chambers. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s working very hard to get us some help.&rdquo;&hellip;Usually a center, Paul Gillis is seeing a lot of ice time at left wing. &ldquo;WeknowPaul is a career center,&rdquo; said co-coach Jacques Martin. &ldquo;But we feel he&rsquo;s more effective on the wing, close to the boards.&rdquo; Gillis doesn&rsquo;t mind the switch. &ldquo;As long as I play. I&rsquo;m happy,&rdquo; he said-&hellip;Through games of Nov. 26, the Nordiques were riding a franchiserecord 17-game winless streak (0-15-2).<h2>BRUINS</h2>Right winger Cam Neely faced a disciplinary hearing Nov. 26 at the NHL office after being assessed a match penalty for clubbing Whaler Randy Ladouceur over the back of the head with his stick in a 4-3 loss Nov. 23&hellip;Less than two minutes after Neely&rsquo;s major penalty, John Carter drew a slashing major, giving Hartford a three-minute, two-man power play. The Whalers scored four powerplay goals in the game&hellip;The same thing happened the next night in Hartford, as a Dave Poulin major led two more power-play goals. The Whalers again wiped out a 3-0 third-period deficit, though the Bruins salvaged a split, winning 4-3&hellip;Poulin had missed 17 games with a groin pull before returning in Hartford.<h2>WHALERS</h2>After scoring only three goals in the Whalers first 15 games. Pat Verbeek has 10 goals in the past nine. &ldquo;Everything is going in now. It&rsquo;s funny. All the chances before and I wasn&rsquo;t scoring. You get in a groove and everything you throw up goes in. When you score you&rsquo;re feeling fresh as a daisy and have all sorts of jump in your leg Timing&rsquo;s a big part. I&rsquo;ll tell you, it&rsquo;s only a millisecond difference of being there and not,&rdquo; Verbeek said&hellip;After going 0-7-1, there have been many positives in the Whalers&rsquo; 5-1-1 rise, but Kay Whitmore and Jergus Baca weren&rsquo;t among them. Whitmore, proclaimed the goalie of the future, and Baca, called by Bobby Holik&rsquo; &lsquo;the best defenseman in Czechoslovakia last year&rdquo; were both sent to Springfield of the AHL Nov. 20. Coach Rick Ley said he felt communication with offensive-minded Baca, a Slovak, was more of a problem than Baca initially let on. Whitmore, 0-3-0 with a 3.94 goals-against average, needs &ldquo;adjust his attitude and work harder said GM Ed Johnston. &#9632;

