The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

November 8, 1991

The Hockey News November 8, 1991

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div>On Colin Patterson&rsquo;s first day on the job with the Buffalo Sabres, the visiting San Jose Sharks showed up at Memorial Auditorium for practice.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sitting there,&rdquo; said Patterson, &ldquo;and (San Jose coach) George Kingston walks by. He looks at me kind of funny and says, &lsquo;Colin, what are you doing here?&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;I just got traded.&rsquo; He said, &lsquo;Oh yes?&rsquo; I said, &lsquo;Yeah, George&hellip;to Buffalo.&rsquo;&rdquo;Some background is necessary here. Patterson almost became a Shark twice during last May&rsquo;s expansion draft and then again just recently after he asked the Flames to trade him.The Sharks made inquiries about Patterson&rsquo;s availability, but in the end, the Flames wanted to trade him outside of the Smythe Division.Essentially, the Flames gave away a player for future considerations (a low draft choice) who only two years previously, finished as the runner-up to Guy Carbonneau as the NHL&rsquo;s best defensive forward.The Flames were not prepared to give Patterson the one thing he so badly needed&mdash;ice time. Patterson missed almost 1&frac12; seasons because of injuries, including a broken ankle and major reconstructive surgery on his left knee.The Sabres were willing to gamble on his ability to make a full recovery. The Flames were not.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy to be going to Buffalo,&rdquo; said Patterson. &ldquo;Geographically, I&rsquo;m close to home (Toronto). I&rsquo;ve got friends who live in the area. Plus, I&rsquo;ll be making U.S. money and paying less tax. It&rsquo;ll be like a 30 per cent raise.&rdquo;The highlight of Patterson&rsquo;s career came in the 1989 playoffs when he scored the opening goal against Montreal Canadiens in the sixth and deciding game of the Flames&rsquo; one-and-only Stanley Cup championship season.That year, Patterson, Doug Gilmour and Joey Mullen formed the NHL&rsquo;s top two-way line, combining for 233 points and a cumulative plus-140.BLAZING HOT: Left winger Gary Roberts continued his torrid, early-season scoring pace by counting 10 goals in the Flames&rsquo; first 11 games. Roberts helped keep his run alive by scoring two empty-net goals against Minnesota North Stars in less than a week. He was also leading the league in plus-minus at plus-14.&ldquo;I definitely didn&rsquo;t expect to be off to this good a start,&rdquo; said Roberts. &ldquo;I probably haven&rsquo;t led the league in points since minor hockey, when I always used to beat Nieuwy (Joe Nieuwendyk) in the scoring race. Then he turned pro and scored 50 goals. You figure it out.&rdquo;Roberts is realistic about his chances of keeping up this pace. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not out to win the scoring title or anything,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Obivously, I&rsquo;m not going to stay on a goal-a-game pace. You&rsquo;ve got to have fun with it, but not get cocky.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: As the Flames waded through a schedule that saw them play 13 of their first 17 games on the road, they ran into a sudden rash of injuries. Center Carey Wilson did not accompany the team to Minnesota for their Oct. 22 game against the North Stars, complaining of an irritation in his shoulder. Team doctors ran four days of tests on him without coming to any conclusions about what was ailing him. &ldquo;To be honest, I don&rsquo;t want to say anything,&rdquo; said Wilson. &ldquo;Until we get some answers, the whole thing is speculation.&rdquo;Defenseman Ric Nattress strained the medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in the game against the North Stars (4-2 win Oct. 22) and returned to Calgary to convalesce. He was expected to miss about two weeks.The Flames were runners-up in both the Brent Sutter and Pat LaFontaine sweepstakes. Risebrough was not thrilled by a Chicago newspaper report that quoted owner Bill Wirtz as saying the Flames offered Joel Otto and Paul Ranheim for Sutter. Risebrough would only say he was interested in acquiring Sutter, who wound up in Chicago. To what extent? &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to acknowledge our level of interest,&rdquo; said Risebrough. &ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t be fair to the players on this team.&rdquo;<h2>CALGARY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 22: Mark Osiecki, D, assigned to Salt Lake (IHL). Oct. 24: Colin Patterson, LW.RW, traded to Buffalo for future considerations. Oct. 25: Osiecki recalled from Salt Lake.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Doug Gilmour. Joel Otto, Robert Reichel, Marc Habscheid.LW&mdash;Gary Roberts. Paul Ranheim, Thomas Forslund, Tim Sweeney.RW&mdash;Theo Fleury, Ron Stern. Tim Hunter. Martin Simard. Sergei Makarov.LD&mdash;Gary Suter, Jamie Macoun, Frank Musil.D&mdash;Al Maclnnis, Mark Osiecki. Neil Sheehy.G&mdash;Mike Vernon, Rick Wamsley.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Joe Nieuwendyk. C. surgery to repair miniscus cartilage in his left knee, day-to-day. Jim Kyte, D, hyperextended elbow, indefinite. Stephane Matteau. LW. charleyhorse. day-to-day Carey Wilson. C, irritation in right shoulder, day-to-day. Ric Nattress, D. strained medial collateral ligaments, left knee, Nov. 9. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Sabres come a’ Colin, take home Patterson

<div class="byline">By David Johnston</div>Hockey players wear pads to protect bones, cups to protect groins, helmets to protect heads, visors to protect eyes and mouthguards to protect teeth. But the death of a 16-year-old goaltender in suburban Montreal Oct. 20 underscored once again how Canada&rsquo;s national sport is still a deadly game. And probably always will be.Stephane Harvey, a goaltender for the midget St-Hubert Jets, became the seventh Canadian to lose his life on the ice since 1983&mdash;and the sixth to die following incidents in which the neck was struck or cut.In the second period of a game at Colisee Jean Beliveau in Longueuil, Harvey collapsed after taking a 30-foot slap shot on his mask. As he fell, with his head turned to one side, he was hit on the neck with a stinging 10-foot rebound shot. Two nurses in the crowd of 400 tried in vain to revive him with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and a heart massage.While witnesses speculated the rebound shot caused his death, a Quebec coroner ruled following a preliminary autopsy report that Harvey actually died of a heart disorder. The pathologist who conducted the autopsy found evidence of lesions on Harvey&rsquo;s heart which indicated the boy suffered from irregular heart rhythms. Coroner Francois Mercier said it is possible the stress of the game, and the shots to the mask and neck, were catalysts that brought on a heart attack.The coroner&rsquo;s ruling was consistent with two other coroner rulings in Quebec since 1987 in which players struck in the neck were found to have died of more fundamental causes.In Sept. 1987, 17-year-old Mario Cote of Alymer, Que., died after he was hit on the neck by a puck while sitting on the bench of his midget Hull Citoyens club. Coroner Gaston Tremblay said the boy died of cerebral hemorrhage, which could have been provoked by any number of incidents.In November of last year, nine-year-old Jean-Louis Numainville, of St-Jerome, Que., died after he was struck in the side of the neck by a weak flip pass. The boy, a defenseman with the peewee St-Jerome Blues, was skating backwards at the time. As in Cote&rsquo;s death, the coroner cited cerebral hemorrhage as the cause.Of the other four deaths since 1983, three involved players who died of throat lacerations. Two were Quebecers&mdash;Jamie Lechman, 14, of Montreal, in 1983, and Stephane St. Aubin, 17, of Repentigny, in 1984. In the 1988-89 season, 17-year-old Michae I Cameron, a B. C. junior player, died in a similar accident. In the 1989-90 season, Sault Ste. Marie minor-hockey coach John Jagger collapsed and died during a practice after suffering what pathologists determined was a cerebral hemorrhage.For Canada&rsquo;s 420,000 amateur hockey players, who play an average of 40 games every year on 26,500 teams, coroner Mercier&rsquo;s ruling last week raises an obvious question: Who is fit to play hockey and who is not?While it is not clear whether goaltender Harvey&rsquo;s parents knew of their son&rsquo;s heart ailment, Mercier&rsquo;s ruling sends a simple message to parents. They shouldn&rsquo;t let their children play hockey without first sending them to doctors to see if they suffer from a medical abnormality that could put them at high risk on the ice.This is not to say children who suffer from particular disorders should be prevented by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from participating in an accredited league. That should be a decision for parents to make with their children. But a medical examination, including an electrocardiogram and a CAT-Scan, helps make for a more informed decision.Like all minor hockey goalies in Quebec, Harvey was wearing a Canadian Standards Association-approved mask/helmet, a rigid throat protector (a piece of plastic which hangs from the mask) and a throat guard (neck collar) on the afternoon he died. After taking the slapshot to his mask, Harvey&rsquo;s head turned to the side, leaving the throat guard to take the full impact of the rebound shot.&ldquo;Throat guards aren&rsquo;t designed to protect against the impact of a puck,&rdquo; said Andree Dupont, an official with the Regie de securite dans la sport du Quebec, the agency which regulates safety standards in Quebec amateur sports. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re designed to protect against throat lacerations.&rdquo;If throat guards were stronger, maybe Harvey would still be alive today. But as Dupont said, &ldquo;You&rsquo;d almost need a steel neck plate to give a goalie the full protection he needs. You&rsquo;d need a material so hard you wouldn&rsquo;t be able to look down at your feet.&rdquo;Guy Blondeau, president of the Quebec Ice Hockey Federation said, &ldquo;Ideally, you&rsquo;d want to completely cover a hockey player&rsquo;s neck&mdash;skaters and goalies alike&mdash;but you can&rsquo;t because you need some open area to help keep body temperature down.&rdquo; A high body temperature could thin blood and provoke cerebral hemorrhage.Under the terms of a Confederation Life insurance policy held by the CAHA, Harvey&rsquo;s parents will receive a death benefit of $15,000. &#9632;

Goalie’s death linked to heart disorder

<h2>NOTE</h2>Unofficial game summaries provided by National Hockey League; (shots on goal/plus-minus rating); SA&mdash;shots against; GA&mdash;goals against; ENG&mdash;empty net goals; DEC&mdash;decision, charged to goaltenders of record when deciding goal is scored.<h2>Monday, Oct. 21</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05179/6234831-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="589" height="1051"></div><h2>Tuesday, Oct. 22</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-06146/6234824-1-eng-US/f0029-062.jpg" title="f0029-06" width="607" height="783"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-07121/6234817-1-eng-US/f0029-072.jpg" title="f0029-07" width="611" height="931"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-08105/6234810-1-eng-US/f0029-082.jpg" title="f0029-08" width="611" height="939"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-0997/6234803-1-eng-US/f0029-092.jpg" title="f0029-09" width="625" height="929"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1088/6234796-1-eng-US/f0029-102.jpg" title="f0029-10" width="587" height="985"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1182/6234789-1-eng-US/f0029-112.jpg" title="f0029-11" width="1765" height="1399"><figcaption class="caption-body">A shutout over San Jose Oct. 23 helped move Kay Whitmore into fifth place in the individual goaltender rankings with a 2.42 goals-against average. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div><h2>Wednesday, Oct. 23</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-1275/6234782-1-eng-US/f0029-122.jpg" title="f0029-12" width="577" height="1387"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01798/6234775-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="607" height="2167"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02537/6234768-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="613" height="853"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03366/6234761-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="609" height="843"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04256/6234754-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="607" height="439"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05183/6234747-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="1177" height="1191"><figcaption class="caption-body">The New Jersey Devils beat Pittsburgh 4-2 Oct. 24 with the help of a goal and an assist from Peter Stastny. (Photo by Brian Miller/BBS)</figcaption></div><h2>Thursday, Oct. 24</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06146/6234740-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="609" height="1605"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-07122/6234733-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="595" height="2161"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01734/6234726-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="619" height="3103"></div><h2>Friday, Oct. 25</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02482/6234719-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="593" height="295"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03346/6234712-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="605" height="677"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04260/6234705-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="627" height="1585"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05210/6234698-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="595" height="609"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06174/6234691-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="555" height="1107"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob McGill&rsquo;s goal prevented San Jose from being shut out</figcaption></div><h2>Saturday, Oct. 26</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-07150/6234684-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="597" height="2767"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-08131/6234677-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="618" height="1517"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-09115/6234670-1-eng-US/f0031-092.jpg" title="f0031-09" width="585" height="1536"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-01783/6234663-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="611" height="1929"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02539/6234656-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="606" height="1926"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03369/6234649-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="604" height="642"></div><h2>Sunday, Oct. 27</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04245/6234642-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="607" height="1196"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05174/6234635-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="600" height="1927"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-06143/6234628-1-eng-US/f0032-062.jpg" title="f0032-06" width="597" height="1635"></div> &#9632;

f0029-05

NHL SUMMARIES

<div class="byline">By Jeff Gordon</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02864/6233808-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="404" height="504"></div>Almost every day in the NHL, a coach and his general manager have a conversation like this:Coach: We &lsquo;re getting killed out there. I need some size, some presence. Is Hammerhead still available?GM: I haven&rsquo;t talked to them since last month. They wanted Brickwall, LaPeenom and a No. 1 pick for him. They think he&rsquo;s another Messier! I can&rsquo;t stand dealing with those guys. They think they&rsquo;re geniuses.Coach: Look, I had Boomalot in juniors. He&rsquo;s a good kid and I keep reading he&rsquo;s on the block. Don&rsquo;t the Cyclops need a back-up goaltender?GM: Yeah, but there are a dozen goaltenders on the market. We can&rsquo;t even get a No. 3 for Babblingbrook. &hellip;For seven years, Bryan Murray had these sorts of talks with Washington Capitals&rsquo; general manager David Poile&mdash;one of the most unflappable executives in the NHL.&ldquo;There were many times we talked about getting a goaltender,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;And they&rsquo;ve ended up with a good situation in goal.&rdquo;Of course, that didn&rsquo;t happen until after Murray was fired and replaced by his brother Terry. Such is the life of an NHL coach, which is why so many coaches are going into management.Murray became GM of the Detroit Red Wings last summer and quickly hired himself as coach. Now he holds those spirited personnel conversations with himself.His coaching and managerial instincts clashed when the Red Wings opened the season short on goaltending.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the problem with being general manager and coach,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;As a coach, you feel desperation more. You feel you have to get a goaltender. As general manager, you know you have to be patient.&ldquo;Being both gives you a unique chance to evaluate. But you have to hold back the coaching end of it.&rdquo;So far, Murray has done brilliantly as GM. To keep his sanity during the decision-making process, he involves assistant GM Nick Polano, associate coach Doug MacLean and his scouts.Last season they acquired versatile Paul Ysebaert from the Devils for extra defenseman Lee Norwood. They also got speedy forward Kevin Miller and young ruffians Jim Cummins and Dennis Vial from the Rangers for enforcer Joey Kocur&mdash;who may be on the decline&mdash;and finesse defenseman Per Djoos.And recently they added Blues&rsquo; goaltender Vincent Riendeau (29-9-6 last season) for spare defenseman Rick Zombo.&ldquo;We had an obvious need for goaltending,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We opened up on defense with nine guys who could play in the league. To do it this way, St. Louis helped themselves by getting a veteran defenseman and I helped myself, too.&rdquo;Before the Riendeau trade, Murray explored other options particularly estranged Devils&rsquo; goaltender Sean Burke and Flyers&rsquo; back-up Ken Wregget. But the price tags made him flinch.The Devils, for instance, reportedly wanted Jimmy Carson and two No. 1 picks for Burke, who is playing for the Canadian Olympic team this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03630/6233801-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="544" height="992"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bryan Murray</figcaption></div>Murray helped himself without denting the motherlode of young talent colleague Jimmy Devellano gathered through the draft. Now few clubs have as many assets as the Red Wings.When lads like Sergei Fedorov, Yves Racine, Keith Primeau and Niklas Lidstrom hit stride, the Wings will be back on the track to Stanley Cup contention.&ldquo;I think we&rsquo;ll be a little better hockey club,&rdquo; Murray said cautiously. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a matter of fitting the right role guys in now.&rdquo;That will be the topic of further discussions between GM Murray and his underling, coach Murray. Communication shouldn&rsquo;t be a problem, should it? &#9632;

f0017-02

Two-job Murray building a winner

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011379/6232938-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="363" height="361"></div><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021122/6232931-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="37" height="37">Tom Chorske and Rollie Melanson: Trade &ldquo;throw-ins&rdquo; are playing key roles with their new teams.<img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03813/6232924-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="37" height="38">Pat LaFontaine&rsquo;s return: A goal and two assists in his Sabres&rsquo; debut. Welcome back, Pat.<img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04592/6232917-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="40" height="38">Paul Holmgren: Flyer coach said team waived Derrick Smith because, among Other things, he didn&rsquo;t fight.<img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05434/6232910-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="36" height="36">The NHL: The Penguins&rsquo; $31-million price tag proves once again expansion franchise fees were too high.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06314/6232903-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="355" height="358"></div> &#9632;

f0002-01

CHEERS & JEERS

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-07200/6232993-1-eng-US/f0002-072.jpg" title="f0002-07" width="495" height="501"></div>Give me jam and goals enough for all. Then spread them around the team. That&rsquo;s my trade philosophy.Some people call it courage and conviction. Others talk about players being anatomically correct. I want guys who have jam.Like Pat LaFontaine and Brent Sutter.They represent perfect packages: Manual talent and mental toughness. Pierre Turgeon is no Pat LaFontaine. Adam Creighton and Steve Thomas do not add up to Brent Sutter.I don&rsquo;t care how many points Turgeon gets or how many goals Creighton and Thomas get.New York Islander general manager Bill Torrey did well to get several worthwhile players in return for his two stars but he did not get players around whom he can build a team.LaFontaine will be the lightning rod in Buffalo and Sutter, the consummate second center in Chicago.Goals and jam: LaFontaine. Jam and goals: Sutter.Now let&rsquo;s see what happens in Buffalo and Chicago, two cities starved for playoff success. The Sabres have not won a playoff round since 1983. The Blackhawks have not won the Stanley Cup since 1961.Teams seldom win the Cup any more without making a crucial trade or two along the way. Not since the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 has a team prevailed without a critical move during its Cup-winning season.Craig Patrick added Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson last season. Glen Sather picked up Joe Murphy, Petr Klima and Adam Graves the year before. Cliff Fletcher traded for Doug Gilmour three years ago. Sather obtained Craig Simpson the previous year. He added Kent Nilsson one season earlier.Of course, a willingness to make trades does not guarantee a Cup.If it did, the St. Louis Blues would win every year. Ron Caron&rsquo;s X. Blues are a mishmash of players like no other in the league.A check of NHL team scoring as of Oct. 21 revealed the Blues had just five homegrown players. The other 19 were either trade or free-agent acquisitions.Second to the Blues were the Minnesota North Stars. Bob Clarke&rsquo;s Stars had just six products of their own organization.The Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames are teams of an entirely different nature. Each of them had used 24 players. Each of them had used 16 of their own players&mdash;more than any other teams in the league.However, Montreal has already made one major trade: Stephane Richer for Kirk Muller. Goals for jam. Muller represents the better balance of the two.Both teams are aiming for the Cup this season. The playoffs will be the true measure of each player&rsquo;s impact. Richer is maddeningly inconsistent but has a career average of one goal for every two playoff games (36 in 72). Muller is a force every night but how much of one? He has just five goals in 33 career playoff games.Despite Montreal&rsquo;s standing as a team born of itself, all three members of its No. 1 offensive line&mdash;Denis Savard, Sylvain Turgeon and Muller&mdash;have been obtained in trades. The trio&rsquo;s contribution will have to be substantial for the Canadiens to win another Cup.GM Serge Savard has not been proven a shrewd trader so far&mdash;but his reputation may yet be enhanced. &#9632;

f0002-07

NHL more a trade than a profession

<div class="byline">By Rand Simon</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011534/6233024-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Sabres expect more from Pat LaFontaine than just leading them past the first round of the playoffs. They also hope his star appeal will help put more people in the stands at the Memorial Auditorium. (Photo by Bruce Bennet/BBS)</figcaption></div>Of all the things Pat LaFontaine accomplishes this season with the Buffalo Sabres, none may be greater than the cross-body block he executed in the hour before his first game. That&rsquo;s when LaFontaine elevated the Sabres to an unaccustomed position in sports-mad Buffalo: No. 1.It was 6 p.m., Oct. 27, and time for Buffalo Bills&rsquo; Talk on WGR radio. Calls flooded into the station. But there was no talk about one of the National Football League&rsquo;s best teams, the team that set an NFL record for attendance last season.There was only talk of LaFontaine, the Sabres&rsquo; newest and most-dynamic offensive player since the legendary Gilbert Perreault. &ldquo;It was kind of fun to drive to work and hear everybody talk about the Sabres all of a sudden on the talk shows,&rdquo; said Buffalo coach Rick Dudley.Even more enjoyable for Dudley was the sight of LaFontaine in Buffalo blue and white against the Hartford Whalers. LaFontaine made a stunning debut at Memorial Auditorium&mdash;scoring one goal, assisting on two others and earning several standing ovations.It was LaFontaine&rsquo;s first game after being traded Oct. 25 from the New York Islanders to Buffalo in return for a package of players that included center Pierre Turgeon, the onetime heir apparent to Perreault. Turgeon, the No. 1 overall pick in 1987, produced the points but not the pizzazz of the Buffalo great. LaFontaine is capable of both: he can light up the scoreboard and electrify the fans.The Sabres rode the wave of enthusiasm sparked by LaFontaine&rsquo;s arrival to a 5-1 victory over the Whalers. One night earlier, Turgeon was held pointless in his first appearance with the Islanders, a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.LaFontaine and Turgeon were the marquee players in a seven-player deal. Accompanying Turgeon to Long Island were defenseman Uwe Krupp, center Benoit Hogue and right winger Dave McLIwain. Also dispatched to Buffalo were right winger Randy Wood, defenseman Randy Hillier and future considerations.The trade brought to an end months of speculation over LaFontaine&rsquo;s fate. Disillusioned over a contract dispute with Islanders&rsquo; general manager Bill Torrey, LaFontaine refused to play for the Islanders this season. &ldquo;There were a lot of promises made that were broken,&rdquo; said LaFontaine, &ldquo;and I have seen some of the treatment given players like Bryan Trottier in the past. I had just hoped they would live up to some of their promises.&rdquo; Agent Don Meehan the Islanders never fulfilled a promise to renegotiate LaFontaine&rsquo;s $425,000-a-year contract after he scored 54 goals and 105 points in 1989-90.When it became clear he would not join the Islanders, a LaFontaine lottery ensued: 14 teams reportedly made bids for the superstar, among them offers of Doug Gilmour and Gary Suter from Calgary; Mike Modano and more from Minnesota; and Pat Verbeek and others from Hartford.Now LaFontaine is looked upon as the savior for a franchise that hasn&rsquo;t won a playoff series since 1983. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no more pressure-than what I put on myself,&rdquo; said LaFontaine.No NHL team has been so good in the regular season and so bad in the post-season. Leading Buffalo past the first round of the playoffs may be the simplest of LaFontaine&rsquo;s tasks. He is also expected to lift sagging ticket sales and made it a personal challenge to elevate Alexander Mogilny&rsquo;s sagging level of play. The talented right winger has been a major disappointment this season. (See page 8 for story on Mogilny.)Mogilny seemed inspired by LaFontaine&rsquo;s presence against the Whalers. He scored once&mdash;with help from linemate LaFontaine&mdash;and played his best game of the season. Mogilny was not the only Sabre to benefit from LaFontaine&rsquo;s largesse. Dave Andreychuk converted a behind-the-back pass from LaFontaine for a third goal by the line.All this production will not come cheaply to the Sabres. LaFontaine agreed to terms on a four-year, $7.3-million contract before the game&mdash;making him the highest-paid player in franchise history and ranking him third in the league behind Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Terms call for: a $l-million signing bonus; yearly salaries of $ 1.4 million, $1.5 million, $1.6 million and $1.8 million; and substantial individual and team bonuses, among them a $100,000 payout for scoring 50 goals or 100 points.With the addition of LaFontaine, Buffalo&rsquo;s greatest shortcoming is on defense where an offensive blueliner is needed to generate goals. There is speculation the Sabres aren&rsquo;t finished dealing yet but general manager Gerry Meehan denied more trades are imminent.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy with the composition of the team,&rdquo; said Buffalo GM Gerry Meehan. &ldquo;We now have the speed element to attack the puck and recover possession if we lose it whereas before we didn&rsquo;t have that.&rdquo;&ldquo;LaFontaine is one of those players who can get your whole club enthusiastic,&rdquo; added director of hockey operations John Muckier. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the type of person who feels if he doesn&rsquo;t play a good game he has cheated the person who bought a ticket.&rdquo;(For more on the LaFontaine trade see pages 2, 5, 11 and 13). &#9632;