CZECH STAR FINALLY A SABRE

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN JOHNSTON</div>Pierre Page was widely criticized when he dealt three veterans&mdash;Michel Petit, Lucien DeBlois and Aaron Broten&mdash;to Toronto for young winger Scott Pearson and two second-round draft choices.His toughest detractors said the Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; general manager was doing his best to secure the first pick overall in the 1991 entry rat.Page claimed his motives for the trade were of the purest intent and less than a week after the deal backed that up by announcing Soviet allstar defenseman Alexei Gusarov would be joining the team around the beginning of December.Gusarov&rsquo;s signing of a four-year deal Nov. 21 capped four days of intense negotiations between Nords&rsquo; president Marcel Aubut and the newly-formed Mosprofsport Agency which oversees contract affairs for Red Army players.The Nordiques drafted Gusarov 213th overall in 1988, but his release wasn&rsquo;t expected for at least a few more years. The changing political climate between the Soviet Union and the West, however, helped expedite matters.Now the Nordiques are hoping another Red Army star, speedy forward Valeri Kamensky, 24, will be able to leave soon. But word is the Soviets want Kamensky, drafted 129th overall by Quebec in 1988, to remain until after the 1992 Albertville Olympics.That the Nordiques will more than likely miss the playoffs&mdash;meaning Gusarov will be available for the World Championships this spring&mdash;probably played a role in gaining his release.In any event, Page was ecstatic about his newest acquisition.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s very talented, very fast, mobile and sharp defensively,&rdquo; said Page of the 6-foot-2, 180-pound rearguard. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the best in his country 1-on-1. And the main thing in my book is that he&rsquo;s a proven winner. He knows what it takes to win.&rdquo;Swedish rookie Mats Sundin, who had the opportunity to play against Gusarov in Europe, said his new teammate will have an immediate impact.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the best at his position in Europe,&rdquo; said Sundin. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very tall, nearly as tall as I am. I love his skills. He&rsquo;s quite a hockey player, as good on defense as on offense. Surely an asset for us.&rdquo;Inevitably, comparisons will be drawn between Gusarov and the other Soviet defenseman already in the NHL.&ldquo;He might not be as dominant as Fetisov was at the same age,&rdquo; said Page. &ldquo;But at 26, he is coming here with his better years ahead. It will be easier for him to adapt to our style of play. He isn&rsquo;t too old to learn the right way.&rdquo;<h2>QUEBEC</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 20: Scott Pearson, LW, and Everett Sanipass, LW, assigned to Halifax (AHL). Owen Nolan, RW, assigned to Halifax for two-week conditioning stint. Stephane Morin, C, Jamie Baker, LW. and Ken Quinney, RW, recalled from Halifax (AHL). Nov. 21: Alexei Gusarov, D, signed four-year contract.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Joe Sakic, Tony Hrkac, Claude Loiselle, Stephane Morin.LW&mdash;Mike Hough, Jamie Baker, Paul Gillis, Tony McKegney.RW&mdash;Mats Sundin, Guy Lafleur. Darin Kimble, Ken Quinney, Mark Vermette.LD&mdash;Bryan Fogarty. Steven Finn, Curtis Leschyshyn.RD&mdash;Craig Wolanin, Joe Cirella, Randy Velischek.G&mdash;Ron Tugnutt, Scott Gordon.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Daniel Dore, RW, sore back, indefinite. Stephane Guerard. D, strained shoulder, indefinite. Wayne Van Dorp, LW. torn muscle in right shoulder, indefinite Daniel Vincelette, LW, sprained right knee, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Sakic. 12. A&mdash;Sakic. 20. P&mdash;Sakic, 32 PIM&mdash;Kimble, 78. &#9632;

PAGE GETS SERIOUS WITH GUSAROV SIGNING

<div class="byline">BY JIM KELLEY</div>The Buffalo Sabres are beginning to learn the real Clint Malarchuk.He&rsquo;s been teaching them.&ldquo;You know, when he came here nobody knew who Clint Malarchuk was,&rdquo; said defenseman Uwe Krupp of the former Washington Capital and Quebec Nordique. &ldquo;At first he got hurt and then he played behind Daren (Puppa) all the time.&ldquo;When he played behind Daren nobody really knew what he could do. Now he&rsquo;s getting a chance to play and he&rsquo;s grabbing the bull by the horns. He&rsquo;s playing unbelievable hockey.&rdquo;Malaruchuk&rsquo;s stats tell the tale:&#9632; He had a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1) until the team came up flat against Los Angeles (a 4-1 loss Nov. 14, a game that may have been Malarchuk&rsquo;s best of the season).&#9632; His goals-against average stood at 2.57 after a 3-2 win over Edmonton Nov. 23.&#9632; He&rsquo;s shutout Hartford; allowed just four goals in two games against Calgary; and limited Vancouver to one goal in another contest.But he&rsquo;s not bragging.Malarchuk still refers to Puppa as the No. 1 goaltender&mdash;he calls himself &ldquo;the other guy&rdquo; despite the fact he is 6-3-3 to Puppa&rsquo;s 2-5-3 and has the better GAA (2.57-3.61) and save percentage G912-.886).He simply considers himself a goaltender who is getting to play a lot and he doesn&rsquo;t look for anything beyond his next start.&ldquo;To be honest with you. I&rsquo;m going with the attitude that you play them one game at a time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a long season anything can happen and I&rsquo;m prepared for that.&rdquo;He played 20 straight games for the Washington Capitals in 1988-89, then was traded to Buffalo. He suffered a serious neck injury at the end of the &rsquo;89 season and when he recovered found himself riding the tail of Puppa&rsquo;s comet.&ldquo;This year I&rsquo;m playing, last year I wasn&rsquo;t,&rsquo;&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You have to learn that hockey is like that. That attitude got me through last season when I wasn&rsquo;t playing and I try to keep it with me now that I am. Everything changes.&rdquo;Which is not to say Malarchuk hasn&rsquo;t seized the moment.Puppa&rsquo;s poor start, coupled with what appears to be a mild back injury, has thrust Malarchuk, 29, into the starting role and he&rsquo;s grown accustomed to it.&ldquo;When you play regular you don&rsquo;t have to try as hard,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not such a struggle to be sharp. It doesn&rsquo;t matter who you are or what position you play when you&rsquo;re not playing, your confidence goes down. That&rsquo;s why you&rsquo;ve really got to be strong mentally. That&rsquo;s what was so tough about last year, keeping my confidence up when you play only once every one or two weeks. That was a real challenge for me.&rdquo;<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 23: Darcey Loewen, RW. assigned to Rochester (AHL). David Liftman, G, recalled from Rochester. Nov. 25: Liftman assigned to Rochester. Nov. 26: Darcy Wakaluk, G, recalled from Rochester.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pierre Turgeon, Dale Hawerchuk, Christian Ruuttu, Benoit Hogue. John Tucker.LW&mdash;Dave Andreychuk, Mike Foligno, Rob Ray, Mikko Makela.RW&mdash;Rick Vaive, Alexander Mogilny, Dave Snuggerud, Darcey Loewen, Jiri Sejba.LD&mdash;Mike Ramsey, Doug Bodger, Dean Kennedy. Brad Miller.RD&mdash;Uwe Krupp, Greg Brown, Grant Ledyard.G&mdash;Clint Malarchuk. Darcy Wakaluk.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Donald Audette. RW, torn knee ligaments, out for season. Brad May, LW, ligament damage left knee, day-to-day. Daren Puppa, G, back sprain, day-to-day. Jay Wells. D, bruised knee, day-to-day.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Turgeon, 11. A&mdash;Turgeon. 13. P&mdash;Turgeon, 24. PIM&mdash;Miller. 62 &#9632;