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S.O.S. Saving our Sabres: LaFontaine’s mission

An open letter to Stan Fischler:Sure Stan, you Americans are the best. The best at football, the best at baseball, the best at basketball, hell you guys are the best at everything. Except hockey.By giving your fellow Americans the same number of ice facilities per city and town as there are in Canada you claim Uncle Sam would forever bury Johnny Canuck as a hockey power (THN. Oct. 18). What have you been smoking?The United States has a population more than 10 times larger than Canada&rsquo;s and you can&rsquo;t even put one team of all Americans on the ice without them getting embarrassed. The Soviet and European players are better than most Americans who lace on a pair of skates.So give us all a break, Stan, and go back to sleep. We&rsquo;ll wake you after the hockey season ends.Marc Yaworski&nbsp;Saskatoon, Sask.<h2>Original recipe</h2>Al Morganti apparently feels the game during the Original Six era was inferior (THN, Oct. 15). I disagree.While it&rsquo;s obvious today&rsquo;s players are bigger, faster and yes, even a bit smarter, there still remains one very important difference. The so-called collection of &ldquo;Canadian crew-cuts&rdquo; this knowlegeable American refers to in his column, played hockey for the love of the game, the pride of the game and most importantly for the fans.So, Al, you can have your case of the watered-down American brand. I&rsquo;ll continue to savor my original icecold Canadian six pack.Jerry W. Derkacz&nbsp;St. Catharines, Ont.<h2>Goes both ways</h2>I don&rsquo;t support the fans at Hamilton&rsquo;s Copps Coliseum who booed the American national anthem before the final game of the Canada Cup. In fact, I thought it was in very poor taste.However, I do find it highly ironic that certain Americans view Canadians as having &ldquo;no class&rdquo;. There&rsquo;s nothing like a good generalization.Perhaps these people have never seen a Blue Jays game at Yankee Stadium when the Canadian anthem was booed.Bill Ponech&nbsp;Lethbridge, Alta.<h2>Suspicions confirmed</h2>I always believed intelligent people learned from their mistakes. Giving the television contract back to SportsChannel only confirmed my suspicions: the NHL is governed by a band of blathering idiots.Looks like I&rsquo;ll be deprived of my favorite sport for another year. Thank you so very much.Carrie K. Holland&nbsp;Jonestown. Tex.<h2>Mistaken identity</h2>Included among the innovative aspects of the NHL&rsquo;s 75th anniversary celebration has been the iiSC of the historic sweaters of &ldquo;Original Six&rdquo; teams. The concept is a good one, but I&rsquo;ve noticed many of the media&rsquo;s references to the jerseys have been inaccurate.To set the record straight, none of the vintage sweaters being worn this season relate to the NHL&rsquo;s inaugural year (1917). In fact, just one. the New York Rangers&rsquo;, is from the team&rsquo;s first season (the Rangers entered the NHL in 1926-27).I&rsquo;m enjoying the nostalgia&hellip;but it would be good if it was more accurately portrayed.Rev. Glen R. Goodhand&nbsp;Arnprior. Ont.<h2>Duds aren&rsquo;t duds</h2>So Stan Fischler believes the 21-year-old Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; uniforms look like something out of the 19th century (THN, Oct. 18)? He has got to be kidding.The Sabres&rsquo; uniforms are as competitive and modem as any other in the league and are, in some aspects, even better. Fischler should take a look at his beloved Rangers&rsquo; wardrobe. He&rsquo;d see their red, white and blue color combination is overused and that the jerseys don&rsquo;t even bear the team logo.The Sabres&rsquo; blue and gold color scheme is one of the few unique ones in the NHL.Scott McCarthy&nbsp;Buffalo. N. Y.<h2>Bush league</h2>It was nice of U.S. President George Bush to congratulate the NHL on its 75th anniversary with a taped message shown on scoreboards throughout America on opening night.There was just one problem. There are 15 NHL teams that play in the United States, not 14 as Bush stated.I realize he has more pressing matters to tend to, both internal and external, but his staff ought to do more thorough research before writing his speeches.Then again, Bush didn&rsquo;t even know who Mario Lemieux was last June when the Penguins visited the White House after they won the Stanley Cup.Tom Accetta&nbsp;Branchville, N.J.Make your feelings known. Fax us your comments at&nbsp;(416) 445-0753&nbsp;or write to&nbsp;Letters, The Hockey News, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont., M3B 2R2&nbsp;in Canada. In the U.S.; write to&nbsp;Letters, The Hockey News, P.O. Box 904, Buffalo N.Y., 14240-9947.&nbsp;Include home and business phone numbers. THN reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

Standing up for Canadian pride

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011549/6233079-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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Elston

<h2>Neeld tells his story</h2>Eighteen years after losing an eye in a junior-hockey accident, Greg Neeld is writing a book depicting his battle to pursue a career in the NHL.Neeld, now 35 and working as a business manufacturer in Vancouver, said the book will tell of the December, 1973 accident and his subsequent court battle to play in the NHL.Neeld was a promising defenseman with the Toronto Marlboros when he was clipped in the left eye by the stick of Kitchener&rsquo;s Dave Maloney. The NHL doesn&rsquo;t allow anyone with less than partial sight in one eye to play. Neeld took the NHL to court in 1979 and won $100,000.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021386/6233110-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="552" height="844"><figcaption class="caption-body">Greg Neeld</figcaption></div><h2>Laying down the law</h2>If you can&rsquo;t join them, represent them. That&rsquo;s the philosophy of George McPhee, the ex-NHLer who gave up hockey in 1989 because of a chronic groin injury.Upon retiring, McPhee enrolled at Rutgers University (N.J.) law school and is trying to build a career as a player agent. A left winger who played seven seasons for the Rangers and Devils, McPhee is director of operations for an established New York-based firm getting into sports representation.While he doesn&rsquo;t have any clientele yet, McPhee expects to earn most of his business at the U.S. college level. &#9632;

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UPDATE

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti Senior Writer</div>THE DEAL: Oct. 25: New York Islanders send center Pat LaFontaine, 26, right winger Randy Wood, 27, (8 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points), defenseman Randy Hillier, 31, and future considerations to Buffalo Sabres for center Pierre Turgeon, 22, (8-2-6-8), defenseman Uwe Krupp, 26, (8-2-0-2), center Benoit Hogue, 24, (3-0-1-1), and right winger Dave McLIwain, 24, (8-1-1-2).THE VERDICT: The Islanders were dealing from a position of weakness and it shows. By alienating his best player. GM Bill Torrey left himself little room to negotiate. In the end, he gave up one of the NHL&rsquo;s premier players for a second-tier star in Turgeon, and a very good defenseman in Krupp. That package would not have been enough to obtain a happy LaFontaine&mdash;who will be boffo box office in Buffalo and excellent company for Dale Hawerchuk.THE DEAL: Oct. 25: New York Islanders send center Brent Sutter, 29, (8-4-6-10) and left winger Brad Lauer, 24. (8-0-1-1) to Chicago Blackhawks for center Adam Creighton, 26, (11-6-6-12) and left winger Steve Thomas, 28, (11-2-6-8).THE VERDICT: The Islanders surrender their unhappy captain, a superb all-around player. The best you can say is the Isles made the best of a bad situation, and they are an improved team, but not a better team than they would have been with LaFontaine and a happy Sutter.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011462/6233141-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="554" height="878"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pierre Turgeon</figcaption></div>The Blackhawks are looking to-ward next spring&rsquo;s playoffs. Coach-GM Mike Keenan was foiled in his bid to get Ron Sutter from the Philadelphia Flyers and wound up with the better brother in Brent. Keenan&rsquo;s last two trades have been for players he coached in the Canada Cup&mdash;Sutter and defenseman Steve Smith.&ldquo;You can see the real character guys,&rdquo; Keenan says of the Team Canada coaching experience, &ldquo;and it gives you an edge when you try to mix the chemistry of your team.&rdquo;All statistics are as of the date of the trade. &#9632;

f0005-01

Islanders better but lose deals

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN staff</div>The &lsquo;Eagle&rsquo; finally landed in Chicago Oct. 28 when holdout goaltender Ed Belfour agreed to terms on a new contract with the Blackhawks.Belfour will get a one-year contract with an option for $1,725 million. He&rsquo;ll earn $750,000 this season and $800,000 in the option year of the contract. Belfour also received a $175,000 signing bonus.&ldquo;I feel like the weight of the world is off my shoulders,&rdquo; Belfour said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very relieved it&rsquo;s over. We waited a long time for this.&rdquo;Belfour had lowered his demands in the last few weeks from approximately $1 million a year with a $600,000 signing bonus.&ldquo;I just want to start playing hockey and put this behind me,&rdquo; said Belfour, who earned $120,000 last season when he won the Calder, Vezina and Jennings trophies and was named a first-team all-star. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there will be any extra pressure on me. I&rsquo;m just going to work hard.&rdquo;Blackhawks&rsquo; coach-general manager-coach Mike Keenan was looking forward to having Belfour back in uniform. Keenan had said the entire hockey club was suffering because of Belfour&rsquo;s holdout.With Belfour&rsquo;s return, either Jimmy Waite or Dominik Hasek would be returned to the minors, Keenan said. Hasek was the likely candidate. But Keenan refused to blame inconsistent goaltending on the Hawks&rsquo; average start.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021057/6233172-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="548" height="944"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ed Belfour&rsquo;s new deal is less than he was hoping to receive.</figcaption></div>Carlton St. KingFinally&mdash;officially&mdash;there&rsquo;s a new king of Carlton St.Grocery magnate Steve Stavro cemented his hold on the Maple Leaf Gardens&rsquo; empire by taking over as chairman of the board and chief executive officer at an annual shareholder&rsquo;s meeting Oct. 22.He won&rsquo;t actually purchase the team from the charitable foundation established by Harold Ballard&rsquo;s will for two or three years, but he controls key rights to major blocks of shares, as well as the Gardens&rsquo; board.<h2>Window closing</h2>The window of opportunity for Europeans in the Canadian Hockey League will soon disappear.The major junior CHL and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association plan to add a development fee to the cost of recruiting overseas players in early November.As it stands now, CHL clubs can acquire players from Europe for a mere $150 transfer fee, plus a release fee from their home clubs. The release fee is usually waved.The move will have no effect on the 20 Europeans now playing in the CHL, but will likely severely curtail the number arriving in the future.&ldquo;I do not think we are in the day and age where we can simply say, &lsquo;No more Europeans,&rsquo;&rdquo; Ontario League commissioner Dave Branch said. &ldquo;But we are all in agreement we have to protect the Canadian hockey system and we&rsquo;re obligated to protect the Canadian hockey player.&rdquo;Another motive for limiting the number of Europeans in the CHL is fear of retaliation: the prospect of overseas teams luring junior-aged players to Europe.Western Hockey League scoring champion Ray Whitney, 19, signed a contract with a team in Cologne, Germany during the summer but stayed with the team only briefly before returning to North America. He is eligible to play for the Spokane Chiefs again this season but was trying out for the Canadian Olympic team. &#9632;

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Belfour bends, but happy contract ordeal now over

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti Senior Writer</div>You just knew once the season started, the issue about a new Collective Bargaining Agreement would somehow find its way to the back burner.It&rsquo;s one thing to get huffy about a possible work stoppage in the middle of summer, but quite another once the skates have been laced on in early October.Really, it should come as no surprise the NHL and the NHL Players&rsquo; Association haven&rsquo;t come up with a new CBA.In fact, it shouldn&rsquo;t be surprising the two sides have not spoken face to face since the players left the last meetings in a huff one week before the start of the regular season.So, what&rsquo;s going on, and how long can it be until one side or the other decides a deal has to be cut or the season will be stopped?According to NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow there is no sense of doom, but if the NHL thinks the players are content to play out the whole season and push aside the problem, they had better think again.While NHL president John Ziegler and much of his staff were involved in marketing meetings last week in California, Goodenow was trekking off to Minnesota and Quebec, meeting players about the contract situation.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to meet with every team,&rdquo; said Goodenow, who is&rsquo; speaking almost as cautiously about the whole situation as NHL officials. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re meeting with every team, going over the status of the negotiations, and going over some of the more important issues.&rdquo;Goodenow won&rsquo;t highlight what the players consider those important issues to be, but conversations with a few player representatives indicate Goodenow is assuring them these negotiations won&rsquo;t turn into a series of give backs.&ldquo;In the past, the NHL has gotten used to us giving something to get something,&rdquo; one player rep said. &ldquo;With Bob. that&rsquo;s not going to happen. He has told us he&rsquo;s not going to give them something, just to get something we deserve.&ldquo;I know we&rsquo;re not going to give up any of our medical benefits. If we&rsquo;ve got 100 per cent now, we&rsquo;re not going to get into a situation where we get 80 per cent.&ldquo;We also know everybody is looking at the free agency issue. I think the feeling now is we aren&rsquo;t going to strike over not getting total free agency, but we will get a better deal, and we&rsquo;re pretty sure we&rsquo;ll get a better system of arbitration in those cases of compensation.&rdquo;The players are also being appraised the NHLPA will push hard for a more lucrative system of rewards for playoff success and winning the regular season championship.Goodenow, who had met with 12 of the 22 teams, said he has not heard from any players who are getting anxious to get the negotiations over with quickly.&ldquo;There has been no pressure like that at all,&rdquo; Goodenow said. &ldquo;I think they all understand any time you rush into anything, you might regret it. We&rsquo;re just going to continue on with our approach.&rdquo;Goodenow said he had talked to Ziegler in late October.&ldquo;He knows I&rsquo;m making this tour,&rdquo; Goodenow said.Goodenow also indicated the sides had talked about setting up some meetings, but were unsuccessful.&ldquo;Some of their people were out of the country, or tied up with other business,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always hard to get the sides together once the season starts.&ldquo;I think now we&rsquo;re at the 10-game mark or so in the season, we&rsquo;ll look and see if we can get a group of guys together in the near future.&rdquo;Through his meetings with the teams, Goodenow is heartened that the players are &ldquo;really in tune&rdquo; with the negotiations, and earnestly studying the issues.Naturally, the start of the season forced all of their attention on the ice, but now that the season has rolled on, you can expect another meeting within the next few weeks.And if that meeting does not go any better than the last, you can seriously start wondering if this season will continue uninterrupted. &#9632;

Goodenow on road again after CBA talks stall

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011488/6233251-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="368" height="494"></div>The conclusion of a two-part series on Net Worth.Marcel Aubut was as smart a guy as there has ever been in the NHL; except he got incredibly stupid when it came to Eric Lindros.That&rsquo;s the word from Alison Griffiths, co-author with David Cruise of Net Worth: Exposing the Myths of Pro Hockey, the most in-depth book ever written about NHL business.The Griffiths-Cruise writing team are to be taken seriously when it comes to fiscal affairs, because they are prize-winning business writers. They&rsquo;ve won four national writing awards in Canada and earned acclaim for their book about corruption on the Vancouver Stock Exchange called Fleecing the Lamb.&ldquo;If Aubut really wanted to sign Lindros,&rdquo; Griffiths explains, &ldquo;he went about it the wrong way.&rdquo;She asserts the Nords should have coated Lindros with honey and more honey during summer negotiations. Instead, Aubut enraged Lindros and his clan by leaking a $3-million contract story to Quebec&rsquo;s Le Solei I, creating a feeling of hostility that keeps on growing.During their two years of probing, Cruise-Griffiths did considerable research of the legal system as it applies to hockey; particularly the American Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Griffiths assures Lindros and his agent Rick Curran could use it to their advantage vis-a-vis the NHL draft.&ldquo;They could break the league wide open,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;If Lindros was really smart, he&rsquo;d get his lawyers to challenge the draft because it patently violates the anti-trust laws. The draft wouldn&rsquo;t stand up for two minutes in court.&rdquo;The couple, who undertook the book project with absolutely no axe to grind&mdash;they are in no way hockey-oriented&mdash;was appalled by the endless blundering of the NHL high command. One example: John Ziegler and NHL teams filed notice against hockey legends Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr they were potential targets for libel suits.&ldquo;When I heard about that,&rdquo; says Griffiths, &ldquo;I thought it was a joke. Then I wondered which P.R. brain was behind it&mdash;(John) Ziegler, Steve Ryan (vice-president marketing) or Gil Stein (chief counsel). If they had any smarts, they&rsquo;d have gotten the retired stars together and said, &lsquo;Gosh, guys, let&rsquo;s work this out.&rsquo; In any other sport they&rsquo;d want their greatest stars happy, and that should have been the NHL&rsquo;s attitude.&rdquo;Since Net Worth&rsquo;s subtitle is Exposing the Myths of Pro Hockey, it seemed natural to ask about some of those myths. Cruise says one of the most obvious has to do with the owners&rsquo; motives.&ldquo;One of the most common phrases you hear in the NHL is &lsquo;for the good of the game,&rsquo; &ldquo;says Cruise. &ldquo;When players were asked to give up benefits, it was always &lsquo;for the good of the game.&rsquo; And the myth is that the owners operate &lsquo;for the good of the game.&rsquo; In fact, the owners have operated as a hard-ball business from Day 1.&ldquo;Like when (Red Wings&rsquo; owner) Bruce Norris said, &lsquo;Boys, we&rsquo;re losing money (during the 1970s).&rsquo; The players believed him; but the Red Wings were not losing money.&rdquo;Another myth is that of Alan Eagleson as the all-powerful man in hockey; as if the Eagle and only the Eagle could run the Canada Cup or head the NHLPA.&ldquo;They didn&rsquo;t need Eagleson to do these things,&rdquo; says Cruise. &ldquo;Hundreds of people could have done them. And the image of him as an all-powerful man is wrong. John Ziegler manipulated him to the point where he was the tool of management.&rdquo;Advised of the comment, Ziegler scoffed. &ldquo;In this business,&rdquo; says the president, &ldquo;There has never been one &lsquo;most powerful man.&rsquo;&rdquo;Insisting that Net Worth is &ldquo;a book of fiction,&rdquo; Ziegler asserts &ldquo;there are about 70 or 80 errors&rdquo; in the first couple of chapters alone, and cited a mention in the book that his &ldquo;fast-friendship&rdquo; with Eagleson developed during the 1972 Canada-Soviet series.&ldquo;In fact,&rdquo; says Ziegler, &ldquo;we were simply lawyers and knew each other. &ldquo;Ziegler allows he himself has not yet read Net Worth, but that P.R. aides Bill Wilkerson and Gary Meagher both fine-tooth-combed the book and informed him of &ldquo;a large number of factual errors.&rdquo;Cruise fires back: &ldquo;A dozen errors is not a lot, for a book this size, but to suggest 70 or 80 errors is absolute nonsense.&rdquo;Cruise-Griffiths end their defense of their Ziegler-Eagleson offensive by pointing out that only one out of 40 reviews which have appeared in daily newspapers were critical of their research.&ldquo;We got criticized by Jim Proudfoot (of the Toronto Star) who pointed out some misspellings. Yet, in his piece, Proudfoot misspelled Alison&rsquo;s last name!&rdquo; &#9632;

f0007-01

Net Worth filled with errors: Ziegler

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02998/6233282-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Flyers&rsquo; defense and goaltending is superior to that of the Kings&rsquo;, says Steve Duchesne. (Photo by John Giamundo/BBS)</figcaption></div>Brett Hull&rsquo;s upcoming book was supposed to be titled Hot Shot but his advisors felt it was &ldquo;too egotistical.&rdquo; Against publisher Prentice-Hall&rsquo;s wishes, the book will be called Brett: Shootin and SmilinOne of the Prentice-Hall editors tells Bluelines Hull slams his ex-Calgary coach Terry Crisp in the book. Says Hull: &ldquo;Crisp was a martinet who figured there were only two ways to do things; his way or the wrong way.&rdquo; Brett charges Crisp misunderstood his fun-loving ways and points out that just because he was having a good time, it didn&rsquo;t mean he wasn&rsquo;t working. Meanwhile, Hull was slammed by one of his editors who says working with him was &ldquo;like pulling bloody teeth. If he didn&rsquo;t want to do the book, why did he do it?&rdquo;<h2>Fighting words</h2>The NHL, which has had its hands full battling the sale of hockey fight videos, now will have to put up with a new monthly dedicated to ice violence. Veteran TV statsman (ABC, SportsChannel) Mark Topaz will be publishing The Aggressive Hockey Report starting in November. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the first publication dedicated to fans of physical hockey,&rdquo; Topaz says. &ldquo;I came up with the idea because devotees of hockey fights just do not get the information they need from other sources.&rdquo; Topaz says his magazine will provide fight stats for all NHL, AHL and IHL games. He&rsquo;s charging $20 for a seven-issue subscription and $3 per copy&hellip;A fly on the Bruins&rsquo; dressing room wall suggests that if the team doesn&rsquo;t shape up in a month, Mike Milbury will replace Rick Bowness behind the bench. One Bruins&rsquo; veteran who prefers anonymity claims his teammates too often have been using Cam Neely&rsquo;s absence as a crutch&hellip;Red Wings&rsquo; sources report Steve Yzerman is far from untouchable. The right deal will get him&hellip;If there were any doubts that Jari Kurri is being well-paid by Bruce McNall, just check out his new California digs. Kurri and his wife, Tiina, bought a gated. Mediterranean-style home with five bedrooms in Calabasas, Calif. The price tag was about $1 million which includes a pool, spa and 4,500 square feet.<h2>Not welcome</h2>Nordiques&rsquo; captain Joe Sakic no longer walks a political tightrope on the Eric Lindros issue. He doesn&rsquo;t want him in the Quebec dressing room. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s obvious he doesn&rsquo;t want to come here,&rdquo; Sakic tells Bluelines, &ldquo;and the players here would just rather see him get traded and get some good players for him. I&rsquo;d rather just move him to a place where he wants to play and get guys that are going to help us right away. The sooner the better. &ldquo;&hellip;Unusual Turnabout Department: Instead of actively pursuing telecasts of their home games, the ECHL Cincinnati entry has rebuffed WKRC-TV (Channel 12) which has aggressively pursued the club&rsquo;s TV rights for the past year. Club policy is to refuse TV offers unless the Cyclones can sell out a Cincinnati Gardens game. If the club can fill the arena, a deal will be cut with the station. Cyclones&rsquo; communications director Terry Ficorelli says the club weighed this policy very carefully. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re concerned that if the Cyclones were going to venture in TV, we want it to be the best possible TV to introduce hockey to Cincinnati viewers.&rdquo;<h2>Driving force</h2>Ex-Leaf coach John Brophy has become a big hit in Hampton Roads where he coaches the ECHL&rsquo;s Admirals. His wife, Nancy White, is equally popular especially since she&rsquo;s an LPGA golf pro out of Chesapeake. &ldquo;We met when John was coaching Toronto and went out and hit a few golf balls. John said he would like to caddie for me some time. Eventually John did finally get to caddie for me. John knows to the yard how far I can hit a ball as well as my weak clubs and strong points. If I have a question, I go with what he says.&rdquo; To which Brophy replies, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve learned to say nothing about her game until she asks.&rdquo; &hellip;Kelly Miller discounts suggestions that teammates resented his holdout. &ldquo;Everybody just wants to be treated fairly and receive fair compensation for what you provide for the team,&rdquo; says Miller. &ldquo;Everybody on the team respects me for holding to those principles.&rdquo;&hellip;Former Los Angeles rearguard Steve Duchesne likely has lost any friends he had on the Kings&rsquo; blue line and in goal. &ldquo;he Flyer defense is better than the Kings&rsquo;,&rdquo; says Duchesne, &ldquo;and the Philadelphia goalies are definitely better than what they have in L.A.&rdquo; Duchesne denies the notion he never wanted to play in Philly.<h2>Three-ring circus</h2>Hall of Famer Harry Howell, an Oilers&rsquo; scout who spent most of his 24-year NHL career in New York, says the Rangers&rsquo; Stanley Cup drought has little to do with curses and a lot to do with ownership. &ldquo;Everybody talks about the Rangers not winning the Stanley Cup since 1940,&rdquo; notes Howell. &ldquo;Actually, 1940 should have an asterisk next to it. People shouldn&rsquo;t start counting until about 1965. Before that, they (Madison Square Garden) didn&rsquo;t want us to win. It would only get in the way of the (Ringling Bros.) circus. In 1962 we lost to Toronto in the semifinals (six games) but one of those games should have been played in New York except the circus kept us out so we played a &lsquo;home&rsquo; game at Maple Leaf Gardens. We could have won a few Cups back then, but it wasn&rsquo;t until 1965 that they started caring about us.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0007-02