MALARCHUK TAKES SUCCESS IN STRIDE

<div class="byline">BY JEFF JACOBS</div>Pat Verbeek wiped the dried blood from his bruised nose, gave a sly grin and proclaimed the weekend a wild one.&ldquo;This is a rivalry,&rdquo; said Verbeek, the former New Jersey Devil. &ldquo;This is like the New York teams going at each other&rsquo;s throats.&rdquo;Maybe it really did take a playoff series between the Boston Bruins and Hartford Whalers ignite a blood feud between the New England teams. Whatever the source, the Whalers can thank the Bruins for putting fannies in the seats, fire in their hearts and injecting a double-shot of adrenalin into their 1990-91 season.Thanksgiving Weekend. Everybody was calling everybody a turkey, everybody&rsquo;s face was cranberry red and the Whalers had their first full house (15,635) of the season.The Whalers scored four power-play goals midway through the third period to erase a three-goal deficit Nov. 23, and the 4-3 victory ended as one of the most emotional comeback victories in franchise history.In that one, Boston coach Mike Milbury claimed Todd Krygier ran Andy Moog among various Whalers infractions involving the Bruin reoalie.Later, Chris Nilan wickedly cross-checked Verbeek in the face.John Carter gave Ulf Samuelsson a nasty two-hander across the thigh and got a game misconduct. According to Ulfie, Carter was only six inches away from castrating him.And, in the main event, Cam Neely elbowed Randy Ladouceur in the face and then clubbed him over the head with a stick for a match penalty.And, oh yes, Milbury went bonkers, banging the glass partition between the benches, took a swipe in the general direction of backup goalie Peter Sidorkiewicz and almost ignited an alltime bench battle royale between coaches.Sidorkiewicz was quoted later as saying Milbury was a chicken as a player and is a chicken as a coach.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll go right down there myself and punch him (Milbury) in the mouth,&rdquo; Whalers&rsquo; general manager Ed Johnston seethed. &ldquo;And if Neely does&rsquo;t get a 10-game suspension. I&rsquo;ll be very disappointed.&ldquo;Maybe Milbury woke us up. Maybe I ought to thank him. But if he wants to come after me, I&rsquo;ll be happy to oblige him anytime. Sooner the better. I didn&rsquo;t take off those glasses to clean them.&rdquo;Believe these guys.Johnston tangled with Pat Quinn when they coached in the American League.Milbury is well remembered for beating a Rangers&rsquo; fan with a shoe and once went after an organist for mocking his Maine players.And Ley says,&rdquo;they almost gave me a badge&rdquo; for fighting as acoach in the minors. He tangled with a spare goalie once.The next night in Hartford, the Bruins had a 3-0 lead. And, holy deja vu. Dave Poulin, playing for the first time in six weeks after a groin injury, got a game misconduct for high sticking Ron Francis in the face and breaking his nose.Poulin swears it was an accident and the Whalers seemed to believe him. But they also got three goals back to tie it. Then, a chip off the old Bruins&rsquo; championship block, Ken Hodge Jr., scored to give the Bruins a 4-3 victory. To that point, the Whalers had outscored the Bruins 10-0 in the third period of three meetings.&ldquo;We read all the negatives, how bad shape our ownership is, how bad our power play is, how bad our fans are because they don&rsquo;t spit and swear,&rdquo; Kevin Dineen said. &ldquo;Go sit in the stands in Boston, you realize how good our fans are. Everybody says how bad things are here, but you&rsquo;ve got to take the positive.&ldquo;We look at Boston as a role model in that they come to play hard every night. That&rsquo;s what we have to do. There was plenty of entertainment this weekend. When Ricky Ley and Ed Johnston played the game, it was no big deal. That stuff happened every night. Sports Illustrated will probably come out and say how violent it is. Hockey will take a bashing.&ldquo;But you don&rsquo;t see brawls in hockey now like you do in baseball and some other sports. And this weekend was great, aggressive hockey. It was fun.&rdquo;<h2>HARTFORD</h2>TRANSACTIONSNov. 20: Terry Yake, C, and Daryl Reaugh, G, recalled from Springfield (AHL). Jergus Baca, D, and Kay Whitmore, G, assigned to Springfield. Nov. 23: Marc Bergevin, D, recalled from Springfield. Nov. 24: Yake and Bergevin assigned to Springfield.ROSTERC&mdash;Ron Francis, Dean Evason, Carey Wilson. Mike Tomlak.LW&mdash;Randy Cunneyworth, Yvon Corriveau, Bobby Holik, Todd Krygier.RW&mdash;Pat Verbeek, Kevin Dineen, Ed Kastelic, Scott Young.LD&mdash;Randy Ladouceur, Grant Jennings. Ulf Samuelsson.RD&mdash;Sylvain Cote, Doug Crossman, Brad Shaw.G&mdash;Daryl Reaugh, Peter Sidorkiewicz.INJURIESDave Babych, D, right wrist surgery, indefinite.Paul Cyr, LW. bruised shoulder, day-to-dayLEADERSG&mdash;Verbeek, 13. A&mdash;Dineen, 12. P&mdash;Dineen, 31. PIM&mdash;Samuelsson, 76. &#9632;