Shootin’, smilin’ Hull fires at ex-coach Crisp

<div class="byline">By Stephen Harris</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0008-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011557/6233313-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Vladimir Rucizka says centers in the NHL are often asked to play the role of a &lsquo;third defenseman.&rsquo; (Photo by Scott Levy/BBS)</figcaption></div>Vladimir (Rosie) Ruzicka may still be an unproven commodity in the NHL, but he spent 10 years cruising the big rinks of Europe as a genuine legend.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s some kind of hero back home,&rdquo; says Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; defenseman Petr Svoboda of his countryman, who starred for many years on the Czechoslovakian national team before moving west.There is understandable pride in the 28-year-old&rsquo;s voice as Ruzicka, in what&rsquo;s becoming more and more passable English, recounts his Czechoslovak exploits:&#9632; Ten years in the Czechoslovakian first division.&#9632; Eight years on the national team.&#9632; Six league goal-scoring titles, and three scoring crowns.&#9632; A single-season high of 48 goals in 46 games, not far off Milan Novy&rsquo;s 10-year-old record 55 in 56.All of which made Ruzicka&rsquo;s experience in Edmonton so difficult to take. In late 1989, he became the first Czechoslovakian player released to the NHL during a season, joining the Oilers Jan. 14, 1990.Coming to the NHL was a dream come true for Ruzicka. It quickly became a nightmare.&ldquo;I play 10 years in Czechoslovakia and I am all the time on the ice,&rdquo; says Ruzicka. &ldquo;Go to Edmonton and I don&rsquo;t play. Why I don&rsquo;t play in Edmonton? I don&rsquo;t know.&rdquo;It was Ruzicka&rsquo;s rather complete unfamiliarity with events on the defensive side of the red line, of course, that doomed him to the Oilers&rsquo; press box.&ldquo;It is different for centerman in NHL,&rdquo; he observed. &ldquo;Here, centerman is like third defenseman.&rdquo;Ruzicka is improving. He&rsquo;s not Steve Kasper or Doug Jarvis&mdash;renowned for their defensive ability. But he&rsquo;s at least making an effort to get involved in coverages.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s working at it,&rdquo; says Bruins&rsquo; assistant coach Gordie Clark. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the same thing with Rosie, C.J. (Craig Janney) and Cam (Neely). We want them to help on defense, but our primary concern is those guys work to produce offense.&rdquo;And Rosie knows offense.Ruzicka produced reasonably well for the Oilers in 1989-90, scoring 11 goals and six assists in his first 25 NHL games. But when last season began, he was the ultimate spare part, not dressing for a single game until he finally escaped Oct. 22, dealt to Boston for diminutive defenseman Greg Hawgood.If the Oilers were loaded with offensively-skilled players, the Bruins had plenty of icetime available for a guy able to set up and-or score goals.&ldquo;I come here to Boston and everything is different,&rdquo; says the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Ruzicka. &ldquo;Here I play on the power play, I play on a line with Cam Neely, everything.&rdquo;He ended up hurting an ankle Dec. 28, an injury that would require surgery Feb. 12 and sideline him for the final 40 games of the regular season. But in his brief time in the Bruins&rsquo; lineup&mdash;29 games, eight goals, 16 points&mdash;he caught the attention of Boston fans.Through seven games, Ruzicka had three goals and three assists&mdash;hardly earth-shattering numbers, though he was tied for the team lead in goals andplus-minus (plus-3).&ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t have a very good camp, but he&rsquo;s going to play a lot and he has got to produce,&rdquo; Bruins&rsquo; coach Rick Bowness says.Part of the problem may be finding linemates suited to Ruzicka&rsquo;s skills. He likes to carry the puck to the middle of the ice, drawing a defensive crowd in the process.&ldquo;If he does draw a crowd, his linemates have to go to the openings,&rdquo; says Bowness. &ldquo;They can&rsquo;t just follow him into the middle. They&rsquo;ve got to stay patient.&rdquo;Which is, of course, the Bruins&rsquo; whole philosophy toward the supremely-talented Ruzicka. They can&rsquo;t afford not to be. &#9632;

f0008-01

Coming up Rosie

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021218/6233344-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="428" height="492"></div>When Alexander Mogilny showed up for the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; training camp this fall, he was&mdash;among the veterans anyway&mdash;the worst conditioned player on the ice.He also was in better shape than he was in either of his previous two camps.So it goes with a Soviet player. They see, they learn, but they are still different. Very different. Depending upon your point of view, that can be either maddening or mischievous, enigmatic or engaging, delightful or disruptive.But what do you do when it is all of the above?That&rsquo;s the dilemma in Buffalo these days.Alexander Mogilny the Soviet defector, star gate attraction, swift skater, 30-goal scorer, mysterious personality and downright exciting hockey player is being measured against charges he is Alexander Mogilny the petulant self-centered brat, labor faking floater, money grubbing capitalist, dirty-dealing agent-stabbing ingrate, excuse-making whiner and downright exciting hockey player.How did it come to this?A brief excursion down the historical highway.When Mogilny bolted from the Soviet national program in the spring of 1989 people were told it was because he wanted to be free. He arranged contact with the Sabres, signed a contract in a Swedish hotel room and was whisked off to the US of A.Naturally there were problems along the way.A world traveler, Mogilny suddenly developed a fear of flying. He bolted the team late in the 1989-90 season, supposedly because of this fear and finished the campaign by making road trips via train and cars. At the same time, reports surfaced Mogilny really wanted to play in New York.In the off-season, all was forgiven. The club said it provided counseling for Mogilny&rsquo;s problems and that they were rectified. Mogilny admitted to problems adjusting, proclaimed western New York his location of choice and even saw the skies&mdash;if not friendly&mdash;at least not intimidating.In his second season, there were more successes, but other troubling, if less obvious, problems. Mogilny did not play hard on the road (23 goals at home, seven on the road would tend to bear that out). There were whispers&mdash;both founded and unfounded&mdash;he only played when he felt like it, that he would extend his rehabilitation from injuries in order to avoid games, and that he would invent injuries in order to not have to play against physically imposing teams.This fall, however, things got ugly again.Mogilny, who seldom does interviews, supposedly because he&rsquo;s embarrassed by his command of the English language, was approached for one. His response was &ldquo;pay me.&rdquo; It did not sit well in a town hit as hard as any by the recession.The problems intensified when, five games into the season, a report published in the Buffalo News quoted an unidentfied player as saying Mogilny was selfish, lazy, and cared only about himself.The report led to more problems. After a series of meetings with Mogilny, his agent Don Meehan and the Sabres&rsquo; brass, Mogilny fired Meehan. The agent reportedly urged Mogilny to play hard and live up to the terms of his contract. His current deal, one Mogilny signed before linking up with Meehan, pays him a reported $140,000 per season and has three years to run.Through it all, management has maintained a willingness to put up with a certain amount of &ldquo;differences&rdquo; while Mogilny adjusted to life in United States, but that resolve is under fire now.Fans adore Mogilny because of his obvious talents, but people in this blue-collar community have a hard time siding with someone who is unhappy while making four times a workingman&rsquo;s salary. His teammates obviously have had enough and the coaching staff, and by extension GM Gerry Meehan, can hardly afford to be put in the position of having a contracted player dictate the terms under which he will play.What happens next is anyone&rsquo;s guess.If the Sabres reward Mogilny with a new contract, they come off as rewarding a player teammates and the community sees as a non-contributing, self-serving brat. If they trade him, they end up looking like a team that sacrificed a star player to placate a team that could not tolerate his peculiarities. If they do nothing, they look like they&rsquo;ve looked for several seasons: A talented, but underachieving organization that can&rsquo;t find its way on the road toward success.It all looked so simple when Mogilny first came here. One has to wonder now if the trials are worth the costs. &#9632;

f0008-02

Mogilny’s not worth the bother to Buffalo

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div>Serge Savard had a couple of unsuccessful discussions with the New York Islanders about superstar Pat LaFontaine, who was finally shuffled off to Buffalo. But that doesn&rsquo;t mean the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; general manager isn&rsquo;t done trying to do a deal.Savard is in the market for a big, physical defenseman to add some muscle to the lightweight Montreal blue line. Lyle Odelein is the closest thing the Habs have to a heavyweight on defense and while he weighs 206 pounds, he&rsquo;s just 5-foot-10.While he has been trying to swing the perfect deal, Savard admits he isn&rsquo;t all that unhappy with his current crop of defensemen.Coupled with four solid lines up front and outstanding goaltending, the Habs&rsquo; team defense helped reel off a four-game winning streak through Oct. 26 which saw them give up just three goals in those four games.Included in that stretch were a couple of shutouts by Roland Melanson, who saw his goals-against average shrink to 0.36.IN-CREASED FRUSTRATION: Video replay came into the play for the first time at the Forum Oct. 23 when a goal was called back because Montreal center Kirk Muller was ruled to have interfered with Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; goaltender Jacques Cloutier.Muller is finding the new rules, which see an interference penalty given to a player who makes or doesn&rsquo;t avoid contact with the goaltender in the crease, a tough adjustment.&ldquo;Ever since you&rsquo;re a kid, they teach you to go to the net,&rdquo; said Muller. &ldquo;Then they take all that away with one ruling.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Surgery has been ruled out in the case of right winger Russ Courtnall&rsquo;s shoulder injury. The injury, a rotator cuff strain, is being treated with three hours of therapy a day. Courtnall, out since Oct. 8, will be evaluated on a weekly basis. It&rsquo;s expected he&rsquo;ll be out at least until mid-November.Center Brian Skrudland is the latest victim of Ulf Samuelsson. Skrudland was clipped by the Pittsburgh Penguin defenseman in the Habs 4-1 win Oct. 26 and left the game with stretched knee ligaments. It wasn&rsquo;t immediately known how long he would be out.<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 25: Mike Keane. RW, signed two-year contract.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Guy Carbonneau, Stephan Lebeau, Kirk Muller.LW&mdash;Mike McPhee, Shayne Corson, Sylvain Turgeon, John LeClair, Mario Roberge.RW&mdash;Brent Gilchrist, Mike Keane, Denis Savard, Todd Ewen.LD&mdash;Jean-Jacques Daigneault, Petr Svoboda, Mathieu Schneider, Sylvain Lefebvre.RD&mdash;Eric Desjardins, Lyle Odelein, Alain Cote, Donald Dufresne.G&mdash;Patrick Roy, Roland Melanson.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Russ Courtnall, RW, shoulder rotator cuff strain, indefinite, Brian Skrudland, C, stretched knee ligaments, indefinite. &#9632;

Defense tops GM’s wish list

<div class="byline">By Kevin Johnston</div>In a season already full of disappointment, the Quebec Nordiques at least had the solid play of defenseman Adam Foote to be positive about.Foote, 20, was recalled Oct. 18 from Quebec&rsquo;s American League affiliate in Halifax due to several injuries to the Nordiques&rsquo; defense corps.Foote had reacted very strongly when he was cut after the pre-season. He couldn&rsquo;t understand why he wasn&rsquo;t given a chance. But instead of moping around and dragging his feet in the AHL, he went down to Halifax intent on getting back to the Nordiques.&ldquo;I respected the Nordiques&rsquo; decision to send me down,&rdquo; said Foote, who was Quebec&rsquo;s second-round choice (22nd overall) in 1989. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m still convinced that I should have stayed here.&rdquo;NAGGING DOUBTS: John Kordic had his first brush with controversy since arriving in Quebec. The morning of the game against the Montreal Canadiens Oct. 23, co-coach Jacques Martin said Kordic would be an important asset against the Habs.But Kordic was scratched from the lineup, starting several rumors. People phoned radio talk shows reporting they had seen Kordic in a Montreal bar the night before the game.Asked if Kordic, a recovering alcoholic, had returned to drinking, general manager Pierre Page said he had heard the rumors like everyone else had. &ldquo;But in cases like this, you need proof,&rdquo; he said.Kordic then came back and played a strong game in a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers Oct. 26.NOTEBOOK: Joe Sakic admitted he&rsquo;s thinking a little too much about his contract situation&mdash;he met with the arbitrator Oct. 27. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always in the back of your mind, whether you like it or not,&rdquo; said Sakic. Most observers contend Sakic is off his game because he is bothered by the slowness of contract talks.<h2>QUEBEC</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 21: David Marcinyshyn, D, recalled from Halifax (AHL) Oct. 22: Greg Smyth, D, given four-game uspension by NHL. Shawn Anderson, D, traded to Winnipeg for Sergei Kharin, RW. Kharin assigned to Halifax. Oct. 24: Ken McRae, C, recalled from Halifax.Oct. 26: Dan Lambert, D, recalled from Halifax.<h3>INJURIES</h3>C&mdash;Joe Sakic, Kip Miller. Mike McNeill, Claude Lapointe, Ken McRae.LW&mdash;Mike Hough, Scott Pearson. Greg Paslawski.RW&mdash;Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan, Mark Vermette. John Kordic, Herb Raglan.LD&mdash;Greg Smyth, Mikhail Tatarinov, Bryan Fogarty, Alexei Gusarov.RD&mdash;Craig Wolanin, Tony Twist, Adam Foote, teven Finn, David Marcinyshyn, Dan Lambert.G&mdash;Jacques Cloutier, Ron Tugnutt.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Stephane Guerard, D, reconstructive surgery right knee, indefinite. Valeri Kamensky, LW, broken left leg, indefinite. Curtis Leschyshyn, D, reconstructive surgery left knee, indefinite. Stephane Morin, C, sprained right knee, indefinite Doug Smail, LW, pulled ligaments in lower back, indefinite. Wayne Van Dorp, LW, separated left shoulder, Nov. 17 Randy Velischek, D, broken bone in left foot, Nov. 17. &#9632;

Rookie rearguard gets Foote in NHL door

<div class="byline">By Stephen Harris</div>When ex-Boston Bruin Dave Christian scored two goals in the first 59 seconds of the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; 6-5 victory Oct. 24, Bruins&rsquo; fans must have wondered, &ldquo;Why can&rsquo;t we get players like that?&rdquo;But the Bruins are quite happy to have massive former Blues&rsquo; defenseman Glen Featherstone instead of Christian, who skated with the team last season.After St. Louis signed Christian in the off-season to a contract the Bruins disputed, Boston inked free agent Featherstone. The two teams agreed to call it even.But what general manager wouldn&rsquo;t swap a 32-year-old winger for a big, tough, skilled 23-year-old blueliner?&ldquo;He&rsquo;s (Featherstone) going to be a force back there physically,&rdquo; defenseman Ray Bourque said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s what we needed: A big guy in deep who plays strong.&rdquo;It took the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Featherstone a few weeks to assert himself at both ends of the ice. His progress was hampered by throat surgery during training camp, then a hip pointer early in the season.&ldquo;It was a little depressing for me the way things started,&rdquo; Featherstone said. &ldquo;When you come to a new team, you don&rsquo;t want to disappoint anyone, which I felt I did. It was pretty tough sledding for me, with the surgery and then the injury. It hasn&rsquo;t been easy. But the coaches have been patient.&rdquo;Waiting for Featherstone to prove himself was easy for the Bruins, who know their new defenseman will be a big addition&mdash;especially when opposing forwards try to camp in front of the net.Featherstone has something the team has been missing at times in recent years: A genuine mean streak. He also showed some fine offensive instincts against the Blues, rushing in deep to tap in a rebound for his first goal as a Bruin.THE FRANCHISE: The Bruins were calling Andy Brickley &ldquo;The Franchise&rdquo; after he scored four goals and 10 points in his first four games after being recalled from Maine (American League). And a scorer&rsquo;s error cost him another assist.&ldquo;He has been kicked so many times, but he always gets up,&rdquo; teammate Peter Douris said. &ldquo;People might say he has slowed down, he&rsquo;s getting old. But he has never been a guy who played with speed&mdash;he plays with his brain. And if you have that, you can play a lot longer than people may think.&rdquo;.The 30-year-old center has been hampered by injuries the past three seasons.NOTEBOOK: Chris Milan&rsquo;s days as a Bruin appear to be numbered. The veteran right winger was placed on waivers, which he cleared earlier this season&hellip;Dave Poulin&rsquo;s suspected groin pull may be a more serious abdominal injury. He has been ordered to avoid strenuous activity for two weeks.The Bruins expected big things from second-year center Wes Walz this season. But after nine games, Walz was scoreless&hellip;Former Bruin goalie Reggie Lemelin is expected to be named an assistant coach-scout.<h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 25: Jim Wiemer, D, recalled from Maine (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Craig Janney, Andy Brickley, WesWalz, Bob Carpenter.LW&mdash;Vladimir Ruzicka, Dave Thomlinson, Alan Stewart, Jeff Lazaro, Petri Skriko.RW&mdash;Steve Leach, Bob Sweeney, Lyndon Byers, Peter Douris, Chris Nilan.LD&mdash;Glen Wesley, Garry Galley, Don Sweeney, Jim Wiemer.RD&mdash;Ray Bourque, Bob Beers, Stephane Quintal, Glen Featherstone.G&mdash;Andy Moog, Matt DelGuidice, Reggie Lemelin.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Ken Hodge, C, sprained right knee, indefinite. Cam Neely, RW, left thigh contusion, indefinite. Dave Poulin, C, groin pull, indefinite. &#9632;

Teammates tickled pink over Feather’s play

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div>In the end, Pierre Turgeon and Uwe Krupp left with class and dignity.No one expected anything else and maybe that was a part of the problem. Turgeon, Krupp, Benoit Hogue and recently acquired Dave McLlwain were dealt to the New York Islanders Oct. 25 for Pat LaFontaine, Randy Wood, Randy Hillier and a draft choice.The move was made for two reasons: 1. To get LaFontaine and 2. To change the character and personality of the Buffalo Sabres.&ldquo;We wouldn&rsquo;t have done this if we didn&rsquo;t think we were improving our team&rsquo;s chances (of success),&rdquo; Sabres&rsquo; general manager Gerry Meehan said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve also improved the personality of our team.&rdquo;Personality was the key. Meehan made the deal after the team got off to a 2-5-1 start and showed signs of ineptitude when facing adversity. It was difficult parting with Turgeon, the No. 1 pick in the 1987 draft, and Krupp, who played in the All-Star Game last season&mdash;but not that difficult.The Sabres hoped Turgeon and Krupp would help change the team&rsquo;s character, but it didn&rsquo;t happen. Turgeon had two goals and eight points in his first eight games and failed to lift himself from the funk that overtook him after his 106-point season in 1989-90. Krupp, though improving every year, was unable to lift his leadership role any higher.The LaFontaine deal is the second major deal the Sabres have made in the past two years. On June 16, 1990, the Sabres sent a package of players including defenseman Phil Housley to Winnipeg for center Dale Hawerchuk and the Jets&rsquo; No. 1 choice (Brad May) in the 1990 entry draft.No one was surprised by the latest deal.&ldquo;I had heard all the talk,&rdquo; Turgeon said. &ldquo;It had been going on for two to three weeks. I tried not to think about it, but you could only go out on the ice and do what you could do. I&rsquo;m sorry to leave Buffalo. I like Buffalo and the people, but I think this will be a good experience.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Sabres obtained winger Colin Patterson Oct. 24 from the Calgary Flames for future considerations. He was expected to play a regular shift as the fourth-line left winger. The payback, believed to be a mid-round draft pick, will be determined based on how well (or how often) Patterson plays&hellip;Dale Hawerchuk had the Sabres&rsquo; first four-point game of the season Oct. 27 against Hartford. Hawerchuk and LaFontaine combined for 16 shots on goal. In their new alignments, the Sabres had LaFontaine centering for Dave Andreychuk and Alexander Mogilny; Hawerchuk centering for Tony Tanti and Donald Audette: and Christian Ruuttu centering for Randy Wood and rookie Brad May.<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 24: Colin Patterson. LW, acquired from Calgary for future considerations. Oct. 25: Pierre Turgeon, C, Benoit Hogue, LW, Dave McLlwain, LW, and Uwe Krupp, D, traded to New York Islanders for Pat LaFontaine, C, Randy Wood. LW. Randy Hillier, D, and an undisclosed draft choice.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pat LaFontaine, Dale Hawerchuk, Christian Ruuttu, Dave Snuggerud, Colin Patterson.LW&mdash;Dave Andreychuk, Donald Audette, Randy Wood, Rob Ray.RW&mdash;Alexander Mogilny, Tony Tanti, Brad May, Rick Vaive.LD&mdash;Mike Ramsey, Doug Bodger, Grant Ledyard, Ken Sutton.RD&mdash;Randy Hillier, Kevin Haller, Brad Miller, Jay Wells.G&mdash;Clint Malarchuk, Daren Puppa.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

Personality transformation key to blockbuster trade

<div class="byline">By Jeff Jacobs</div>The question was not a simple one for Rob Brown.Name three players in the NHL who would most like to knock you silly?&ldquo;You could probably name three teams full,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d say Ron Hextall, John Vanbiesbrouck and Mark Hunter when he was in Calgary. Hunts has been nice to me since he came here, but my (hockey) under-wear keeps getting cut up. He&rsquo;s a suspect.&rdquo;When the goal light goes on behind the net of Whaler opponents this season, however, it&rsquo;s Brown who has been the chief suspect.Although John Cullen, Pat Verbeek and Kay Whitmore have received the lion&rsquo;s share of publicity for the team&rsquo;s 5-1-1 start, it was Brown who led the team in scoring after three weeks.The crafty right winger had five goals and 12 points in nine games.&ldquo;Small improvements in good hockey players show up dramatically,&rdquo; Whalers&rsquo; coach Jimmy Roberts said. &ldquo;From what I&rsquo;ve seen (Roberts was once a Penguins&rsquo; assistant coach), Robby has picked it up a pace or two. He&rsquo;s much faster now.&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t classify him as a great skater. But his smarts make up for it. And with everything else going for him, being a little quicker will get him big opportunities.&rdquo;Teammate John Cullen believes Brown has improved immensely this season, especially on the power play.&ldquo;Brownie is one of the best power play people in the league,&rdquo; Cullen said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s unbelievable around the net with his touch and he&rsquo;s a great playmaker.&rdquo;Brown admits he&rsquo;s in the best shape of his life after training hard during the off-season. Watching his former team&mdash;the Pittsburgh Penguins&mdash;win the Stanley Cup last spring put him at a crossroads.&ldquo;I knew if I was going to do something with my career, now is the time,&rdquo; he said.VERBEEK REJECTED: If Rick Ley was still coaching the Whalers this season, Pat Verbeek would likely have been chosen team captain. Instead, he isn&rsquo;t even wearing the &lsquo;A&rsquo; he wore last year.New coach Jim Roberts decided to have the players select their own captains this season. They came up with John Cullen, Kevin Dineen and Randy Ladouceur as the three assistants. From that group, one captain will be chosen at a later date.Verbeek&rsquo;s early season walkout over a new contract&mdash;an arbitration date still hasn&rsquo;t been set&mdash;evidently took its toll.NOTEBOOK: The fans in Hartford have come up with a great way to support rookie goalie Kay Whitmore. Fans are now waving &lsquo;K&rsquo; towels to honor Whitmore&rsquo;s hot start. The &lsquo;K&rsquo; towels replaced &lsquo;K&rsquo; placards which became unfavorable with management when several were thrown on the ice Oct. 23. Whitmore briefly led the NHL after two weeks with a 1.84 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage. He recorded his first NHL shutout Oct. 23, 3-0 over San Jose. The victory tied Whitmore with former Whaler Mike Liut for the club record of five straight goaltending wins&hellip;Peter Sidorkiewicz, last season&rsquo;s No. 1 goalie, didn&rsquo;t play in the club&rsquo;s first nine games.<h2>HARTFORD</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 23: Yvon Corriveau, LW, and Terry Yake, C, assigned to Springfield (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;John Cullen, Andrew Cassels, Geoff Sanderson, Barry Pederson.LW&mdash;Pat Verbeek, Jim McKenzie, Randy Cunneyworth. Paul Cyr, Michel Picard.RW&mdash;Rob Brown. Mark Greig, Kevin Dineen, Ed Kastelic, Bob Holik. Mark Hunter.LD&mdash;Randy Ladouceur, Zarley Zalapski, Adam Burt.RD&mdash;Brad Shaw, Lee Norwood, Marc Bergevin, Doug Houda.G&mdash;Kay Whitmore, Peter Sidorkiewicz.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mikael Andersson, C, bruised toe on right foot, day-to-day. Todd Richards, D, bruised left thigh, day-to-day. &#9632;

Brown picks up the pace

<div class="byline">By Dave Sell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0012-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011512/6233495-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tenacious Dale Hunter is one of 17 players on the Caps&rsquo; roster that David Poile acquired on the trade market. (Photo by Tim Parker)</figcaption></div>David Poile barely had the business cards that said he was a real, live NHL general manager, when he went to a 1982 Board of Governors meeting, sat next to then Montreal GM Irving Grundman and had a conversation that shortly thereafter resulted in a trade. A trade that would tell the folks in Washington he was willing to take a chance. A trade that would define a style of play. A trade that signaled a trend in how his kingdom would be built.That was Sept. 10, 1982 when Poile sent Ryan Walter and Rick Green to the Canadiens for Rod Langway and Craig Laughlin.And so began the Poile era of wheeling and dealing which brings us to today&rsquo;s model. This season&rsquo;s Capital crew, one that surprisingly was bobbing and weaving with Vancouver at the top of the overall standings, is mostly a collection of pieces that were once part of some other team&rsquo;s puzzle.The Capitals were carrying, if not playing, 26 players through most of October Seventeen of those players came through trades, eight from the draft and one&mdash;Nick Kypreos&mdash;via the waiver draft.The Capitals would not be the first choice of an author writing a how-to-build-a-successful-team-through-the-draft book. Though some of the more recent picks might still pan out, the last first-round choice to make a significant contribution is Kevin Hatcher (1984), chosen 17th overall. And to be fair, the Capitals have done well enough in the last 10 regular seasons that only twice have they been in position to pick earlier than 14th in the first round.&ldquo;In an ideal world, everybody would like to do it through the draft so you can develop and mold your players,&rdquo; says Poile. &ldquo;But in the real world it doesn&rsquo;t happen that way. It&rsquo;s usually a combination.&rdquo;Hatcher was the only one of eight defensemen on the roster in late October drafted by the Capitals. Langway was acquired in the aforementioned deal. Calle Johansson has been a Capital for just two and a half years, but he is third in terms of tenure on defense. In 1989, he came from Buffalo with a draft pick for Grant Ledyard and Clint Malarchuk. This trade has grown better with age.The rest are relatively recent imports. Mike Lalor came with Peter Zezel from St. Louis for Geoff Courtnall. Zezel and Bob Rouse went to Toronto for Al Iafrate last January. A fifth-round 1991 draft pick got John Kordic and Ken Sabourin a week later. Shawn Chambers came in June from Minnesota for Steve Maltais and Trent Klatt. With four extra first-round picks in the next four seasons thanks to Scott Stevens&rsquo; free-agent departure to St. Louis, second-round picks are not as crucial to the Capitals. That was the price they paid in August for Sylvain Cote, who has helped the highly-ranked power play after rarely playing on that unit in Hartford.The draft has helped up front, though mostly in the form of Europeans. Peter Bondra, 23, was overlooked until the Caps chose him in 1990, but he&rsquo;s not going overlooked any more. The Russian-born forward who grew up in Czechoslovakia led the Capitals in scoring with eight goals in 11 games. Soviet Dimitri Khristich, a 1988 pick from Sokol Kiev, had seven goals. He was one of five Capitals averaging a point a game. Another was Michal Pivonka, who was picked in 1984 and defected from Czechoslovakia in 1986.Poile&rsquo;s theft&mdash;okay, trade&mdash;of Kelly Miller and Mike Ridley from the Rangers for Bobby Carpenter is still paying dividends. That one was forced by Carpenter&rsquo;s relations (or lack thereof) with then-coach Bryan Murray. Another deal that has helped was also forced by circumstance. Just before the 1987 draft, goalie Bob Mason signed with Chicago. Poile needed a netminder but he also wanted heart. Though it cost him a pick Quebec used on Joe Sakic, he got Malarchuk and Dale Hunter.Scoring, particularly in the playoffs, has been a topic of concern for most of the 10 years. Mike Gartner couldn&rsquo;t provide enough, which is how he got to Minnesota and Dino Ciccarelli got to Washington. It was Ciccarelli&rsquo;s scoring in the first round of the 1990 playoffs that did the most to push the Capitals to the next round, where John Druce (40th pick overall in 1985) had his stirring run. While Druce has struggled a bit coming out of the gate, Randy Burridge has, so far, made Poile look brilliant. Acquired from Boston for Steve Leach in June, Burridge had 13 points in the first 10 games.But goalies have been the true bargain. Minor league defenseman Claudio Scremin hasn&rsquo;t played an NHL game, but the Capitals got Don Beaupre from Minnesota for him. Mike Liut was obtained in exchange for 1985 first-round pick Yvon Corriveau, while Jim Hrivnak was the 61st pick in the 1986 draft.Of course, when a team is winning as the Capitals are this season, nobody really thinks of how the team is built. That sort of musing is generally reserved for when a team is struggling.&ldquo;What you want to do is build an organization,&rdquo; Poile says, &ldquo;and the bottom line is how good a team you have. It&rsquo;s not important how you did it.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0012-01

Poile’s winning recipe uses variety of spices

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021233/6233533-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="448" height="488"></div>Hey.Okay, you&rsquo;re excused. Feel free to pass this copy along to whoever usually gets it next, presumably your pet. And thanks for wading through another highly successful attempt by this rectangle to abuse our mother tongue.Oh, yeah. You probably noticed this column, consisting of one word, is a bit shorter than most produced by the guys who have gotten filthy rich at the expense of The Hockey News.But the simple truth is, &ldquo;Hey&rdquo; has become the first&mdash;and last&mdash;word in hockey today. If you know that one, you are considered fluent in the language of the game.Which makes Gary Glitter arguably the most influential man in hockey. No, he&rsquo;s not Bruce McNall&rsquo;s silent partner or the man who came up with the NHL&rsquo;s hopelessly blurred &ldquo;Vision of the &rsquo;90s.&rdquo;Glitter&mdash;doesn&rsquo;t that sound like he should be either a high-scoring winger in Los Angeles or a featured performer on &ldquo;American Gladiators&rdquo; ?&mdash;is the guy who gave the world a little ditty called Rock and Roll Part II. Better known as The Hey Song.If it becomes any more of an anthem in the hockey world, teams will start playing it between O Canada and The Star Spangled Banner.The Minnesota media guide reports the North Stars&rsquo; received 1,138 requests to have the song played at the Met Center during the playoffs last spring.One thousand, one hundred and thirty-eight. If they had honored each request, the North Stars would have played it an average of 103-plus times in each of their 11 home games. Or, by my calculations, 1,138 times for every different word in the lyrics.But Minnesota officials showed, uh, commendable restraint. The song blared out of the Met Center&rsquo;s public-address system only 125 times during the post-season, an average of 11.36 per home game.That you still can go into a few buildings around North America without hearing the &ldquo;Hey&rdquo; song is one of the few things that distinguishes it from hockey&rsquo;s other great song of the modem era. That is the one that goes, &ldquo;Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, hey, hey, good-bye.&rdquo;What a tune. You don&rsquo;t even need muscial accompaniment to get thousands of people singing along.The big difference is that the &ldquo;Na, Na&rdquo; song, which actually includes a few lyrics you never hear at a hockey game, is reserved for special occasions. Like when the home team has a safe lead in the waning moments of a game.That gives the crowd a chance to participate in the most satisfying and meaningful experience a fan can have in any sport. Which is, of course, to taunt and demean the visiting players as much as possible.So it is the quality of the home teams, not an outbreak of sportsmanship and good taste, that is responsible for the fact you don&rsquo;t hear the song very often in places like Maple Leaf Gardens, Le Colisee and the Cow Palace.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03809/6233526-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="552" height="634"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bruce McNall</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s tempting to suggest both songs be banned from all rinks&mdash;they&rsquo;ve gotten more airplay &lsquo;in arenas than they ever received on the radio&mdash;but coming up with replacements isn&rsquo;t easy. There just aren&rsquo;t many meaningful tunes comprised of one, or even a few, monosyllabic words.Having 16,000 or so people croon along with Frank Sinatra on My Way probably won&rsquo;t intimidate many visiting teams. And the Beatles&rsquo; Let It Be isn&rsquo;t likely to have much effect, either, unless it causes the players to lapse into a period of deep introspection when they&rsquo;re supposed to be backchecking.No, it looks like we&rsquo;re going to have to live with &ldquo;Hey&rdquo; and &ldquo;Na, Na&rdquo; for a while, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean we have to like it.One of the great thinkers of our time recently came up with an answer to the question that has intrigued theologians for years: How to define Hell.It is, he suggested, &ldquo;a place where in-laws play baseball.&rdquo; If that&rsquo;s true&mdash;and there&rsquo;s precious little evidence to indicate it isn&rsquo;t&mdash;it goes without saying the organist at Beelezebub Memorial Stadium has sheet music for nothing except the &ldquo;Hey&rdquo; song. &#9632;

f0012-02

Hey! This song is certifiably annoying

<div class="byline">By Mark Herrmann</div>With sweeping changes accomplished in one broad stroke, the New York Islanders changed their outlook as well as their roster. &ldquo;Enough waiting,&rdquo; coach Al Arbour said. &ldquo;The time is now.&rdquo;The team and its six new players embraced new possibilities a day after the blockbuster trades of superstar Pat LaFontaine and captain Brent Sutter, the only remaining link to the Stanley Cup years.Newcomers Pierre Turgeon, Uwe Krupp, Benoit Hogue, Dave McLlwain, Adam Creighton and Steve Thomas all saw their arrival on Long Island as a fresh opportunity. Former Chicago Blackhawks Creighton and Thomas, in particular, saw it as a breath of fresh air.&ldquo;No one&rsquo;s really glad they&rsquo;re traded. I was fairly established in Chicago&mdash;we just moved into a townhouse,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;But, while it&rsquo;s not exactly a burden off your shoulders, it&rsquo;s a lot of pressure off your shoulders.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve heard since I&rsquo;ve been here that (the Islander organization) puts winning No. 1. but it also wants you to have fun. It&rsquo;s about time. I&rsquo;m 28 years old and it&rsquo;s time to have some fun.&rdquo;Creighton, the physical 6-foot-5 center, agreed with Thomas that a trade from a Stanley Cup contender to a team that finished last is nothing to mourn.Since arriving in Chicago from Buffalo in 1988, Creighton said, the expectations grew higher and the burden heavier. Much of it fell on Thomas, who had 40 goals in 1989-90, and Creighton, who scored 34.NOTEBOOK: With Brent Sutter&rsquo;s departure, coach Al Arbour named Patrick Flatley as the fifth captain in Islanders&rsquo; history. Having arrived with LaFontaine after the 1984 Winter Olympics, Flatley is the longest-tenured player on the team and the only one remaining from its last playoff-series win in 1987.<h2>N.Y. ISLES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 25: Pat LaFontaine, C, Randy Wood, RW. Randy Hillier, D. and future considerations traded to Buffalo for Pierre Turgeon, C. Benoit Hogue, C, Dave McLlwain, C-RW, and Uwe Krupp. D. Brent Sutter, C, and Brad Lauer, LW, traded to Chicago for Adam Creighton, C, and Steve Thomas, LW. Dennis Vaske, D. assigned to Capital District (AHL). Oct. 26: Graeme Townshend, RW, recalled from Capital District.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pierre Turgeon, Adam Creighton, Ray Ferraro, Benoit Hogue, Rob DiMaio.LW&mdash;Derek King, Steve Thomas. Dave Chyzowski, Bill Berg.RW&mdash;Patrick Flatley. David Volek, Mick Vukota, Dave McLlwain, Graeme Townshend.LD&mdash;Jeff Norton, Rich Pilon, Ken Baumgartner.RD&mdash;Joe Reekie, Tom Kurvers, Uwe Krupp, Wayne McBean.G&mdash;Glenn Healy, Steve Weeks.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tom Fitzgerald, C, abdominal strain, day-to-day. Mark Fitzpatrick, G. biopsy on right thigh to examine recovery from eosinophilia myalgia syndrome, indefinite. Hubie McDonough, C, fractured left thumb, day-to-day. Gary Nylund, D, broken heel, indefinite. &#9632;

Trades rock the Island

<div class="byline">By Frank Brown</div>One significant aspect of the Rangers&rsquo; showing in the early going has been the ability of a different player to emerge as a hero in just about every one of their victories.While Mark Messier unmistakably has been the team&rsquo;s top player and the driving force, Messier has had plenty of help from such players as Sergei Nemchinov, Brian Leetch, Darren Turcotte, Mike Gartner&hellip;And Tony Amonte, the Phil Esposito draft choice who has demonstrated a startling skill of putting the puck in the net.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s going to be a top scorer,&rdquo; coach Roger Neilson declared after two Amonte goals helped the Rangers to a 5-3 victory in Quebec Oct. 26. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s got all the tools. He&rsquo;s quick on the puck, he has fast moves from the blue line in. I don&rsquo;t think he can miss being a good goal scorer.&rdquo;Amonte, who had five goals on the season, got two against the Nordiques with a pure goalscorer&rsquo;s flair. On the first, the 21-year-old right winger from Hingham, Mass., was flat on his belly after being taken down by defenseman Adam Foote. But when the puck came near him, Amonte whacked it with his stick and sent it past a startled Ron Tugnutt.Later, Amonte converted the rebound of a deflected point shot to complete the first two-goal performance of his 12-game NHL career.GRAVE STATS: One assist in 12 games left Adam Graves just one baby step ahead of the goalies on the stat sheet, but the left winger has made a considerable contribution to the cause with his solid defensive play.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been putting Mark Messier&rsquo;s line against the other team&rsquo;s top line, which means Adam has had the opposition&rsquo;s top right winger to look after most of the time,&rdquo; Roger Neilson said.NOTEBOOK: By holding off the Nordiques in career game No. 363 at Quebec Oct. 26, John Vanbiesbrouck collected career victory No. 157, tying Davey Kerr for third on the all-time Ranger list behind Gump Worsley (204 in 583 games) and Ed Giacomin (266 in 539 games).<h2>N.Y. RANGERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 21: Peter Fiorentino, D, recalled from Binghamton (AHL). Corey Millen, C. and Ric Bennett, LW, assigned to Binghamton. Oct. 25: Fiorentino assigned to Binghamton.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mark Messier, Darren Turcotte, Sergei Nemchinov, Doug Weight.LW&mdash;Adam Graves, John Ogrodnick, Kris King, Jan Erixon.RW&mdash;Mike Gartner, Tony Amonte, Paul Broten, Joe Kocur, Tie Domi.LD&mdash;Brian Leetch, Mark Hardy, Per Djoos.RD&mdash;James Patrick, Randy Moller, Joe Cirella.G&mdash;John Vanbiesbrouck, Mike Richter.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tim Kerr, RW, dislocated right shoulder, Nov. 10. Normand Rochefort, D, tendinitis right knee, day-to-day. David Shaw, D, sprained right knee, Nov. 10. &#9632;

Rookie Amonte proves he can put puck in net

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div>Being known as the &ldquo;throw-in&rdquo; in the Sept. 20 trade for Stephane Richer never bothered Tom Chorske.Although the speedy right winger slipped into the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; lineup virtually unnoticed while Richer drew the media attention, Chorske didn&rsquo;t remain unnoticed for long.While Richer was rendered ineffective by a groin injury after an impressive start, Chorske scored five goals and 11 points in the Devils&rsquo; first 11 games to tie Claude Lemieux as the team&rsquo;s second-leading scorer among forwards behind Peter Stastny.&ldquo;You look at a deal and people say he&rsquo;s the throw-in, but all of a sudden the whole concept of our team changes and he&rsquo;s an important player,&rdquo; coach Tom McVie said of Chorske. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting a lot of ice time, killing penalties, doing everything. What he has got is speed.&rdquo;In seven games from Oct. 13-26, Richer was scoreless in four games and did not play in three others. During the same stretch, Chorske had points in six of seven games (4-3-7).GETTING RESTLESS: Three years ago as McVie&rsquo;s goaltending tandem at Utica (American League), Chris Terreri (39 games) and Craig-Billington (41 games) shared the job equally.Those days are long gone. Terreri started the Devils&rsquo; first 11 games this season while Billington&rsquo;s only appearance was an 18-minute relief stint in a loss to the Rangers. Terreri&rsquo;s 11 straight starts equalled the second-highest total in Devils&rsquo; history (Chico Resch started 17 in a row).NOTEBOOK: Ken Daneyko, who walked out of training camp in September when offered a $200,000 contract, signed a three-year deal for $450,000 per season &hellip;Dave Maley agreed to but had not yet signed a new contract for two years (one plus and option) at $275,000 per season.Kevin Todd&rsquo;s five goals were the most among NHL rookies. &ldquo;I cannot think of another player I&rsquo;ve coached or played with who is as good from the goal line to the corners like Kevin.&rdquo; said McVie.<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 22: Ken Daneyko, D, signed new contract. Oct. 23: Tommy Albelin, D, and Dave Barr, RW, assigned to Utica (AHL) for conditioning. Oct. 26: Barr recalled from Utica.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Kevin Todd, Peter Stastny, Patrik Sundstrom, Laurie Boschman, Jon Morris.LW&mdash;Dave Maley, Claude Vilgrain, Pat Conacher, Walt Poddubny.RW&mdash;Tom Chorske, Claude Lemieux, Doug Brown. Randy McKay, Dave Barr.LD&mdash;Bruce Driver, Scott Stevens, Viacheslav Fetisov.RD&mdash;Alexei Kasatonov, Eric Weinrich, Ken Daneyko, Scott Niedermayer.G&mdash;Chris Terreri, Craig Billington.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Zdeno Ciger, LW, right wrist surgery, indefinite. John MacLean, RW, torn right knee ligaments, indefinite Stephane Richer, LW, strained groin, day-to-day. &#9632;