ALL NOISY ON BOSTON, HARTFORD FRONT

<div class="byline">BY STEPHEN HARRIS</div>On Thanksgiving Day 1990, the Boston Bruins had two very good reasons to be thankful.Reggie Lemelin and Andy Moog. And nobody is more appreciative of that than defenseman Garry Galley.&ldquo;Now, the season of giving is coming,&rdquo; said Galley,&rdquo;maybe we can start giving them a hand.&rdquo;After splitting a controversy-filled weekend series with the Hartford Whalers Nov. 23-24, the Bruins were clinging to the Adams Division lead, despite being inconsistent all season.Coach Mike Milbury&rsquo;s primary goal for this season was offensive improvement, but the reality had been just the opposite: Through 24 games, the Bruins had scored 76 goals, an average of 3.17 per game.Yet the Bruins, since their horren dous 2-4-1 October road trip, have managed to win, going 9-3-3. The record, quite simply, was testimony to the splendid play of Lemelin and Moog, who&rsquo;ve picked up where they left off last season when they won the Jennings Trophy (lowest goals-against-average.)Moog had a 5-5-3 record with a 2.58 GAA, while Lemelin boasted an 8-2-1 record and 3.31 GAA&mdash;not bad for a man who, at 36, is the NHL&rsquo;s oldest goalie, and who rode the Boston bench throughout most of last year&rsquo;s playoffs.&ldquo;Was there concern? Yes,&rdquo; said Milbury of Lemelin. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re wondering, &lsquo;Is it time? Will he bounce back from what wasn&rsquo;t a very good post-season? Is Reggie too old or what&rsquo;s going on?&rsquo;&rdquo;There was speculation a rookie goalie might even threaten to take Lemelin&rsquo;s job at training camp.&ldquo;Maybe we did the old dog a favor by bringing in some young puppies to challenge him,&rdquo; said Milbury. &ldquo;He was angry. And he&rsquo;s played very well right from the start.&ldquo;A classic standup goalie, Lemelin admitted he felt some added motivation early this season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m usually a slow starter, but this summer there was a little bit of talk and I wanted to quiet it early,&rdquo; said Lemelin. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tough life, always being reminded of your age.&ldquo;If there were any doubts, I wanted to eliminate them quickly. And I think I&rsquo;ve accomplished that. I got my confidence early in camp. I&rsquo;ve stood up well, and read plays well. And not only am I in the right position, but the puck&rsquo;s hitting me. That helps. You know how bad you can look when it&rsquo;s not hitting you.&rdquo;The Bruins are very grateful those pucks have been hitting Lemelin and Moog. As a team, they&rsquo;re confident things can only get better as the season wears on.&ldquo;For the most part, I&rsquo;d say we&rsquo;re playing fairly well,&rdquo; said Moog. &ldquo;But our mistakes are fundamen. mistakes.&rdquo;And with the Bruins not scoring, every defensive error has been magnified.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve put a lot of pressure on our defense by not scoring many goals,&rdquo; said Moog. &ldquo;If we were putting the puck in the net a bit more ourselves, the mistakes wouldn&rsquo;t have been nearly as noticeable.&rdquo;If the Bruins&rsquo; goalies hadn&rsquo;t been keeping the puck out of the net so effectively, the mistakes would have been really noticeable.<h2>BOSTON</h2>TRANSACTIONSNov. 21: John Byce, RW, and Bob Beers, D, assigned to Maine (AHL).ROSTERC&mdash;Dave Poulin, Craig Janney, Wes Walz, Ken Hodge, Vladimir Ruzicka.LW&mdash;Randy Burridge, Andy Brickley, John Carter, Bob CarpenterRW&mdash;Chris Nilan, Cam Neely, Bob Sweeney, Dave Christian.LD&mdash;Al Pedersen, Don Sweeney. Jim Wiemer.RD&mdash;Ray Bourque. Garry Galley, Glen Wesley.G&mdash;Reggie Lemelin, Andy Moog.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Lyndon Byers, RW. bruised back, day-to-day Michael Thelven. D, chronic right knee pain, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Neely, 11. A&mdash;Bourque, 14. P&mdash;Neely. 23 PIM&mdash;Nilan, 94. &#9632;