Throw-in Chorske a great catch

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div>The decision seemed like an easy one. The Philadelphia Flyers would give rookie Kimbi Daniels a 10-game peek at the NHL, then send him back to junior hockey for one more year of seasoning.Everything was going according to plan. Daniels was learning the ropes but not really contributing enough offense to make anyone take notice.Just as the 10-game trial was running out, the 19-year-old center/right winger had to go and spoil everything. He broke loose early in the third period of a tie game at Minnesota Oct. 24, beat goaltender Jon Casey and sent the Flyers on their way to a 5-2 win.Daniels&rsquo; goal against the North Stars was his first in the NHL. But the numbers might be a bit misleading. The Brandon, Man., native has looked more comfortable with each passing game and has the sort of speed the Flyers are looking for as they try to convert to a more up-tempo offense.SMITH WAIVED: Frustrated by an inability to trade left winger Derrick Smith, the Flyers placed the eight-year veteran on waivers. He was claimed by the Minnesota North Stars Oct. 27.Smith spent seven seasons with Philadelphia but had not seen any action with the Flyers this year. Coach Paul Holmgren indicated the team already had enough players (Tony Horacek, Dave Brown) of Smith&rsquo;s style who could do more.&ldquo;In my mind, Tony is ahead of (Smith) because Tony fights,&rdquo; said Holmgren. &ldquo;The problem with Derrick is that he has had maybe three fights in his career. If you&rsquo;re going to play like that (defensively), you better do something else.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Mark Howe returned to action in a 5-2 win at Minnesota Oct. 24 after missing six games with a sore back. He sat out the next night&rsquo;s game, a 2-0 loss at Winnipeg, as a precautionary measure&hellip;Pelle Eklund scored his first goal of the season and 100th of his career in the Minnesota game.<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 24: Derrick Smith, LW. placed on waivers. Oct. 27: Dominic Roussel, G, assigned to Hershey (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pelle Eklund, Mike Ricci, Dan Quinn, Steve Kasper, Keith Acton.LW&mdash;Andrei Lomakin, Rod Brind&rsquo; Amour, Brad Jones. Mark Pederson, Tony Horacek.RW&mdash;Rick Tocchet, Murray Craven, Kimbi Daniels, Dave Brown.LD&mdash;Terry Carkner, Jiri Latal, Kerry Huffman, Dan Kordic.RO&mdash;Steve Duchesne, Kjell Samuelsson, Gord Murphy.G&mdash;Ron Hextall, Ken Wregget.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Corey Foster, D, broken collarbone, indefinite. &#9632;

Swift junior standout making choice tough

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div>The Penguins&rsquo; accountants probably shuddered when they saw another player sign a seven-figure contract, but they likely were the only ones in Pittsburgh dismayed when center Ron Francis came to terms Oct. 25.With Mario Lemieux sidelined by back problems and Francis unsigned, the Penguins had been playing without their top two centers. That&rsquo;s why they hustled Francis into uniform for a 4-1 loss in Montreal little more than 24 hours after he agreed to a five-year deal worth $4.1 million.&ldquo;We have room (for him),&rdquo; coach Scott Bowman said, laughing.Francis, who said he had not played or scrimmaged since the Penguins clinched the Stanley Cup May 25, got extensive ice time at even-strength and on the power play in Montreal. He also made a brief penalty-killing appearance.Francis&rsquo; game will require considerable fine-tuning in coming weeks, but he got good reviews from Bowman and several of his teammates after his 1991-92 debut.&ldquo;I thought he did a great job.&rdquo; linemate Kevin Stevens said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough, especially to jump in and play against these guys (Montreal).&rdquo;The Penguins will be counting on Francis not only for his customary strong two-way play, but to provide an insurance policy for when Lemieux&rsquo;s back trouble flares, as it likely will for the rest of his career.GOOD NEWS: Mario Lemieux missed three games because of back spasms and a mysterious pain in his hip, but a physical therapist apparently discovered the cause of his hip pain and a way to relieve it.Consequently, Lemieux was expected to be back in the lineup for Pittsburgh&rsquo;s home game against Washington Oct. 29.Bowman said Lemieux&rsquo;s problem was traced to a muscle in his hip and that &ldquo;they said 80 per cent of the muscle tightness in the hip was relieved&rdquo; by the physical therapist.Bowman and trainer Skip Thayer said they did not know the precise treatment that seemed to help Lemieux, although Bowman said, &ldquo;Skip was telling me everyone was relieved that they might have found a solution for trying to keep that muscle from tightening.&rdquo;There is no evidence Lemieux&rsquo;s hip pain is related to the operation he had July 11, 1990 on a herniated disc, but Bowman said doctors have not ruled out the possibility there is a connection between the problem and a post-surgical change in Lemieux&rsquo;s posture.Lemieux played in just seven of Pittsburgh&rsquo;s first 10 games, but still ranked among the NHL&rsquo;s leading scorers with five goals and eight assists.NOTEBOOK: The Public Auditorium Authority, which represents the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, approved the $24-miflion transfer of the Civic Arena lease from the Edward J. DeBartolo Corp., to Spectacor. Part of the deal binds the Penguins to the Arena for 16 years unless attendance plunges low enough to trigger an escape clause&hellip;Paul Coffey tied Denis Potvin&rsquo;s NHL record for goals by a defenseman when he scored the 310th of his career during a 4-2 loss to New Jersey Oct. 24.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 23: Jeff Daniels, LW, assigned to Muskegon (IHL). Oct. 25: Ron Francis, C, signed five-year contract.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ron Francis, Ken Priestlay, Bryan Trottier, Jiri Hrdina, Glenn Mulvenna.LW&mdash;Kevin Stevens. Phil Bourque, Bob Errey, Troy Loney.RW&mdash;Mark Recchi. Joe Mullen, Jaromir Jagr, Jamie Leach, Jay Caufield.LD&mdash;Paul Coffey, Ulf Samuelsson, Jim Paek, Gordie Roberts, Grant Jennings.RD&mdash;Larry Murphy, Peter Taglianetti, Paul Stanton.G&mdash;Tom Barrasso, Frank Pietrangelo, Wendell Young.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mario Lemieux, C, back spasms, day-to-day. &#9632;

Francis’ return timely

<div class="byline">By Dave Sell</div>The Washington Capitals have been quite pleased at the scoring pace they set through the first dozen games of the season. In fact, it&rsquo;s not like them at all.The once plodding and low-scoring Capitals were among the league leaders in goals scored a month into the 1990-91 campaign. It could be argued they had to achieve something close to it in order to move from the middle of the Patrick Division pack.But the trick is doing it at both ends. While the defense was fine through this early stretch, it frayed during a four-game road trip that included stops in Western Canada.Washington fell behind 4-0 before coming back to beat Edmonton 6-5 (Oct. 23). The offense didn&rsquo;t click the next night in a 3-1 loss to Vancouver. Three nights later, Washihgton fell behind 4-1 to Winnipeg before rallying to a 5-4 lead. But two powerplay goals in the third period by Winnipeg spelled a 6-5 Capitals&rsquo; loss.Two power-play goals in the third period? Three for a game? This from the team that had the best penalty killers in the NHL last season. After the loss to Winnipeg, the Capitals were 20th in the league in penalty killing. Coach Terry Murray has gone with his top forwards on the penalty-killing unit&mdash;Mike Ridley, Kelly Miller, Michal Pivonka&mdash;but he also experimented. Dimitri Khristich is now a regular. Randy Burridge is paired with Khristich. Peter Bondra is getting a shot with Pivonka.HUNTER FOR HIRE: Dale Hunter is a big reason why the Capitals are scoring and winning. The second part is easy to understand, but scoring? Hunter?Actually, it shouldn&rsquo;t be such a shock. Hunter has had some very productive seasons in Quebec and Washington. If some observers dislike Hunter because of his over-zealous cornerwork, he will always be welcomed in the homes of Michel Goulet and Geoff Courtnall, who benefitted playing alongside Hunter.Still, after getting just 16 goals and 46 points last season, it was a jolt to see Hunter with 16 points (15 assists) in 10 games to rank No. 1 in league scorers. Even he had trouble believing it until he saw it in the newspaper.&ldquo;I cut it out so I can show my kids when I get older,&rdquo; Hunter said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll show them that Lemieux and Messier were under me. It could be the last time.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Capitals can&rsquo;t stop trying to get defenseman Shawn Anderson. They sent future considerations to the Winnipeg Jets for his rights Oct. 23. Winnipeg got him the day before for Sergei Kharin. The Capitals traded Bill Houlder to the Buffalo Sabres for Anderson Sept. 30, 1990, only to lose him to the Quebec Nordiques the next morning in the waiver draft. This time may not be any easier. Anderson is playing in Berlin and apparently is quite happy.<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 23: Future considerations traded to Winnipeg for Shawn Anderson, D. Oct. 28: Don Beaupre, G, recalled from Baltimore (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Dimitri Khristich, Mike Ridley, Michal Pivonka, Dale Hunter.LW&mdash;Randy Burridge, Todd Krygier, John Druce, Nick Kypreos, Dave Tippett, Tim Bergland.RW&mdash;DinoCiccarelli, Kelly Miller, Peter Bondra, Alan May, Jeff Greenlaw.LD&mdash;Calle Johansson, Rod Langway, Mike Lalor, Ken Sabourin.RD&mdash;Kevin Hatcher, Al lafrate. Sylvain Cote.G&mdash;Mike Liut, Jim Hrivnak, Don Beaupre.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Shawn Chambers, D, sprained knee, day-to-day. &#9632;

Murray frets over weak penalty killing

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021005/6233708-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">image caption</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011284/6233715-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="194" height="162"></div>He won a World Championship in his second year as a coach and an Avco Cup title during his first year in the WHA. So, it wasn&rsquo;t a complete surprise when Bobby Kromm was named the coach of the year in his first season in the NHL.Kromm coached the Trail Smoke Eaters to the world title in 1961 and 14 years later was the WHA&rsquo;s coach of the year after leading the Winnipeg Jets to a championship in 1975. He added the Jack Adams Award to his list of accomplishments in 1978 when he coached the Detroit Red Wings to a stunning 37-point improvement.The Smoke Eaters were the last Canadian team to win the World Championship and Kromm was a big part of that. The player-coach was in his second year as coach after 11 seasons as a right winger.&ldquo;It was one of the most memorable occasions in my career,&rdquo; says Kromm, whose son Rich plays for the Capital District Islanders of the American League.Kromm, 61, went on to more coaching success after winning the World Championship. After coaching in Trail and then Nelson, B.C., Kromm joined the Chicago Blackhawks. He won three Central League championships with the Blackhawks&rsquo; affiliates in St. Louis and then Dallas in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Kromm won his first coach of the year award with the Dallas Blackhawks.The Calgary-born Kromm then joined the Jets for two years before becoming the Red Wings&rsquo; coach for the 1977-78 season.Bobby Kromm led the Detroit Red Wings to a 32-34-14 record and a 37-point improvement in 1977-78.Detroit&mdash;which set a team record for fewest wins in a season (16) in 1976-77&mdash;improved dramatically under Kromm during his first year, posting a 32-34-14 record. That year was the first time during a 13-season stretch, from 1970-71 to &rsquo;82-83, that the Red Wings made the playoffs.&ldquo;That first year was very satisfying,&rdquo; says Kromm. &ldquo;It was a team effort. But like the old adage, Good players make good coaches.&rsquo; The overall turnaround was amazing. And we got the maximum out of the talent we had.&rdquo;The Red Wings returned to their losing ways the following season and the team missed the playoffs. Kromm says Detroit had trouble winning because their opponents knew what to expect.Kromm was fired 71 games into his third season, leading the Wings to a 79-111-41 mark.It&rsquo;s appropriate that a man who coached in the Motor City would get involved in the automotive industry after he left the game. He began his post-coaching career by representing manufacturing companies in their dealings with automakers. He now has his own company brokering auto parts. &#9632;

f0016-02

Kromm a proven winner on and off the ice

The Wayne Gretzky of hockey pools.That&rsquo;s the best way to describe one of Canada&rsquo;s highest profile hockey pools&mdash;the Kenaston, Sask., Super Draft.Founded in 1984 by members of the Kenaston Lions Club, Super Draft follows the same principles as office pools but on a higher scale.For a crack at the $20,000 first prize, entrants spend $40 and select 30 NHLers whose point totals they feel will be the highest in the regular season. The player with the highest point total at season&rsquo;s end wins the top prize, while second- and third-place finishers receive $8,000 and $6,000 respectively. The top 200 finishers qualify for cash awards.Unlike smaller pools, Super Draft entrants have the added advantage of analyzing early season play before making their selections. Entry forms are due Oct. 31, giving entrants more than three weeks to check a players&rsquo; progress.&ldquo;The grace period exists to give entrants a chance to analyze trends and make assessments on off-season trades,&rdquo; draft chairman Barry Firby said. &ldquo;We wanted to give people a challenge and we wanted things to be fair. This (the grace period) allows players to make educated choices. It makes things more competitive.&rdquo;Stats accumulated by NHLers during the three-week period count in the final standings.The $75,000 Super Draft isn&rsquo;t the only game offered by the Lions Club. Super 8, a scaled down version of Super Draft, gives entrants a chance to select eight players they feel will finish with the most points at the end of the season. The fan with the top eight-player team wins the $10,000 top prize. Super 8 offers no secondary prizes.Super Draft has grown immensely since its inaugural season. Approximately 900 fans&mdash;mostly from Saskatchewan&mdash;played in 1984, while last year, more than 6,000 entries were submitted from all over North America. Firby expects that number to be closer to 7,000 this season.Draft organizers have kept up with heightened interest by creating a high-tech Super Draft headquarters in tiny Kenaston (pop. 350) complete with a computer system, special hotlines and numerous fax machines. A staff of 20 volunteers&mdash;and one full-timer&mdash;monitors the draft during the season.While Super Draft has provided hockey fans with enjoyment for six seasons, its role has-had greater importance to many charities across Canada. Monies collected from the draft are used to support various Canadian charities including The Children&rsquo;s Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.Firby estimates Super Draft has raised more than $350,000 for various Canadian charities since 1984. &#9632;

Pool party pays off

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div>Past misdeeds often cast a shadow over current events.Such was the case for Toronto goaltender Grant Fuhr, who sent the Maple Leaf organization into a frenzy when he went AWOL for 24 hours during a recent four-game western road trip. It was unfortunate, but unavoidable, that Fuhr&rsquo;s history of drug-related problems immediately had many thinking the absolute worst.Fuhr said a &ldquo;family matter&rdquo; led him to take off from the club immediately following a 4-2 loss to the Jets in Winnipeg Oct. 19, but he never did spell out precisely what the situation was.And while the incident officially ended with an undisclosed fine and a one-on-one meeting with Leaf hockey boss Cliff Fletcher, the undeniable residue of the affair is that for the foreseeble future&mdash;if not for the duration of his career in Toronto&mdash;Fuhr&rsquo;s every move will be carefully scrutinized.The disturbing fact also remains that despite much conjecture, no one knows exactly where the 29-year-old former Vezina Trophy winner was for those mysterious 24 hours.&ldquo;A serious family problem came up that I had to deal with from Winnipeg,&rdquo; said Fuhr after rejoining the Leafs in Vancouver. &ldquo;It had to be dealt with immediately, but my mistake was not letting the club know about it. I didn&rsquo;t put the team in the place it should have been in the importance I gave to things.&rdquo;By the time he returned to Toronto, Fuhr was in no mood to explain himself further, or to defend himself against suspicious questions.&ldquo;The sooner this becomes a dead issue, the better,&rdquo; he said.Fuhr, who has been undergoing regular drug testing and therapy at his own request, refused to understand why the incident would be linked with his past problems.&ldquo;I take it as a personal insult,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If people want to deal with it that way, I don&rsquo;t want to deal with them.&rdquo;For their part, the Leafs worked overtime trying to play down the episode. Fletcher betrayed no worries that Fuhr might have a had a relapse to the substance abuse problems that caused NHL president John Ziegler to hand him a life suspension last summer. The suspension was eventually reduced to 59 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011140/6233770-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="932" height="2124"><figcaption class="caption-body">Grant Fuhr hasn&rsquo;t provided the consistently great goaltending needed in Toronto (Photo by Tim Parker)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;We have no concerns whatsoever about any drug problems,&rdquo; said Fletcher.Here&rsquo;s what is known. After being pulled in consecutive games against St. Louis and Calgary, Fuhr was despondent over his play and the plight of the woeful Leafs. In the 6-4 loss to Calgary, Fuhr allowed three goals on three shots and was yanked after one period.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never learned how to lose. I&rsquo;m just not used to it,&rdquo; he said.Also, at the game in Calgary, his aunt suffered a heart attack while walking up a ramp to her seat. Fuhr didn&rsquo;t learn of the problem until after the game, but he later said that wasn&rsquo;t the reason he left the team.After straining thumb ligaments in Calgary, he sat on the bench in Winnipeg and watched Jeff Reese play. Following the game, Fuhr reportedly learned&mdash;although he never confirmed this&mdash;that his infant son had fallen from a change table at his Toronto home and had to be taken to hospital.He then failed to return to the Leafs&rsquo; hotel, and according to Winnipeg reports, was spotted at a local bar called Norma Jean&rsquo;s, a club partly-owned by former NHLer Perry Miller.Fuhr failed to appear at the Winnipeg Arena the next morning for treatment on his hand, then was absent for the team&rsquo;s 1:45 p.m. flight to Vancouver for a Monday night game against the Canucks.Maple Leaf officials were worried enough to notify NHL security officials in Winnipeg, who contacted police.Fuhr eventually contacted Leaf officials in Vancouver, made arrangements to be on a 9 p.m. flight and requested that Watt meet him at the airport.Afterwards, there seemed to be more confusing questions than answers.In the absence of hard evidence, however, Fuhr&rsquo;s explanations have to be taken a face value.His Los Angeles-based agent, Mike Barnett, put a great deal of emphasis on the difficulty Fuhr is having adjusting to life as a Maple Leaf.&ldquo;You have to understand that Grant takes losing and not playing well very personally,&rdquo; said Barnett. &#9632;

f0017-01

Missing in Action

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div>The Chicago Blackhawks pursued center Brent Sutter for almost a year. They finally got him Oct. 25, when Sutter was acquired from the New York Islanders with right winger Brad Lauer for center Adam Creighton and left winger Steve Thomas.&ldquo;If the truth be known, we might have been able to make this trade last March at the trade deadline,&rdquo; coach-general manager Mike Keenan said. &ldquo;But we wanted to stay loyal to the group we had and let them make a run at it. &ldquo;That run ended with an embarrassing first-round playoff loss to Minnesota. Since then, Keenan unloaded six key players from that 106-point club: Doug Wilson, Troy Murray, Dave Manson, Wayne Presley and now Creighton and Thomas.The Sutter deal was the fifth significant one since July 22.&ldquo;The message is we&rsquo;re trying to get the best players we can,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t be complacent and settle for something we&rsquo;ve achieved. We were proud of what we did last year, but we had an embarrassing exit because we weren&rsquo;t good enough. There&rsquo;s no threatening message being sent here because we acquired Steve Smith and Brent Sutter. We did it because they&rsquo;re better players.&rdquo;Sutter, 29, is the No. 2 center the Hawks have been searching for to play behind Jeremy Roenick. He&rsquo;s an 11-year veteran who has proven to be one of the top two-way forwards in the NHL.&ldquo;He brings to us another No. 1 center to go with Jeremy,&rdquo; associate coach Darryl Sutter said. &ldquo;Brent makes everyone around him better. He&rsquo;s a leader and he knows what it takes to win. We felt we needed another top guy right behind Roenick, and on many nights Brent&rsquo;s going to be our best player.&rdquo;Sutter, who had asked for a trade, was pleased.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough to leave a place I&rsquo;ve spent 10 years, but I&rsquo;m very excited about where I&rsquo;m going,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If there was a list of teams I wanted to play for, Chicago certainly was at the top of the list. This is a new start for me, a new career, and a chance to win again.&rdquo;Keenan used Sutter between right winger Dirk Graham and left winger John Tonelli. Sutter and Tonelli are former linemates from their days with the Islanders.The line clicked in their first game together Oct. 26 at Hartford. Sutter set up one of Graham&rsquo;s two goals and teammed with the 1990-91 Seike Trophy winner to help the Hawks kill 10 of 11 Hartford power plays.NOTEBOOK: Owner Bill Wirtz gave Mike Keenan a vote of confidence in response to the blasts directed at the coach-GM by many of the players he has traded. &ldquo;Someone has to be the hard guy to get you to a championship, and that&rsquo;s Mike,&rdquo; Wirtz said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s where we&rsquo;re going, and that&rsquo;s who we&rsquo;re going with whether everyone likes it or not.&rdquo;&hellip;Keenan remained hopeful he could trade AWOL defenseman Trent Yawney. Keenan wants a forward in return who can be among the Hawks&rsquo; top nine.A 5-2 loss to Calgary Oct. 24 extended the Hawks&rsquo; winless streak at home against the Flames to 0-7-1 dating back to 1986&hellip;The Hawks&rsquo; 6-3 loss to Boston Oct. 27 was their fourth of the season at home. They lost only eight times on home ice last season.<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>RANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 25: Adam Creighton. C, and Steve Thomas, LW. traded to the New York Islanders tor Brent Sutter, C, and Brad Lauer. RW. Oct. 27: Frank Kucera, D. assigned to Indianapolis (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Jeremy Roenick, Brent Sutter. Mike Hudson, Jocelyn Lemieux, Mike Stapleton.LW&mdash;Michel Goulet. John Tonelli, Greg Gilbert, Stu Grimson.RW&mdash;Steve Larmer, Dirk Graham, Brian Noonan, Brad Lauer.LD&mdash;Steve Smith, Steve Konroyd, Karl Dykhuis.RD&mdash;Chris Chelios, Ryan McGill, Keith Brown, Bryan Marchment.G&mdash;Jimmy Waite. Dominik Hasek.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