TURKEY-TIME OFFENSE THANKFUL FOR GOALIES

<div class="byline">BY JEFF JACOBS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01116/5822444-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="414" height="637"></div>Yes, Hartford Whalers&rsquo; general manager Ed Johnston is firmly in favor of a lottery for the NHL&rsquo;s top draft pick.And, no, Johnston doesn&rsquo;t think it will be in place before junior sensation Eric Lindros goes to Quebec or New Jersey (the Devils own Toronto&rsquo;s No. 1 pick) in June.&ldquo;I know Harry Sinden of Boston and I want it,&rdquo; Johnston said. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ll get it.&rdquo;According to Calgary GM Cliff Fletcher, the New York Rangers put up a proposal before the board of governors in September and the governors were against the idea.Obviously, the Adams Division teams don&rsquo;t want Quebec to add Lindros to their kettle of young talent. Johnston and Sinden would love to see New Jersey&rsquo;s Lou Lamoriello lend Peter Stastny back to the Nordiques for a March victory or two to clinch Lindros for the Devils.But Johnston insists he would want the lottery anyway. And he says to safeguard against a good team getting the top pick, there should be a minimum point stipulation (60 or 70) in order to participate.The strongest argument for a lottery obviously is to eliminate teams going into the tank, or at least the perception of such.Dropping a few tilts to get Lindros or a Mario Lemieux, obviously, would be very tempting.Johnston, however, swears his 1983-84 Penguins didn&rsquo;t tank any games to get Mario: &ldquo;We had no talent. Quebec, this year, has a lot more talent than we did.&rdquo;No lottery mechanism is perfect. The National Basketball Association, which has tinkered with it for several years, knows this better than anybody. But if you factor in the excitement and publicity surrounding the event along with eliminating the potential tank jobs, the lottery idea is a pretty good one.But it&rsquo;s not the lottery that&rsquo;s got us so worked up. It&rsquo;s The Lottery. As in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. That&rsquo;s a bizarre short story about a small town which annually held a lottery. The &ldquo;winner&rdquo; earned the right to be stoned by the other folks in town.As we watch 18-year-old first-round pick after 18-year-old first-round pick get chewed up by the NHL draft, I can&rsquo;t help but think about The Lottery.It&rsquo;s sad to see how these kids&rsquo; lifelong dreams can die so quickly.Which brings us to Fred Arthur. That&rsquo;s Dr.Fred Arthur, a resident at Victoria Hospital in London, Ont. Arthur, the guy who led Cornwall (OHL) to the Memorial Cup and was drafted eighth overall by Hartford in 1980, works the emergency room.Now, that&rsquo;s pressure. He used to kill penalties in the NHL. Now he saves lives.&ldquo;In emergency, there sometimes isn&rsquo;t much time to think,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;You have a patient in a coma, say. In hockey, you often function through reflex actions. A lot of it is automatic. Things happen so quickly. I have a little more time to think than that. But you never know what&rsquo;s going to happen. You can sit there having coffee with your feet up and then all hell breaks loose.&rdquo;All hell broke loose in the last week of October, 1982 when Arthur walked away from the Philadelphia Flyers at age 21. He prematurely ended what he says is,&rdquo;The dream for every Canadian kid.&rdquo;The Whalers made a huge deal of Arthur&rsquo;s arrival in 1980. They trumpeted him as the next Larry Robinson. They threw a summer news conference. And, then, he didn&rsquo;t make the team and was sent back to Cornwall. The next summer he was traded to Philadelphia. Looking back on it, the situation was cruel.&ldquo;My first year in Hartford was much like the Toronto Maple Leafs chewing up their young,&rdquo; says Arthur. &ldquo;I must take a major share of the blame myself for not being prepared. But the year plus with Philadelphia was good. I felt I showed I could play in the NHL, was that calibre. Then, I thought, &lsquo;Now what do I want to do all day?&rsquo;&rdquo;The answer was medicine. He didn&rsquo;t want to play hockey every day. The Whalers, in 1983, tried to lure Arthur back. He thought about it and said no. It wasn&rsquo;t easy. But he did it. And now Fred Arthur is a happy man.&ldquo;I play with a pickup team with other doctors now and we play tournaments around,&rdquo; Arthur said.Fred Arthur had a 96.2 average in high school. He is a bright man. He had a choice. He made it. He could come full circle instead going down a dead end street.When The Lottery comes knocking at an 18-year-old&rsquo;s door, he might be happy. But if he isn&rsquo;t good enough and he isn&rsquo;t educated enough, he&rsquo;s going to end up getting stoned.Jeff Jacobs is a hockey writer for the Hartford Courant. &#9632;

f0051-01

NO WINNERS GUARANTEED, EVEN IN A LOTTERY

Toronto&rsquo;s Dave Reid has never been a prolific goal scorer. His career high in seven NHL seasons is 14. But, in the space of four games between Nov. 8 and Nov. 14, Reid scored six times. He scored at least once in each game. And, more impressively, one goal in each game was short-handed. His nine goals in 17 games matched last season&rsquo;s total.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0289/5822475-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg" title="f0051-02" width="553" height="408"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Reid</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0051-02