Sutter fits in right away

<div class="byline">By Gary Olson</div>Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; general manager Bob Clarke would be well-advised to pull his lawyer out of negotiations, cough up the dough as soon as possible and give Jon Casey whatever he wants.Casey&rsquo;s net worth increases every time he steps on the ice, making agent Ron Simon&rsquo;s job a whole lot easier. Simon is going head-to-head with Vance Opperman, a local agent hired to negotiate on behalf of the team.Casey is in the option year of his contract and wants a new one. He started out asking for $1 million per season and has played like he&rsquo;s worth it.Because it took Clarke and Simon four months to get Neal Broten&rsquo;s name on a contract, the Stars hired Opperman. He has dealt with Simon before but he hadn&rsquo;t gone up against Casey.&ldquo;Just doing what I can.&rdquo; Casey said, the hint of a smile escaping after he shut out the Bruins on Oct. 26.Casey and the Stars are getting closer to a contract, sources say. He&rsquo;ll probably settle soon on a four-year deal worth well over $3 million. It would seem like a bargain.Casey had a 5-3-0 record and 2.39 goals-against average after the shutout. He&rsquo;d been a major factor in each of the Stars&rsquo; victories and has kept the score closer than logical for longer than reasonable in the games he has lost.The shutout was the eighth of Casey&rsquo;s career and it&rsquo;s the first time the North Stars have shut out the Bruins in exactly 14 seasons, a stretch dating to 1977.BANG ON: The North Stars added more crunch to their offense when they claimed crash-and-bang left winger Derrick Smith from the Philadelphia Flyers Oct. 26 for the $20,000 waiver price.Smith played seven seasons with the Flyers but hadn&rsquo;t seen any ice time this season.&ldquo;It was a chance to get a big, strong player who skates like hell and likes to hit without losing anybody from our roster,&rdquo; Bob Clarke said. &ldquo;Derrick has never been a big scorer but he has never played on a scoring line.&rdquo;Smith, 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, scored 80 goals and 167 points in 494 games with the Flyers.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited. It&rsquo;s a chance for a fresh start,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what happened in Philadelphia but I&rsquo;m really looking forward to joining the North Stars.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The name of the North Stars&rsquo; airplane: North Stars Won. There was adelay on the ground before a return flight from Los Angeles, prompting the following conversation among two players: &ldquo;The control tower must be having trouble finding our plane. They&rsquo;re looking for &lsquo;North Stars Won&rsquo; and they should be looking for &lsquo;North Stars Lost&rsquo; today.&rdquo; The Stars lost to the Kings 5-2 the night before (Oct. 19).Ulf Dahlen&rsquo;s sixth goal of the season Oct. 22 was his 100th in the NHL. Bobby Smith&rsquo;s assist on the goal was his 506th point in Minnesota, tying him with Bill Goldsworthy in fourth place among Stars&rsquo; scorers. Smith earned his 646th career assist against Boston Oct. 26, moving past Goldsworthy and into 25th place on the all-time list.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 25: Darcy Wakaluk, G, assigned to Kalamazoo (IHL) for conditioning. Steve Guenette, G, recalled from Kalamazoo. Oct. 26: Derrick Smith, LW, claimed on waivers from Philadelphia.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Dave Gagner, Bobby Smith. Neal Broten, MarcBureau, Todd Elik.LW&mdash;Brian Propp, Brian Bellows, Gaetan-Duchesne, Basil McRae, Derrick Smith.RW&mdash;Mike Modano, Ulf Dahlen, Stewart Gavin. Shane Churla. Mike Craig.LD&mdash;Craig Ludwig, Derian Hatcher, Al Pedersen.RD&mdash;Chris Dahlquist, Jim Johnson, Brian Glynn. Rob Ramage.G&mdash;Jon Casey, Steve Guenette.<h3>ROSTER</h3>Mark Tinordi, D, foot palsy, indefinite. &#9632;

Casey’s case for raise gets better every day

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div>The smile and calm demeanor have returned to Brett Hull.The St. Louis Blues&rsquo; superstar had scored four goals in four games through Oct. 27, escaping from an early-season funk in which he had two goals in six games. Not to mention a sour disposition.After a bad experience at the Canada Cup and a slow start in the NHL&rsquo;s 75th anniversary season, Hull was not a happy camper. Numerous commitments had cut into his summer down time, and he struggled to come to terms with the Blues&rsquo; emphasis on spreading out the scoring wealth.Though he had said before the season no one should expect him to score 60 or 70 goals every season, his pride as an athlete said anything less was unacceptable.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a different game&mdash;we have three solid lines now,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s different than the last two years. (I was) a big part of the team, and all of a sudden they got guys and (I was) kind of cut down. I can&rsquo;t say it hurts, but it kind of damages your ego.&rdquo;Former Blues&rsquo; captain Rick Meagher, now in the Blues&rsquo; front office, convinced Hull to throw aside his ego during a golf outing before the Blues&rsquo; weekend home-and-home series with the Chicago Blackhawks Oct. 19 and 20.Meagher asked Hull, &ldquo;What do you want to do, score 90 goals? Then what? Do you want to score a hundred? When does it stop?&ldquo;Oh, he got mad,&rdquo; Meagher said. &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t want to hear it, but it&rsquo;s ridiculous. He wants to please everybody, and he tries too hard. He can&rsquo;t say no to anyone. He spent the whole summer running around doing commercials. He was exhausted.&rdquo;After the chat. Hull calmed down and was back in form netting the four goals in four games, including one game-tying score and one game-winner.With six goals in 10 games, a 48-goal pace, Hull is right where the Blues want him to be. He&rsquo;s also being more conscientious on defense. He&rsquo;s slashing at pesky checkers and he&rsquo;s throwing his weight around along the boards.CAVALLINI OUT: Defenseman Paul Cavallini will miss about six weeks after spraining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee at Chicago Oct. 20. Cavallini will wear an ankle-to-thigh brace for at least two weeks and won&rsquo;t be able to skate for four.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping for the best,&rdquo; Cavallini said. &ldquo;Hopefully, it won&rsquo;t be as long as they say it will be. It all depends on exactly what happened inside my knee and how quickly it heals.&rdquo;Cavallini was injured while trying to hit Chicago&rsquo;s Steve Smith, but he avoided a more serious injury because his left skate wasn&rsquo;t planted firmly on the ice.&ldquo;It would have been six months,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was very fortunate. It could have been much worse. I just felt a twisting sensation.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: After calling a $300,000 offer from the Philadelphia Flyers an &ldquo;insult&rdquo; before being acquired by the Blues, Ron Sutter inked a four-year deal Oct. 26 that starts at $385,000 for the first season. He celebrated that night by scoring the tying goal with 33 seconds left in the Blues&rsquo; 2-2 tie with Calgary &hellip;The Blues re-signed veteran left winger Gino Cavallini to a two-year contract worth $275,000 the first year and $310,000 the second year.After starring with 43 saves in the Blues&rsquo; 4-1 victory at Chicago Oct. 20, Pat Jablonski gave up five consecutive goals as the Blues&rsquo; blew a 4-0 lead before coming back to beat Boston 6-5 Oct. 24&hellip;Rookie defenseman Randy Skarda played his first game of the season in the tie with the Flames.<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 21: Ron Hoover, LW, assigned to Peoria (IHL). Dominic Lavoie, D, assigned to Peoria for conditioning. Oct. 26: Ron Sutter, C, and Gino Cavallini, LW, signed multi-year contracts.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Adam Oates, Ron Sutter, Bob Bassen, Ron Wilson.LW&mdash;Gino Cavallini, Brendan Shanahan, Dave Christian, Dave Lowry.RW&mdash;Brett Hull, Nelson Emerson. Rich Sutter, Darin Kimble. Kelly Chase.LD&mdash;Jeff Brown. Murray Baron, Rob Robinson.RD&mdash;Garth Butcher, Rick Zombo. Randy Skarda, Mario Marois.G&mdash;Curtis Joseph. Pat Jablonski.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Paul Cavallini, LD, sprained left knee, indefinite. &#9632;

Hull’s smile returns along with Midas touch

<div class="byline">By Keith Gave</div>Soviet Viacheslav Kozlov, perhaps the best prospect in the Red Wings&rsquo; organization, was seriously injured in a car crash that killed the passenger, Kirill Tarasov.In the Oct. 20 collision with a bus, Kozlov suffered a broken nose and a severe concussion, but was expected to be out of a Moscow hospital within days and could be playing hockey again within a month. Red Wings&rsquo; assistant general manager Nick Polano said after getting word from sources in the Soviet Union.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s really good news,&rdquo; Polano said, adding that he was confident the information was accurate because it was verified by a member of the Red Army coaching staff.Kozlov, 19, was driving to practice when the accident occurred. Tarasov, 18, was the only passenger. The defenseman is no relation to former Soviet national team coach Anatoli Tarasov and was playing for Khimik.Kozlov is a center who has offensive skills comparable to the Wings&rsquo; Sergei Fedorov. But Kozlov is much smaller at 5-foot-10, 172 pounds compared to Fedorov (6-foot-l, 191 pounds). The Wings drafted Kozlov in the third round (45th overall) of the 1990 draft.Polano begins a European trip Nov. 10 that will take him to the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Finland and Sweden. On the Russian portion of his trip, he plans to continue negotiations with the Soviets regarding Kozlov&rsquo;s release to the Wings. The Wings hope he will be available after the Olympic Games in February.FALSE START: Vince Riendeau&rsquo;s first start in a Red Wings&rsquo; uniform was memorable for reasons good, bad and ironic.The bad: He lasted less, than 28 minutes before leaving with a knee injury. In an innocent-looking play Riendeau was gliding across the crease when he fell to the ice.The good: He stopped all eight shots he faced and Tim Cheveldae stopped the other five that Toronto&rsquo;s feeble offense managed, giving Detroit its first combined shutout in its 66-year history.The best: Tests the next morning showed no serious damage to Riendeau&rsquo;s knee, though two days later he was still using crutches to get around.He was expected to miss at least a week.The ironic: The win was Riendeau&rsquo;s second over Toronto in his career. His first came with St. Louis one year&mdash;to the day&mdash;earlier.NOTEBOOK: Left winger Keith Primeau, the Wings&rsquo; first pick (3rd overall) in 1990, was assigned to Detroit&rsquo;s minor-league affiliate in Adirondack in a move designed to put his career on fast forward instead of reverse. &ldquo;He has got to play. He has got to get some ice time,&rdquo; general manager/coach Bryan Murray said.Defenseman Steve Chiasson&rsquo;s belated, but strong start was interrupted by an ankle injury that was expected to keep him out at least two weeks. He injured it in practice Oct. 22. It was the same ankle he broke last season.<h2>Detroit</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 24: Allan Bester, G, and Keith Primeau, LW, assigned to Adirondack (AHL). Oct. 26: Dave Gagnon, G, recalled from Fort Wayne (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Steve Yzerman, Jimmy Carson, Sergei Fedorov, Shawn Burr.LW&mdash;Gerard Gallant. Bob Probert, Johan Garpenlov, Brian MacLellan.RW&mdash;Ray Sheppard. Kevin Miller, Alan Kerr, Paul Ysebaert.LD&mdash;Steve Chiasson, Bobby Dollas, Vladimir Konstantinov, Niklas Lidstrom, Yves Racine.RD&mdash;Doug Crossman. Brad Marsh, Brad McCrimmon.G&mdash;Tim Cheveldae, Dave Gagnon.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Troy Crowder, RW, bulging disc in back, Nov. 10. Brent Fedyk, RW, sore shoulder, day-to-day Martin Lapointe, RW, broken wrist, Nov. 10. Vincent Riendeau, G, sore right knee, day-to-day. Denis Vial, 0. fractured left thumb, Nov. 10. &#9632;

Top Soviet prospect injured in car accident

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div>For a while there, Mike Bullard was probably wishing he was still in Switzerland.After a year with Ambri Piotta in the Swiss league, the former 100-point man returned to the NHL this fall when the Leafs acquired his rights in a trade with Philadelphia.Bullard, at $450,000 (U.S.) a season, was supposed to provide the lacklustre Leaf offensive attack with some firepower, but early this season it seemed his gun powder was all wet.In Toronto&rsquo;s first ten games, the 30-year-old center/left winger had two assists and no goals, and was even scratched for two games by coach Tom Watt.&ldquo;When you sit out a couple of games you think a lot because you have the time to do it,&rdquo; said Bullard, who scored a career-high 103 points with Calgary in 1987-88. &ldquo;I knew the club got me to score goals, and I wanted to get started.&rdquo;That finally occured Oct. 26 when Bullard not only potted his first Leaf goal in a 6-1 victory over Detroit, he added two more to record his eighth career hat trick.&ldquo;To get three and break the ice takes a big load off my back,&rdquo; he said.It also made a happy man of Watt, who had listened to Bullard complain about lack of ice time and irregular assignments.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a two-way street. You have to show me,&rdquo; said Watt after Bullard&rsquo;s hat trick against the Wings.Bullard scored 37 goals in 36 Swiss league games, but said he desperately wanted to get back into the NHL where he had spent the first 10 seasons of his professional career, scoring 646 points in 662 games.&ldquo;I was very happy when Cliff called. I felt I could help the Leafs on offense,&rdquo; he said.WATTERS HIRED: Leaf president and general manager Cliff Fletcher added another worker to his growing front office Oct. 23 when he hired former player agent Bill Watters as the club&rsquo;s assistant GM.Watters. 48, had been working as color man on the Leaf radio broadcasts and as a sports analyst with CJCL-AM radio in Toronto. He said he will supervise business operations of Toronto&rsquo;s American League franchise in St. John&rsquo;s, Nfld.. coordinate the Leaf scouting department, contribute to player evaluation and just about anything else Fletcher wants him to do.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be like his right hand man, except that he&rsquo;s left-handed, so I guess I&rsquo;ll be his left hand man,&rdquo; quipped Watters.He was selected out of a group of nine candidates, a list that included former Leaf GM Gord Stellick, Toronto player agent Gus Badali. Boston agent Bob Murray, junior executive Sam McMaster and Don Waddell, GM of the International League&rsquo;s San Diego Gulls.NOTEBOOK: Team captain Wendel Clark resumed skating Oct. 23, but was still two to three weeks away from playing. The Leafs lost seven of their first eight games without him.Defenseman Todd Gill missed three games with a broken little finger on his right hand. He returned for a 4-0 loss in Detroit Oct. 25.<h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Peter Zezel. Brian Bradley, Tom Fergus, Mike Krushefnyski. Dave Hannan, Ken Linseman.LW&mdash;Mike Bullard, Craig Berube, Claude Loiselle, Rob Cimetta.RW&mdash;Gary Leeman, Rob Pearson, Glenn Anderson, Lucien DeBlois, Mike Foligno.LD&mdash;Dave Ellett, Darryl Shannon, Alexander Godynyuk, Bob Halkidis.RD&mdash;Bob Rouse, Michel Petit. Todd Gill.G&mdash;Grant Fuhr, Jeff Reese.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Wendel Clark, LW, torn ligaments in left knee, indefinite. Daniel Marois, RW, right wrist fracture, indefinite. &#9632;

Bullard’s hat trick takes big ‘load off back’

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0021-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01743/6233959-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">After spending three years away from coaching, Herb Brooks is behind the bench for the Utica Devils. Brooks, best known for leading the 1980 U.S. Olympic team to the gold medal, dispels rumors that he is just in Utica until the parent New Jersey Devils decide to fire coach Tom McVie. (Photo by Wayne scarberry)</figcaption></div>When Jamie Huscroft learned that Herb Brooks had been hired to coach the Utica Devils, the bruising defenseman thought it might be time to look into another line of work.&ldquo;I figured I was screwed,&rdquo; Huscroft says. &ldquo;From what I knew of Herb Brooks, I didn&rsquo;t know how I&rsquo;d ever fit into his style.&rdquo;Huscroft, who had 18 points and 339 penalty minutes last season, can be glad he didn&rsquo;t make any hasty decisions.Before training camp had ended, he realized there is a place for everyone in Brooks&rsquo; system of hybrid hockey.&ldquo;During training camp he said to me. I&rsquo;ve seen what you can do (with the puck), let&rsquo;s exploit those talents, let&rsquo;s show what Jamie Huscroft can do on the ice instead of in the penalty box,&rsquo; &ldquo;Huscroft says.It took former Utica coach Tom McVie four years to get Huscroft to play stay-at-home defense. It took Brooks, who has a 2-2-2 record with the Devils, two weeks to give him the freedom to roam.Brooks coached the New York Rangers from 1980 to January of &rsquo;85 followed by a year at St. Cloud State University and one season with the Minnesota North Stars. But Brooks is best remembered for the Miracle on Ice in 1980 when Team USA captured the Olympic gold medal.Brooks hasn&rsquo;t been behind the bench for three years since being fired by the North Stars after the 1987-88 season. Now that he&rsquo;s back things are changing quickly in Utica. Dump-and-chase has given way to bob-and-weave.Whereas McVie, one of the American League&rsquo;s most successful coaches, taught basic English, Brooks brings a masters degree in creativity to Memorial Auditorium.His pupils, which include 12 rookies, are eager to learn. And that is why the 53-year-old Brooks is in Utica.The parent New Jersey Devils wanted their minor-league coach to be a man who had proven he could teach skills and winning.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe how much I&rsquo;ve already learned from him,&rdquo; rookie right winger Ben Hankinson says. &ldquo;He takes time to help you as a player. He teaches the team things, but he also works with you individually.&rdquo;One thing the rookies are being told is to express themselves with the puck.&ldquo;His philosophy is, &lsquo;Defense is character and offense is personality,&rsquo; and he lets guys build on their personalities,&rdquo; rookie center Jarrod Skalde says.When Brooks coached the Rangers, the team did more weaving than a rug factory.Brooks loved it. This is a man who can watch a basketball game and see his type of hockey, which revolves around quick transitions.&ldquo;I know when we did this with the Rangers everybody looked at me funny,&rdquo; Brooks says. &ldquo;Ten years ago, the word transition was never used, but the game of the &rsquo;80s was entirely different than the game of the &rsquo;70s, and the game of the &rsquo;90s is going to be a little different.&ldquo;People who have brought total defense into the picture haven&rsquo;t done anything with it. I say we have the fastest, most creative, physical game in the world, so why suffocate it?&rdquo;Suffocating is what Brooks was doing without hockey. He was meant to coach, not talk on cable TV or sell paper products, his vocations the past three years.&ldquo;It was hard going to games and I mostly stayed away,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I was like a recovering alcoholic. When you come out of treatment, you don&rsquo;t go into the first saloon you walk by.&rdquo;And back in the summer of 1988, Brooks had no desire to go back into a coaches&rsquo; office. He had soured on the game after being fired by the North Stars after a 19-48-13 season when the team lost over 500 man games to injury.&ldquo;I gathered everything I had accumulated pertaining to coaching through the years and chucked it,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s it. I&rsquo;m through with coaching hockey forever.&rsquo; &ldquo;It was a short forever. After two years with SportsChannel America, he learned the press box wasn&rsquo;t for him.&ldquo;I got scared at the end because I started believing what I was saying,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Every time I sat in the booth, I started thinking what it would be like to be coaching this team or that team. It was like a magnet, it kept drawing at me.&rdquo;But he resisted the force and went cold turkey, leaving SportsChannel for a job selling paper products near his Minnesota home in the Twin Cities last year.What exactly Brooks knew about desktop stationary and business cards is debatable.&ldquo;But just when I got to know the difference between 1-ply and 2-ply, the Devils called,&rdquo; Brooks says.It was a call Brooks needed.&ldquo;Herbie was bom to coach, period,&rdquo; says current St. Cloud coach Craig Dahl, who was an assistant to Brooks when he coached the team in its first season in NCAA Division I.Some say his stay in the AHL will be shorter than the stint at St. Cloud State. The popular prediction is that he is a coach-in-waiting, that he will be promoted to New Jersey if the Devils falter under McVie.But Brooks says such a scenario was never discussed with New Jersey general manager Lou Lamoriello when he signed his contract.&ldquo;There are more good coaches than there are jobs,&rdquo; Brooks says when asked why he took the job in Utica. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m no different than anybody else. I&rsquo;d like to get another crack at it (the NHL).&ldquo;But I didn&rsquo;t take this job to stick pins in somebody. The way the Devils have outlined this thing, this is a really good job. They&rsquo;ve retooled their philosophy and they&rsquo;re really going with youth here.&rdquo;The youth certainly had instant respect for Brooks. Many of them were at the impressionable age of 11 or 12 when the U.S. team won the gold medal.Brooks looks only at the present. The Olympic experience will follow him forever, but it&rsquo;s not a topic he brings up.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I don&rsquo;t carry around and wear on my sleeve,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;The only time I think about it is when somebody brings it up. If somebody mentions it. I just say thank you and move on.&rdquo;On to the next challenge, in the next rink. &#9632;

f0021-01

Brooks back where he belongs

<div class="byline">By Nick Gates</div>A one-sided stick-swinging incident that shattered the jaw of Hampton Roads Admirals&rsquo; center Harry Mews marred the opening of the East Coast League&rsquo;s fourth season.Columbus Chill center Jason Taylor was on the bench when he reached over and struck Mews in the face with his stick late in the first period of the Admirals&rsquo; home opener Oct. 25&mdash;which the Admirals won 6-3.Mews suffered a compound fracture of the jaw and underwent five hours of surgery at Senatara Norfolk General Hospital. He isn&rsquo;t expected to play for six weeks.Taylor was suspended indefinitely by ECHL commissioner Pat Kelly Oct. 28. A ruling won&rsquo;t be made until Kelly has been able to review written reports.Hampton Roads&rsquo; general manager Pat Nugent believes the punishment should fit the crime. He suggests Taylor be banished from the league.Dr. (Jamie) Krochmal said it was an unusual break, one he had never seen, Nugent explained. There were several smaller fractures in addition to the main one.Mews was playing in his first game with Hampton Roads after being reassigned from the Baltimore Skipjacks of the American League. He had 30 goals and 73 points in 55 games for the Admirals last season and was second in ECHL playoff scoring with five goals and 23 points.Taylor had two goals in two games with a team high 23 penalty minutes this season.Apparently, little precipitated the incident.&ldquo;To my knowledge there was no previous altercation on the ice whatsoever,&rdquo; Brophy said. &ldquo;They might have been talking, but that doesn&rsquo;t matter. You can&rsquo;t do that.&rdquo;TOP REF HIRED: Ask any coach about the calibre of officiating in the East Coast League and they&rsquo;ll invariably answer the question with another question. &ldquo;For the record, you mean?&rdquo; they&rsquo;ll ask.When the interview is on the record, coaches will provide glowing reviews. Making waves is the last thing they want.Turn off the tape recorder, though, and criticism from coaches comes gushing forth. Complaints vary, but the word most often howled in disapproval is inconsistency.This season, in an effort to cut down on complaints, and in a move to upgrade officiating, commissioner Pat Kelly took a major step by hiring John Robinson as the ECHL&rsquo;s first supervisor of officials Oct. 21.Robinson, 45, will have his hands full. More than 25 new referees and linesmen have been signed on to handle games this year. The league&rsquo;s 75 officials were recently given guidelines during a three-day seminar in Vinton, Va.Robinson was an amateur official for 18 years, working mostly college games. He was also a linesman for the Atlantic Coast and Central leagues. USA Hockey thought enough of his work to name him referee-in-chief for their Southeastern District.In addition to his ECHL duties, Robinson serves as alternate video goal judge for the NHL&rsquo;s Washington Capitals and is an officiating instructor with USA Hockey.NOTEBOOK: If the pre-season is an accurate reflection, attendance in many cities could be on the rise this season. Defending champion Hampton Roads drew 5,432 for an exhibition game Oct. 18 against Raleigh while 4,418 attended Cincinnati&rsquo;s only pre-season home game against Nashville the same night. Unofficial pre-season attendance exceeded 25,(XX).A proposal to add a 17th player to the roster passed by an 11-4 vote Oct. 21. Roanoke Valley owner Henry Brabham missed the teleconference call because of a death in his family.<h2>Coast clears path to AHL, IHL</h2>One of the drawbacks for the East Coast League developing star players is they lose them to the American and International Leagues.Last season. Bill McDougall graduated from Erie to lead Adirondack (AHL). This season there were 21 ECHL graduates in the AHL and IHL (as of Oct. 21). Among them:Phil Huber, Richmond to Capital District (AHL). Has had great start&mdash;7-6-13 in 11 games&mdash;after a solid rookie year.Stan Drulia, Knoxville to New Haven (AHL). ECHL&rsquo;s leading goal scorer last season (63) had six in 10 games.Brad Turner, Richmond to New Haven (AHL). Point-a-game defenseman in the ECHL was I-5-6 in eight games with the Nighthawks.Keith Gretzky, Winston-Salem to San Diego (IHL). Had three times as many assists (51) as goals last season and started2-0-0 in five games.Dan Gauthier, Knoxville to Muskegon (IHL). No. 2 on the ECHL scoring list, Gauthier was 0-0-0 in four gamesica&rsquo;s. &#9632;

Mews hurt in violent incident

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>The wait for professional hockey on the island province of Newfoundland finally ended.The first pro sports team in Newfoundland was welcomed in grand style, when the American League&rsquo;s St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs played their home opener against the Fredericton Canadiens Oct. 19.NHL Hall of Famers George Armstrong and Darryl Sittler were named honorary captains for the Maple Leafs, and they hoisted the St. John&rsquo;s banner to the top of Memorial Stadium as the sellout crowd of 4,195 cheered.That crowd was the largest home crowd for a Toronto AHL affiliate in a decade. In Newmarket, Ont., where the Leafs&rsquo; farm team previously played for five seasons, the arena&rsquo;s seating capacity was only 3,400.&ldquo;Everywhere you go, there&rsquo;s talk about the team. It&rsquo;s a big change from Newmarket,&rdquo; said Chris Reed, St. John&rsquo;s promotion director who transferred with the franchise.St. John&rsquo;s mayor Shannie Duff and Fredericton mayor Brad Woodside took part in the opening ceremonies as well.Because the Canadiens were playing in St. John&rsquo;s the next night, the mayors had a friendly wager.The loser would wear the other team&rsquo;s sweater the next day at the game. After the Maple Leafs won 5-3&mdash;with Todd Hawkins scoring the winning goal and Felix Potvin making 21 saves&mdash;Woodside donned the St. John&rsquo;s sweater, complete with his name, the following day. Fredericton gained revenge with a 4-3 victory behind Benoit Brunet&rsquo;s three goals and one assist.MOVING UP: Rochester right winger Jody Gage moved into fifth place on the AHL&rsquo;s career scoring list Oct. 18, when he had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win over Moncton.The 13-year veteran has 401 goals, 430 assists and 831 points in 822 games, two more thanHarry Pidhirny, who was 376-453-829 in 1,071 games.&ldquo;I really had no idea (of the tie with Pidhirny) until I got to the rink,&rdquo; Gage said. &ldquo;I try not to look at that stuff.&rdquo;Gage could catch Mike Nykoluk (881) for fourth place before the end of the season.STARS AND STRIPES:USA Hockey announced that the International Ice Hockey Federation has selected three AHL linesmen to work upcoming tournaments.John Malinosky will officiate in the 1992 Olympics in France, Harry Ammian was chosen for the 1992 World Championship in Czechoslovakia, and Matt Dunne will work the Women&rsquo;s World Championship in Finland.TAKING A BATHE: Maine hired former NHL and AHL defenseman Frank Bathe as an assistant coach. Bathe, who has no coaching experience, was a member of the first Mariners&rsquo; team in l977-78&hellip;Don Beaupre had a rough start in his first game of the season. Sent to Baltimore by Washington for conditioning, Beaupre allowed five goals on 23 shots in a 5-4 loss to Maine.Fredericton left winger Benoit Brunet earned Sher-Wood player of the week honors for Oct. 14-20 with four goals and four assists in three&rsquo; games&hellip;Binghamton right winger Steven King was named ProCards rookie of the week for the second time with three goals and an assist in three games&hellip;Maine&rsquo;s Lou Crawford moved into fifth on the AHL&rsquo;s career penalty minutes list with 1,683, 16 more than Aldo Guidolin. Mike Stothers, Hershey&rsquo;s player-assistant coach, is fourth with 1,690. &#9632;

Newfoundland fans love their Leafs

<div class="byline">By Dave Eminian</div>Dmitri Kvartalnov was hoping he&rsquo;d go far if he played out his option in the Soviet Union. But he didn&rsquo;t know how far he would go.The forward has landed in the International League with the San Diego Gulls as a free agent, where he is making a lot of noise while waiting for a chance to play in the NHL.&ldquo;My contract with (Soviet Elite League) Khimik expired, so I decided to come to America to test myself,&rdquo; said Kvartalnov, who led the IHL with 13 goals.&ldquo;I decided to do this last year. But with the (Soviet) coup, things were pretty bad when I was ready to leave. I was afraid for a while I couldn&rsquo;t get here.&rdquo;Kvartlanov is part prospect, part mystery for the Gulls. He speaks no English. Irene Starikov, the wife of Kvartalnov&rsquo;s teammate in San Diego, Sergei Starikov, serves as his inter-pretor.Kvartalnov, 25, is from Voskresenk, USSR, where his parents and brother continue to live.At first, Gulls&rsquo; general manager Don Waddell says his new acquisition spent some time on the bench trying to adjust.The reason for his inaction was because Waddell was unable to communicate line changes and other information to him.But Kvartalnov is making the most of his ice time now, adding six assists for 19 points in 11 games. He had four two-goal games and exploded for four goals in the Gulls&rsquo; 6-5 win over Salt Lake Oct. 26.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s good,&rdquo; said Peoria Rivermen right winger Steve Tuttle. &ldquo;He has a lot of speed. Someone will eventually sign him.&rdquo;Tuttle, who was second in the league with 12 goals in 11 games, speaks with first-hand knowledge. The Rivermen have played four games against the Gulls this season.Kvartalnov may not be used to North America&rsquo;s game, but he is used to a high calibre of hockey, playing five seasons for Khimik.&ldquo;I am not surprised that I have not been drafted or signed by an NHL team,&rdquo; said Kvartalnov, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound right winger. &ldquo;I have to play well to get to the NHL. I have to score goals.&rdquo;Kvartalnov, a member of the Soviet national team for the last three years, believes many of his former teammates back home are lining up to play in the NHL.&ldquo;In the Soviet Union, some guys still want to play for the national team,&rdquo; Kvartalnov said. &ldquo;But a lot of them, most of them, want to come to America now and play in the NHL.&rdquo;BLADE RUNNERS: Kansas City won its first 10 games of the season, believed to be a league record.The IHL does not keep records for most wins to start a season, but acknowledges the Blades&rsquo; have probably set a new standard. The streak ended when the Blades lost 2-1 in Indianapolis Oct. 26.&ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t really thinking about it,&rdquo; said left winger David Bruce, who knows his way around winning streaks&mdash;he was an important part of the Peoria Rivermen when they won a pro hockey-record 18 straight games last season.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re just trying to win every game,&rdquo; Bruce said. &ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t reached our potential, but we&rsquo;re winning with great goaltending. Arturs Irbe has been unbelievable.&rdquo;PRODUCTION DELAYS: Peoria&rsquo;s Production Line trio of Dave Mackey, Michel Mongeau and Steve Tuttle continued to dominate the IHL through Oct. 27 with 71 points in 11 games, including 30 goals. But the line was temporarily broken up Oct. 22 when Mackey suffered a knee injury against Kalamazoo. He could be on the shelf for up to three weeks.Muskegon tied its own IHL record by managing to get into four consecutive overtime games in October. &#9632;

Gulls’ Soviet winger getting scouts’ attention

<div class="byline">By Vance Oliver</div>The Lethbridge Hurricanes were relieved when Czechoslovakian import Radek Sip was permitted to stickhandle through a roll of red tape.The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association suspended the 20-year-old Sip Oct. 16 because he hadn&rsquo;t received his release from the Czechoslovakian Ice Hockey Federation this season.The CAHA reversed its decision Oct. 18 and allowed Sip to play while negotiations for a full release continue between the CAHA and the Czechoslovakian federation.Sip&rsquo;s commitment with the Litvinov club in Czechoslovakia is believed to have expired at the end of last season. He scored 29 goals and 63 points in 49 games with Lethbridge last year.Sip, who has three goals and seven points in eight games, missed one game because of the problem.SONG SUNG BLUE: Regina Pats&rsquo; GM Bill Hicke isn&rsquo;t one to go back on his word, but considering the circumstances a lot of people hoped he would.Hicke was forced to sing the national anthem Oct. 27 at the Regina Agridome after losing a&mdash;fan challenge with Moose Jaw Warriors&rsquo; GM Greg Kvisle.The challenge took place Oct. 18-19 during a home-and-home series between the Pats and Warriors. The club which brought the most fans to the other team&rsquo;s rink would be able to listen to the opposing GM belt out the national anthem.According to the reserved ticket count, 162 Warriors&rsquo; fans attended the Oct. 18 game in&mdash;Regina, while 109 Pats&rsquo;fans showed up Oct. 19 in Moose Jaw. The cities are located just 50 kilometres apart in southern Saskatchewan.Hicke questioned the ticket count, but held his part of the bargain. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not a bad hummer, but I&rsquo;m not a good singer.&rdquo;PUNCH ADDED: The Brandon Wheat Kings were willing to give up heart for punch&mdash;scoring punch, that is.Averaging less than three goals per game through eight outings, the Wheat Kings were resigned to trade overage captain Hardy Sauter and defenseman Aaron Boh to the Spokane Chiefs for left winger Cam Danyluk and right winger Mike Chrun.Danyluk had 60 points and 298 penalty minutes last season with the Memorial Cup champion Chiefs. Chrun had 26 goals and 52 points and had been asking for a trade.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if they&rsquo;ll be offensive saviors, but they&rsquo;ll contribute,&rdquo; Brandon coach-GM Kelly McCrimmon said.Despite a 1-7 start, Brandon&rsquo;s talent pool is improved with players such as rookie center Marty Murray, 16-year-old defenseman Jason Smith and Chicago Blackhawk draft pick Bobby House added this season.REBEL YELL: The WHL&rsquo;s newest expansion franchise in Red Deer, Alta., will be named the &lsquo;Rebels&rsquo;. The monicker was the most popular from over 900 entries received in a name-the-team contest. Other popular entries were &lsquo;Centurions&rsquo; and &lsquo;Renegades&rsquo;. Team colors will be black, silver and white. A team logo will be ready in early November&hellip;The Kamloops Blazers extended a couple of winning streaks over West Division rivals. The Blazers defeated the Portland Winter Hawks for the 16th consecutive time with a 3-1 triumph in Portland Oct. 17. The streak dates back to Jan. 3, 1990. Two nights later, Kamloops beat the Victoria Cougars for the 21st straight time with a 6-2 win.Lethbridge Hurricanes&rsquo; center Rob Hartnell was WHL player of the week for the period ending Oct. 20. The undrafted 18-year-old had scored at least a point in all 13 Hurricanes&rsquo; games this season. Hartnell had seven goals and 14 points in four Lethbridge games during the week.<h2>Rating CHL rinks of dreams</h2>Detroit&rsquo;s Joe Louis Arena, Saskatoon&rsquo;s Saskatchewan Place and the 17,700-seat TacomaDome are all first-class Canadian Hockey League&rsquo;s facilities. But the perfect junior arena has to be something special. Here is The Hockey News top five list of CHL arenas overflowing with character.1. Seattle Coliseum: The 12,000-seat facility rocks and rolls with party atmosphere. It has become Chicago Stadium Jr.2. Windsor Arena: It may look seedy and rundown, but it reeks of junior-hockey heritage. It&rsquo;s the Boston Garden of the Ontario League.3. Tri-City Coliseum (Kennewick, Wash.): Capacity of 6,100 is just the right size. It also boasts excellent concessions and luxury boxes.4. Sudbury Arena: An old building, but very contemporary. Nothing out of the ordinary, it&rsquo;s described as the perfect junior arena.5. Hull Arena Robert-Guertin: A modem building with excellent sightlines and cozy atmosphere. It simply has a nice feeling to it. &#9632;

Sip tastes action, but talks go on

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>Ottawa 67&rsquo;s center Brett Seguin stands tall in the Ontario League for someone only 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds.The crafty 19-year-old junior veteran led the OHL in assists the past two years and is in that position again this season. Seguin had 22 assists after 12 games.But Seguin is also charting new waters. His five goals and 27 points had him in the league points lead. At the pace he&rsquo;s going, he&rsquo;ll be in good company by the end of next season.Seguin had 73 goals and 225 assists for 298 points in 186 career games. If he comes back for a fifth season in 1992-93, he&rsquo;ll challenge for the OHL&rsquo;s all-time career points title.Stan Drulia had 479 points in five seasons with three teams from 1984-89. Wayne Groulx&rsquo;s all-time OHL assist record of 290 is also in jeopardy.Seguin, a sixth-round 1991 NHL draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings, isn&rsquo;t overly concerned with the records.&ldquo;It all depends what the Kings have in store for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t mind another year with Ottawa, but right now I&rsquo;m just concentrating on this year.&rdquo;WAIT IS OVER: Jason Young scored his first goal in 10 months as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the Peterborough Petes 7-5 Oct. 20.Young was suspended the final 29 games of last season after he checked Ottawa&rsquo;sGrant Marshall from behind. That put the 67&rsquo;s top draft pick in hospital with a broken neck. Marshall returned for one playoff game last season.Despite missing all those games, Young was picked by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round of the 1991 NHL entry draft. He missed seven games this season with a shoulder injury.ROYAL CHOICE: Chris Pell of the Cornwall Royals was player of the week&mdash;for the period ending Oct. 21&mdash;and rightly so. The left winger scored three goals and eight points as Cornwall routed the Oshawa Generals 13-1 Oct. 17.The 13-1 win was the Royals&rsquo; biggest output since they defeated the Toronto Marlboros 13-3 Oct. 29, 1987. The Royals lost 5-3 Oct. 18 in Kingston, ending a six-game win streak.HOME SWEET HOME: It&rsquo;s shades of 1984-85 when the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds went undefeated on home ice, winning all 33 games. The Greyhounds got off to a 6-0-1 start at home this season. On the flip side, they were 1-4-0 away from the the Sault Memorial Gardens. The &rsquo;84-85 team was coached by Terry Crisp with Sam McMaster as general manager. McMaster is now with Sudbury and Crisp is an assistant coach with the Canadian Olympic team. &hellip;Ottawa left winger Chris Simon was suspended eight games for slashing Dave Babcock of Niagara Falls across the face Oct. 5. Babcock lost seven teeth and required 21 stitches.The Guelph Storm traded fifth-year overage goalie George Dourian to Sudbury for overage left winger Bill Kovacs Oct. 17. Dourian was 0-4-2 with a 4.85 goals-against average with the Storm. Kovacs, a 12th-round draft pick of the Washington Capitals this year, had three goals and seven points in five games with Sudbury. The Storm called up 18-year-old Angelo Amore from the junior-B Hamilton Kilty B&rsquo;s to replace Dourian&hellip;London Knight defenseman Nick Stajduhar may want to give an assist on his first goal of the season to former teammate Rick Corriveau. Stajduhar scored the deciding goal in a 6-5 win over Ottawa Oct. 18 using one of Corriveau&rsquo;s discarded sticks. Corriveau was traded to the Niagara Falls Thunder 10 days earlier. &#9632;

67’s center Seguin offers helping hand

<div class="byline">By Ken Warren</div>It was easy to forgive Bob Hartley for dreaming of the possibilities. Now, it&rsquo;s hard not to sympathize with his nightmare.The rookie coach for the Laval Titan was blessed with the best forward line in the Quebec League at training camp. But all three members were gone before the start of the season.The players were: center Denis Chalifoux, left winger Jean Blouin and right winger Martin Lapointe. Chalifoux started the season with Springfield in the American League, Blouin signed with Muskegon of the International League and Lapointe was injured (right hand) with Detroit of the NHL.None were expected back soon&mdash;if at all.&ldquo;Those three guys together were going to give us 500 points this season,&rdquo; Hartley said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t think so? You&rsquo;ve got to figure seven or eight points a game. All three of them worked hard, they made the sacrifice and they all deserve everything they get. Now, we have to learn to play without them.&rdquo;Chalifoux, Blouin and Lapointe combined for 285 points last season. Lapointe was chosen 10th overall by Detroit in the 1991 NHL entry draft. Chalifoux was an 11th-round pick by Hartford in 1990, and Blouin was a free-agent acquisition by Pittsburgh.Hartley is left wondering how many wins they would be worth. The Titan, semifinalists last season and QMJHL champs in 1989 and 1990, started the season with a 3-10 record. Nonetheless, Hartley sees the silver lining in long-term advantages.&ldquo;The younger players in the organization are getting a chance to play,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had a slow start, but we&rsquo;re starting to feel good about the way we&rsquo;re playing. There have been a few surprises because of this. We never thought certain players would rise to where they are now. You think a guy might be ready to play on a second line, instead he has to play on a first line.&rdquo;Players such as Sandy McCarthy, Jim Bermingham and John Kovacs never would have had the chance on a scoring line if the Chalifoux trio returned.The Titan also picked up Czechoslovakian left winger David Pekarek and defenseman Petr Valenta off waivers from Drummondville to fill some voids. Valenta was taken of necessity, owing to the other titanic loss for Laval&mdash;veteran defensemen Jan Arsenault and Greg MacEachern to shoulder injuries. Neither is expected back until after Christmas.&ldquo;You lose five players, that&rsquo;s 25 per cent of your team,&rdquo; Hartley said. &ldquo;Never mind that they are your best five.&rdquo;POOL-RICH POULIN: Poolies, take note of the name Patrick Poulin for future reference.Poulin, not to be confused with unrelated St-Hyacinthe Laser teammate Charles Poulin, won QMJHL player-of-the-week award two of three weeks this season.The 18-year-old left winger scored four goals and 11 points in two games for the week ending Oct. 20. St-Hyacinthe scored 13 goals in two games.Poulin, who signed a $170,000 signing bonus from the Hartford Whalers before returning to the Laser, had 22 points in his first six games with the Laser.POWER PLANT: There&rsquo;s little question where the success of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens lies this season.The Sagueneens are off to a 10-6 start thanks in large part to a power-play unit that had connected on 31 of 76 opportunities up to Oct. 21&mdash;an unparalleled 41 per cent.How profitable is it to play on the Chicoutimi power play? Check out the team&rsquo;s top scorers through 16 games (power play points in parantheses): Michel St-Jacques. 34 (18); Sebastien Parent. 32 (25); Danny Beauregard, 29 (20); Daniel Paradis, 23 (12); Steve Gosselin. 21 (18) and Carl Wiseman, 20 (15). &#9632;

Loss of veterans leaves Laval in Titanic hole

<div class="byline">By Matt Carlson</div>When Lake Superior State coach Jeff Jackson says his team is in transition, he&rsquo;s not kidding.The Lakers, who finished 36-5-4 overall last season and 26-2-4 in league play, lost eight seniors to graduation. Four of the eight players&mdash;center Jim Dowd, left winger Tim Breslin, right winger Jeff Napierala and defenseman Karl Johnston&mdash;were among the team&rsquo;s top five scorers last season.Center Doug Weight, the team&rsquo;s second-best point-getter last season, is now playing with the New York Rangers.&ldquo;When I think about the number of goals we lost from last year, I get a little nervous,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to have to win our games 2-1. 3-2, and 4-3 instead of 7-3 like we did last year.&rdquo;In his rookie season with Lake Superior, Jackson transformed the Lakers into an offensive powerhouse. No club in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association switched from defense to offense with such ease. The result was an entertaining squad which scored 252 goals while allowing just 122.&ldquo;Last year we focussed on the transition from defense to offense,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;This year, we&rsquo;ll have to work on the transition from offense to defense. Our strength is going to be our defense, from the blueline in.&rdquo;Fortunately, junior goaltender Darrin Madeley (2.61 goals-against average, .894 save percentage) has returned along with senior defensemen Michael Smith and CCHA all-rookie team member Steve Barnes.Offensively, Jackson is counting on returning forwards Sandy Moger, Vincent Faucher, Paul Constantin, John Hendry, Kurt Miller and Clayton Beddoes to provide scoring punch.The pressure is also on rookie center Brian Rolston, New Jersey&rsquo;s first choice (11th overall) in the 1991 NHL entry draft, to help out offensively.FAMILY MATTERS: Don&rsquo;t expect Michigan coach Bill Wilkinson to give son Peter preferential treatment.Peter, a freshman forward with the Broncos, will be treated &ldquo;the same as any other player&rdquo; the senior Wilkinson asserted as the season began.&ldquo;The only problem I&rsquo;m going to have is when I go home and my wife asks me why he&rsquo;s not on the power play or on the first line,&rdquo; Wilkinson says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to have to do a lot of explaining.&rdquo;WELCOME BACK: Ohio State coach Jerry Welsh knows his No.-l asset is junior goaltender Mike Bales.The Saskatoon, Sask., native led the nation in saves (1,227) last season and played well despite a 5.05 goals-against average.&ldquo;I hope he won&rsquo;t have to be as important to us this year,&rdquo; Welsh says.Welsh believes Bales will have his workload lightened somewhat because two defensemen, Tim Green and Glenn Painter, are back at full strength after suffering injuries.Green, who was red-shirted last season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery in May, 1990, appeared in 21 games in 1989-90.Painter, a smooth-skating junior, is back after missing 23 games with a fractured forearm. As a freshman in &rsquo;89-90, Painter scored 12 goals and 40 points in 40 games. Last season, he had two goals and 13 points in only 17 games.NOTEBOOK: Michigan State coach Ron Mason says the Spartans&rsquo; success &ldquo;will depend on some of our players having a greater interest in the game.&rdquo; He singled out senior left winger Peter White and junior left flanker Rob Woodward as players who were often distracted last season. Mason was also directing his comments at junior center Bryan Smolinksi, John Mason is coach Jerry Welsh&rsquo;s new assistant at Ohio State. Mason replaced former OSU star Paul Pooley.<h2>Ward getting point across</h2>Dixon Ward is a long way from the top but he&rsquo;s the best going. The North Dakota senior right winger entered the 1991-92 season with 155 career NCAA points. That&rsquo;s fewer than half of former Michigan State forward Tom Ross&rsquo; all-time leading 324 points.Ward, who was a sixth-round choice (108th overall) by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1988 NHL entry draft, is one of the pre-season favorites to win the Hobey Baker Award.The top five active NCAA point-getters are: Dixon Ward, North Dakota. He&rsquo;s shooting for his third consecutive 30-goal campaign.Could reach 50 if he stays healthy. 155Scott Beattie, Northern Michigan. Wildcats&rsquo; center has scored 78 goals in 82 career games. NHL rights: not drafted. 148Doug MacDonald, Wisconsin. Excellent timing allows talented center to compensate for average speed. NHL rights: Buffalo. 145Denny Felsner, Michigan. Hard-shooting right winger is seventh on school&rsquo;s all-time scoring list. NHL rights: St. Louis. 129Peter White, Michigan State. Burly left winger has averaged more than a point per game during career. NHL rights: Edmonton. 115 &#9632;