ODDITIES

Vancouver rookie goalie Troy Gamble had heard all about Brett Hull and his big slapshot. But he didn&rsquo;t get to see it until Nov. 24. Hull beat Gamble twice to raise his NHL goal-scoring lead to 23 in the 3-3 tie. &ldquo;Maybe I didn&rsquo;t respect Brett Hull a whole bunch coming into the game, but I can tell you right now, he&rsquo;s a great player&mdash;tremendous,&rdquo; Gamble said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never played him. I always heard about his big shot, but I played against a lot of guys who can shoot the puck hard. I thought, &lsquo;What&rsquo;s so special about this big shot?&rsquo; But, does he have it. He&rsquo;s amazing, he really is.&rdquo;<h2>TOCCHET TOUGH</h2>Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; captain Rick Tocchet is one of three NHL players to score more than 30 goals and collect 300 penalty minutes in a season. In 1987-88, Tocchet scored 31 goals and added 301 PIM. Chicago&rsquo;s Al Secord and Vancouver&rsquo;s Tiger Williams are the others. Secord scored 44 goals and had 303 PIM in 1981-82, while Williams scored 35 goals and added 343 PIM in 1980-81. But Tocchet won&rsquo;t likely join the group this season. Through Nov. 25, Tocchet had 16 goals and 54 PIM in 26 games, a pace of 49 goals and 166 PIM.<h2>BLADES IN DOGHOUSE</h2>The IHL&rsquo;s Kansas City Blades were in the doghouse with a 4-18-1 record through Nov. 26. To help turn things around, the Blades hired a famous mutt. Snoopy, the lovable Peanuts comic strip character, will now appear on various Blades&rsquo; merchandise. The Blades have also planned a line of designer footwear. Instep Promotions will produce official Kansas City Blades&rsquo; shoes, complete with three-color team logo.<h2>SHARKS&rsquo; MAROONED</h2>The San Jose Sharks, who make their NHL debut next season, are currently choosing colors for their team jerseys. But they won&rsquo;t be maroon, silver or black. San Jose owners&rsquo; George and Gordon Gund recently rejected a proposal to outfit the Sharks in these colors after market research indicated maroon was not popular with souvenir buyers.<h2>ON THE MOVE</h2>Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; center Aaron Broten knows what it&rsquo;s like to live out of a suitcase. He&rsquo;s done it all season. Acquired by Quebec in the October waiver draft, the former Minnesota North Star played 20 games with the Nordique before his moving van arrived from Minnesota Nov. 16. He was just opening boxes when he learned he&rsquo;d been traded to Toronto the next day.<h2>RING LEADER</h2>The Edmonton Oilers haven&rsquo;t received their Stanley Cup rings, but public relations director Bill Tuele says it has nothing to do with the the phony ring fiasco revealed in Wayne Greztky&rsquo;s recent autobiography. Gretzky said phony rings were given to coach John Muckier, assistant coach Ted Green and team trainers. Rings are usually given out before the beginning of the regular season.<h2>QUESTION OF THE WEEK</h2>Why is goal scoring down this season?&ldquo;I think every team is tightening up their defense this season,&rdquo; says Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; coach Tom Webster, whose team has scored 100 goals, third best in the NHL. &ldquo;Teams are spending more time on penalty killing. I think everybody wants to get back to a tighter checking game.&rdquo;&ldquo;Goaltending has come way up,&rdquo; says New York Islanders&rsquo; coach Al Arbour, whose team has scored 64 goals, third worst in the NHL &ldquo;And I think teams are playing a tighter style of hockey. There&rsquo;s more emphasis on defense.&rdquo; &#9632;

CANUCK’S GAMBLE RESPECTS HULL

&#9632; Darcy Cahill has played for five teams in five seasons. His latest stop is in Hamilton with the Dukes. He&rsquo;s determined to make his final major junior season a memorable one.&#9632; Indianapolis&rsquo; Dominik Hasek is a world-class goaltender leading the International League with a 1.97 goals-against average in eight games. The only negative aspect of his development is Chicago&rsquo;s abundance of goaltenders.&#9632; Pittsburgh&rsquo;s scoring ace, John Cullen, is one of the season&rsquo;s biggest surprises. We&rsquo;ll visit the emerging star.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0358/5822530-1-eng-US/f0051-032.jpg" title="f0051-03" width="555" height="643"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dominik Hasek</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0051-03

NEXT WEEK

<div class="byline">BY CHRIS STEVENSON</div>Petr Svoboda negotiated a ceasefire, but Guy Carbonneau vowed to fight on.Svoboda ended&mdash;at least temporarily&mdash;his long and sometimes very bitter contract battle with the Montreal Canadiens Nov. 22, when he signed a one-year contract (plus an option) for a reported $650,000.The contract signing, which gives Svoboda just $50,000 less than what he was looking for, doesn&rsquo;t signify an end to the sometimes heated negotiations with Montreal managing director Serge Savard, just a six-month timeout.&ldquo;With a one-and-one deal, I can&rsquo;t get hurt,&rdquo; said Svoboda. &ldquo;Now I just want to have a good year and we can get back at it in June. I&rsquo;m happy. It&rsquo;s good money for a one-and-one.&rdquo;At various points in the negotiations, Svoboda demanded:a) to be traded;b) threatened to play out his option and sign with another NHL team;c) threatened to play out his option and sign with a European team;d) vowed never to play another game after this season with the Montreal Canadiens.&ldquo;Hmmm, yeah, I guess I said some of those things,&rdquo; said Svoboda. &ldquo;Negotiations are never easy. You get disappointed. You get frustrated on certain days. I don&rsquo;t regret anything I said.&rdquo;The bottom line for the Habs is Svoboda, though just 24, has evolved into the leader of a young blue line corps.After veterans Chris Chelios and Craig Ludwig were traded in the offseason and Gerald Diduck had a disappointing start to the season, the last thing Savard needed was to have Svoboda continue to be unhappy. To Svoboda&rsquo;s credit, he never allowed his situation to affect his play.While Svoboda&rsquo;s mind is free until June, Carbonneau is getting ready for a battle of nerves.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m fighting a game of patience and I can be patient a long time. I can wait until March or April. I&rsquo;ll borrow money if I have to,&rdquo; said Carbonneau with a sly look.Since he turns 31 in March, Carbonneau will become a free agent without compensation next season and he figures that&rsquo;s his biggest bargaining chip with Savard.But he also realized he&rsquo;s taking a chance that some other team will offer at least as much as what Savard is offering now&mdash;believed to be about $600,000 a year&mdash;up from his current salary of about $370,000.The pair have agreed on the length of contract&mdash;three years plus an option&mdash;but are far apart on money, said the Canadiens&rsquo; captain. It&rsquo;s reported Carbonneau wants $800,000 in the first year of that contract.&ldquo;I waited until Christmas the last time I played out my option and I put some water in my wine, I went down in salary,&rdquo; said Carbonneau. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to do that this time.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;m going to have a 50-goal season,&rdquo; said Carbonneau, getting out his needle for those who say he doesn&rsquo;t deserve big money because he&rsquo;s just the league&rsquo;s best defensive forward. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve won a Stanley Cup, a couple of Selkes and been nominated five times. What else do I need?&rdquo;<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nov. 20: Gilbert Dionne, LW, assigned to Fredericton (AHL) Nov. 22: Petr Svoboda, D. signed one-year contract.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Denis Savard. Guy Carbonneau, Brian Skrudland, Stephan Lebeau.LW&mdash;Mark Pederson, Andrew Cassels, Mario Roberge, Benoit Brunet.RW&mdash;Mike Keane, Russ Courtnall, Tom Chorske.LD&mdash;Petr Svoboda, Sylvain Lefebvre. Lyle Odelein, Donald Dufresne.RD&mdash;Matt Schneider, Eric Desjardins, J.J. Daigneault, Gerald Diduck.G&mdash;Patrick Roy, Jean-Claude Bergeron.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Shayne Corson. LW, hip pointer, day-to-day. Todd Ewen, RW, strained knee ligaments, day-to-day. Brent Gilchrist, LW, fractured finger, indefinite Mike McPhee, LW. sore groin, day-to-day. Stephane Richer. RW, hip pointer, day-to-day Sylvain Turgeon, LW, hernia surgery, indefinite Ryan Walter, LW, broken right wrist, indefinite.<h3>LEADERS</h3>G&mdash;Richer, 10. A&mdash;Savard, 12. P&mdash;Savard. 20. PIM&mdash;Ewen. 97. &#9632;

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December 7, 1990

GREATEST GAME HAS WORST PROMOTION

PLAYER OF WEEK JOFA TITA

GENERALS ADD PEARSON FOR SCORING, TOUGHNESS

DID YOU KNOW…