Lakers go on the defensive

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div>The University of Maine Black Bears are resounding favorites to win the Hockey East title, according to a poll of league coaches.Winners of the Hockey East title in 1987-88, the Bears have finished second-best to Boston College the past three seasons. The Eagles have captured six of the last seven Hockey East regular season league championships.The Bears received seven of a possible eight first-place votes, good for 49 points. Providence College, the only other team to get a first-place vote, finished second with 43 points. Rounding out the poll, with teams&rsquo; vote totals in parentheses, are: Boston College (33), New Hampshire (32), Boston University (31), Merrimack College (22), Northeastern (18) and Lowell (eight).PRE-SEASON ALL-STARS: Hockey East coaches also selected their pre-season all-star team with forwards Jean-Yves Roy of Maine and Rob Goudreau of Providence unanimous choices. Joining them are Maine junior center Jim Montgomery, senior defensemen Shaun Kane of Providence and Tom Dion of Boston U. Jeff Levy, a sophomore from New Hampshire, was selected all-star goalie.Goalies Mike Dunham (Maine) and Scott LaGrand (Boston College); defensemen Joe Cleary and Ian Moran (Boston College); Northeastern&rsquo;s Paul Sacco; Providence&rsquo;s Chris Therien; and forwards David Sacco (Boston University), Mike Boback (Providence), Savo Mitrovic (New Hampshire) and Scott Pellerin (Maine) received honorable mentions from the coaches.New Hampshire coach Dick Umile said it was no surprise three goalies received all-star votes. &ldquo;Our league has some of the best goalies in the country,&rdquo; Umile says.Hockey East has a half-dozen goalies returning this season who posted goals-against averages of 3.60 or under last season. Maine&rsquo;s Dunham (2.96) and Garth Snow (2.98) top this list, followed by Providence&rsquo;s Brad Mullahy (3.10), Levy (3.22), LaGrand (3.28) and Boston University&rsquo;s Scott Cashman (3.58).FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Lowell coach Bruce Crowder is keeping his expectations low during his rookie season.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a challenge, that&rsquo;s for sure,&rdquo; Crowder says. &ldquo;There are ups and downs. I&rsquo;m going to make mistakes, but like I tell the players, we&rsquo;re all going to make mistakes. We just don&rsquo;t want to make the same mistakes twice.&rdquo;Crowder, 34, was associate coach under Bill Riley last season. The former NHL forward with Boston and Pittsburgh (1981-85) was an assistant coach at-Maine for four years before moving to Lowell. He inherits a team that finished 10-23-1 overall (5-15-1 in Hockey East) and is particularly weak on defense.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want them to get too high (over a win) or too low (over a loss),&rdquo; said Crowder. &ldquo;I&rsquo; just want them to get better every period, every game.&rdquo;Crowder&rsquo;s attempt to improve his team&rsquo;s defense suffered an immediate setback when junior defenseman Scott Wenham broke his leg during a pre-season game. Wenham was leading scorer among defenseman last year with 13 points. He&rsquo;ll be out of action until mid-January.ROOKIES IMPRESS: Boston University&rsquo; goalie Scott Cashman may be No. 1 on the Terriers&rsquo; depth chart, but freshmen Derek Herlofsky and John McKersic have grabbed coach Jack Parker&rsquo;s attention with their impressive preseason play.&ldquo;If Scott can play as well as he did in his freshman year and be as sharp as he was at the end of last season, he&rsquo;ll play a lot,&rdquo; says Parker. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll get as much ice time as he needs. But I also want our two freshmen to get their feet wet a little bit.&rdquo; &#9632;

Coaches pick Bears in pre-season survey

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggie</div>It must be an even-numbered calendar year, because Mike Brewer is back on defense.Brewer, the son of former Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; defenseman Carl Brewer, has moved around more times in his four seasons at Brown University than most players.He started his collegiate career in 1989 as a forward, switched to defense as a sophomore, saw action at both positions as a junior, and is now back on the blueline for his senior year.&ldquo;Mike is an outstanding player,&rdquo; Brown coach Bob Gaudet said. &ldquo;Even as a freshman, when we were really bad (1-25-0), he played like a veteran. Now he&rsquo;s a cut above any kid I&rsquo;ve seen.&rdquo;The importance of having Brewer in the lineup was best illustrated at the beginning of last season. The economics major missed the team&rsquo;s first six games after spending his first semester studying in Sweden. The Bears got off to a disappointing 0-4-2 start.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s extremely important to the team,&rdquo; Gaudet said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there&rsquo;s a more valuable player on any team in our league.&rdquo;Brewer earned first team All-Eastern College Athletic Conference honors in &rsquo;89-90 as a sophomore and led the team with seven goals and 31 points. He was the first Brown player to be named to the AU-ECAC first team since goalie Mike Laycock in 1978.Gaudet said he moved Brewer to give him more ice time. He wants the talented rearguard to log more than 30 minutes a game.GOOD BLOODLINES: If blood-lines mean anything, Union College junior defenseman Greg Eccleston should handle himself well at the Division I level.Eccleston&rsquo;s grandfather is former Providence coach Tom Eccleston. The elder Eccleston coached the Friars from 1956-1964 and compiled a 94-72-5 record.Greg Eccleston has been one of Union&rsquo;s strongest defensemen during his first two seasons. He has been consistent in his own end and has scored six goals and 18 points.LITTLE DYNAMO: Size doesn&rsquo;t always determine success in college hockey. Take the case of Yale senior John Sather.At 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, Sather has developed into one of the league&rsquo;s most consistent forwards. He led the Bulldogs in assists last year with 18 and set a school record with six assists in a 9-5 win over St. Lawrence at Ingalls Rink in December. &#9632;

Versatile Brewer is back on Brown’s blue line

<div class="byline">By Andy Baggot</div>Northern Michigan coach Rick Comley has called for the creation of a &ldquo;super league&rdquo; that would see the Central Collegiate Hockey Association merge with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.&ldquo;It was nothing formal, just a thought,&rdquo; Comley said when asked about his plan. &ldquo;This may seem off the wall, but we could accomplish so much with an idea like this.&rdquo;Most importantly, Comley believes a merger would result in a strong and unified voice when lobbying the NCAA. He also believes it would enhance the possibility for future expansion.The Wildcats&rsquo; coach did some lobbying of his own by sending letters outlining his idea to officials from CCHA teams. WCHA commissioner Otto Breitenbach and CCHA commissioner Bill Began also received copies of his proposal, but haven&rsquo;t commented on it.Comley&rsquo;s proposals first took root last January when the NCAA, at its annual convention, implented a wide range of cost-cutting measures which will take effect next season.&ldquo;We have become so involved with making lone league better than the other, we have allowed forces outside us to legislate changes that have hurt our game,&rdquo; Comley said.The aspects of the NCAA&rsquo;s reform package which Comley finds most unappealing are the limits placed on coaching staffs. Teams will be permitted to have a head coach, full-time assistant and part-time assistant. Schools are now allowed two full-time assistants and a graduate assistant.Comley is also upset by the reduction of regular-season games (38 to 34) and scholarships (20 to 18).A merger would allow four divisions of five teams each. That would make it easier for expansion and would also permit Fairbanks and Anchorage, two schools from Alaska, to be included in the initial stages.COACHING CHANGES?: The NCAA has said no to a proposal from the WCHA which would revise proposed limits in the size of coaching staffs.The WCHA would like to have three full-time coaches, including a head coach. The NCAA won&rsquo;t bend on their decision to limit coaching staffs to one head coach, a full-time assistant and a part-time assistant.&ldquo;Despite the president&rsquo;s position, we&rsquo;re going to lobby against the decision,&rdquo; Breitenbach said.Breitenbach believes a larger coaching staff is needed for recruiting purposes.NOTEBOOK: North Dakota tied a singlegame league record with seven power-play goals (in nine attempts) in a 10-5 victory Oct. 18 over Denver&hellip;Northern Michigan survived a scare on Oct. 18 by managing an 8-8 tie against Colorado College. The tie extended its record unbeaten streak in league play to 28 games. The tie also extended the Wildcats&rsquo; record unbeaten streak at home to 35 games. The following day, Northern Michigan dusted the Tigers 12-3. &#9632;

Comley lobbies for merger

Just the mere mention of Dalhousie playing Acadia conjurs up memories of some of the fiercest battles in the history of the Atlantic Universities Athletic Association. That rivalry was renewed with vigor Oct. 20 as the Tigers defeated the Axemen 5-4 in a highly-physical contest between two of the Kelly Division&rsquo;s powerhouses.Acadia won the AUAA title three years in a row before Dalhousie snapped that string last season.Left winger Ken MacDermid&rsquo;s second goal of the game, a power-play gem 54 seconds in overtime, proved to be the winner.The rivalry resumes Nov. 29 at Acadia.IMPACT PLAYER: UPEI center John Nelson lived up to high expectations in the Panthers&rsquo; opening games Oct. 19-20 against New Brunswick.Nelson scored two goals Oct. 19 in a 4-3 loss, then scored a hat trick during the Panthers&rsquo; 7-5 win the next day. Nelson helped the Charlottetown Islanders capture the national senior AAA Allan Cup last season.CWUAA: The Lethbridge Pronghorns and Brandon Bobcats are tired of being beat-up by Alberta teams.That&rsquo;s what happened again to both teams during the first week of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association season. The Bobcats lost 5-2 and 10-4 to the Calgary Dinosaurs, while Lethbridge was defeated 4-3 and 7-4 by Alberta Oct. 18 and 19.UBC SURPRISES: The University of B.C. Thunderbirds aren&rsquo;t ready to lay over and die in the CWUAA this year.The Thunderbirds, projected to finish last in the conference, earned a split with Manitoba during the opening weekend.UBC sophomore goaltender Paul Hurl stopped 38 shots Oct. 20 in a 3-2 T-Bird win, earning him CWUAA player of the week honors. The Bisons won the first game 6-3 Oct. 19.OUAA: You can&rsquo;t blame Laurentian Voyageurs&rsquo; coach Stu Duncan for thinking his team took two steps backwards for every step forward they made last year.Prior to the start of last year, Duncan said he wanted &ldquo;an 80 per cent improvement&rdquo; in his Ontario Universities Athletic Association team. &ldquo;We did that,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but the rest of the league improved 30 per cent. That means, relative to everyone else, we only got 50 per cent better.&rdquo;The Rams began this season with five exhibition victories and captured the Ryerson tournament Oct. 5-6. The Rams also won its first game of the season&mdash;8-7 over RMC Oct. 19.&ldquo;After we won, the players started saying to themselves, &lsquo;Holy Smokes, maybe we&rsquo;ve got something here,&rsquo; &ldquo;Duncan said.The Voyageurs had a 3-9-0 record at the break last season, but won six of its last 10 games to finish with 18 points.&mdash;With files from Robin Brownlee, Bruce Hallihan and Claude Scilley &#9632;

Tigers draw first blood as rivalry gets physical

<h2>STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01817/6234597-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="973" height="924"></div><h2>OVERALL STANDINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02539/6234590-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="502" height="625"></div><h2>OVERTIME RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03430/6234583-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="490" height="616"></div><h2>RESULTS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04310/6234576-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="493" height="955"></div><h2>SCHEDULE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05238/6234569-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="496" height="1110"></div><h2>DIVISIONAL RECORDS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-06197/6234562-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="606" height="786"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-07172/6234555-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="970" height="1072"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chicago&rsquo;s Jeremy Roenick had five points in four games to vault into the lead in the NHL scoring race.</figcaption></div><h2>POWER PLAY</h2>(ADV)&mdash;TOTAL MAN ADVANTAGES; (PPG)&mdash;POWER-PLAY GOALS; (PCT)&mdash;POWER-PLAY GOALS DIVIDED BY TOTAL ADVANTAGES.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-08158/6234548-1-eng-US/f0026-082.jpg" title="f0026-08" width="498" height="632"></div><h2>TEAM PENALTIES</h2>(PIM)&mdash;TOTAL PENALTY MINUTES INCLUDING (BMI) BENCH PENALTY MINUTES; (AVG)&mdash;AVERAGE PENALTY MINUTES PER GAME.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-09145/6234541-1-eng-US/f0026-092.jpg" title="f0026-09" width="408" height="648"></div><h2>PENALTY KILLING</h2>(TSH)&mdash;TOTAL TIMES SHORTHANDED; (PPGA)&mdash;POWER-PLAY GOALS ALLOWED; (PCT)&mdash;PENALTY-KILLING PERCENTAGE<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-10138/6234534-1-eng-US/f0026-102.jpg" title="f0026-10" width="480" height="646"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-11133/6234527-1-eng-US/f0026-112.jpg" title="f0026-11" width="452" height="690"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cliff Ronning</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-12124/6234520-1-eng-US/f0026-122.jpg" title="f0026-12" width="452" height="644"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Todd</figcaption></div><h2>LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-13121/6234513-1-eng-US/f0026-132.jpg" title="f0026-13" width="484" height="670"></div><h2>TOP SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-14111/6234506-1-eng-US/f0026-142.jpg" title="f0026-14" width="604" height="640"></div><h2>TOP DEFENSEMAN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-15103/6234499-1-eng-US/f0026-152.jpg" title="f0026-15" width="608" height="266"></div><h2>TOP ROOKIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1693/6234492-1-eng-US/f0026-162.jpg" title="f0026-16" width="606" height="300"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1782/6234485-1-eng-US/f0026-172.jpg" title="f0026-17" width="566" height="690"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ulf Dahlen</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-1866/6234478-1-eng-US/f0026-182.jpg" title="f0026-18" width="1014" height="680"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rob Brown</figcaption></div><h2>BOSTON BRUINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01767/6234471-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="1006" height="796"></div><h2>BUFFALO SABRES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02477/6234464-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="1000" height="817"></div><h2>CALGARY FLAMES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03303/6234457-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="1006" height="655"></div><h2>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04207/6234450-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="1003" height="425"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05145/6234443-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="1009" height="344"></div><h2>DETROIT RED WINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-06113/6234436-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="1018" height="813"></div><h2>EDMONTON OILERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0794/6234429-1-eng-US/f0027-072.jpg" title="f0027-07" width="1007" height="653"></div><h2>HARTFORD WHALERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0885/6234422-1-eng-US/f0027-082.jpg" title="f0027-08" width="1004" height="710"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES KINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0981/6234415-1-eng-US/f0027-092.jpg" title="f0027-09" width="1009" height="163"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1074/6234408-1-eng-US/f0027-102.jpg" title="f0027-10" width="1002" height="577"></div><h2>MINNESOTA NORTH STARS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1163/6234401-1-eng-US/f0027-112.jpg" title="f0027-11" width="1000" height="655"></div><h2>MONTREAL CANADIENS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1254/6234394-1-eng-US/f0027-122.jpg" title="f0027-12" width="985" height="658"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1348/6234387-1-eng-US/f0027-132.jpg" title="f0027-13" width="1004" height="659"></div><h2>NEW YORK ISLANDERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1443/6234380-1-eng-US/f0027-142.jpg" title="f0027-14" width="994" height="135"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01801/6234373-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="1000" height="950"></div><h2>NEW YORK RANGERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02537/6234366-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="1011" height="742"></div><h2>PHILADELPHIA FLYERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03380/6234359-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="1003" height="687"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04269/6234352-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="1007" height="715"></div><h2>QUEBEC NORDIQUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05213/6234345-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="1001" height="117"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06184/6234338-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="1009" height="635"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-07165/6234331-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="964" height="1600"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Messier&rsquo;s 16 points had him in a tie with Brian Leetch for the Rangers&rsquo; team scoring.</figcaption></div><h2>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-08150/6234324-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="1015" height="705"></div><h2>SAN JOSE SHARKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-09139/6234317-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="1015" height="268"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-10133/6234310-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="1003" height="434"></div><h2>TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-11127/6234303-1-eng-US/f0028-112.jpg" title="f0028-11" width="993" height="718"></div><h2>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-12120/6234296-1-eng-US/f0028-122.jpg" title="f0028-12" width="1000" height="664"></div><h2>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-13111/6234289-1-eng-US/f0028-132.jpg" title="f0028-13" width="1007" height="617"></div><h2>WINNIPEG JETS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1497/6234282-1-eng-US/f0028-142.jpg" title="f0028-14" width="993" height="763"></div><h2>GOALTENDERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01698/6234275-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="1007" height="859"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02455/6234268-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="1015" height="927"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03290/6234261-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="991" height="633"></div><h2>GOALTENDING LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04205/6234254-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="987" height="201"></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-08112/6234862-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="562" height="807"><figcaption class="caption-body">Anthony Meuse</figcaption></div>Anthony Meuse has had a taste of Wayne&rsquo;s World and he&rsquo;s eager to experience more.The 4-foot-5, 63-pound forward for the Clare Micmacs and resident of Digby, N.S., attended the CocaCola Classic/Wayne Gretzky Future Star Hockey Camp in Toronto in 1990.While there he got to meet a number of NHL players including the Great One.His time at the camp was obviously well spent as he led the Clare Minor Hockey Association in scoring last year with 147 goals in 41 games.The 9-year-old&rsquo;s dream now is to be able to meet these players again some day, and perhaps, follow in their footsteps.You or someone you know can be part of The Hockey News 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 The Hockey News, attn.: Player Of The Week, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont. M3B 2R2. All entries submitted will be eligible for selection as The Hockey News Minor Hockey Player of the Year. &#9632;

f0030-08

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

<h2>AHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01702/6234984-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="599" height="1175"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02480/6234977-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="605" height="643"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03351/6234970-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="563" height="1025"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gilbert Dionne</figcaption></div><h2>COLONIAL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04277/6234963-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="587" height="407"></div><h2>IHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05229/6234956-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="599" height="1505"></div><h2>ECHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-06196/6234949-1-eng-US/f0033-062.jpg" title="f0033-06" width="619" height="1793"></div><h2>QMJHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-07179/6234942-1-eng-US/f0033-072.jpg" title="f0033-07" width="605" height="1587"></div><h2>WHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-08147/6234935-1-eng-US/f0033-082.jpg" title="f0033-08" width="603" height="1725"></div><h2>OHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-09129/6234928-1-eng-US/f0033-092.jpg" title="f0033-09" width="609" height="1449"></div><h2>WCHA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-10115/6234921-1-eng-US/f0033-102.jpg" title="f0033-10" width="618" height="852"></div><h2>CCHA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-11109/6234914-1-eng-US/f0033-112.jpg" title="f0033-11" width="618" height="906"></div><h2>OUAA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-12104/6234907-1-eng-US/f0033-122.jpg" title="f0033-12" width="600" height="1122"></div><h2>AUAA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1386/6234900-1-eng-US/f0033-132.jpg" title="f0033-13" width="609" height="1086"></div><h2>CWUAA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-1477/6234893-1-eng-US/f0033-142.jpg" title="f0033-14" width="588" height="1020"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0035-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01753/6235015-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Oilers&rsquo; management expects new captain Kevin Lowe to pass on a winning tradition to the newcomers. (Photo by Bruce Bennet/BBS)</figcaption></div>First, last and still an Oiler, Kevin Lowe has been the bridge over Edmonton&rsquo;s troubled waters this season.And he must be the tie that binds an certain future with the glories of the past.The first Oiler ever selected in the entry draft (21st overall in 1979), the only remaining player with all five Stanley Cup rings, Lowe was the obvious choice as captain of a ship that took on water in training camp and faltered in its first seven games.Gone are Lowe&rsquo;s best friend Mark Messier and former teammates Glenn Anderson, Grant Fuhr, Charlie Huddy, Jari Kurri and Randy Gregg&mdash;the only other Oilers with five Stanley Cup rings. Gone too is Wayne Gretzky. Lowe is hardly a relic at age 32 but surrounded by so much youth, he must do far more than play his posion the blue line every night.it is not a job he takes lightly, noris it one he takes on alone as assistants Craig MacTavish and Esa Tikkanen have played a major role in buoying team spirit.But it&rsquo;s Lowe who the hockey world looks upon as the link to the glory years. He has some trouble with At perception.&ldquo;I think the chain has continued,&rdquo; says Lowe. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like we had 20 new guys this year and I&rsquo;m the only one left but I think I can sort of relate to these guys what it was like in the early days.&rdquo;The Oilers have begun to win and their come-from-behind victory over Messier and the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden Oct. 20 harkened back to the days when no lead against the Oilers was safe, when Gretzky would wave that magic stick and another &lsquo;W&rsquo; wound up on their record.Says Messier: &ldquo;(Oilers&rsquo; GM Glen Sather) is smart enough to know he needs somebody there to teach everyone what it&rsquo;s like to be an Oiler and what the jersey means and nobody represented it better over the years than Kevin.&ldquo;They talk about passing the torch in Montreal. I think Slats is really counting on Kevin to do that. He really needs Kevin to do that.&rdquo;When Sather plotted a course for youth last season, he dumped Gregg in the waiver draft and let Huddy play out his option, knowing the veteran defenseman would be snapped up as a free agent. He had to trade Kurri, who wouldn&rsquo;t return to Edmonton.In training camp, he dumped Anderson&rsquo;s contract demands on the maple Leafs and also sent Fuhr to Toronto because Bill Ranford&rsquo;s stunning Canada Cup play made it easy to do just that. Finally, Sather dealt Messier, the man some describe as the best team leader in pro sports, when the Oilers decided they wouldn&rsquo;t pay him and Messier said he no longer wanted to be part of the team.At the point, it was evident the Oilers needed Lowe more than ever. In training camp there were rumors of his desire to join the Quebec Nordiques where friend Pierre Page is GM. Lowe admitted should he be traded, Quebec is his first choice. And while he is playing out his option, he won&rsquo;t be going anywhere just yet.Oilers&rsquo; coach Ted Green, bombarded by problems on and off the ice, is glad.&ldquo;Kevin&rsquo;s role is more important than it has been in the past,&rdquo; says Green. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the captain and the leader of the hockey club. His role is to help me bring this team together by exposing to the new people and the young people what and how we&rsquo;ve done it in the past.&rdquo;Lowe had been an assistant captain in Edmonton but there was always Messier to fire up the troops with a stirring speech or Gretzky to lead just by being the greatest player in the game. Lowe will find his own way.&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve tried to do the same things I&rsquo;ve always done,&rdquo; Lowe says about becoming captain. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t even begin to think my responsibilities were like a guy like Mess&rsquo; because we&rsquo;re two totally different peopie. It&rsquo;s basically just (using) your experience.&ldquo;They talk about the ghosts of the Habs haunting the Forum. Hopefully the ghosts of the Coliseum will always help us out.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0035-01

Last of the Oilers

<div class="byline">By Mike Beamish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02559/6235053-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="433" height="497"></div>The line of Alexander Mogilny, Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure was so good, it could make Viktor Tikhonov do a very uncharacteristic thing. Smile.The three represented the future of the Soviet national hockey team, a combination that would one day dominate the game at its highest level as the KLM line&mdash;Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov&mdash;did throughout the 1980s.But Mogilny defected to join the Buffalo Sabres in 1989. Fedorov slipped away to the Detroit Red Wings the next summer. Bure made the exodus complete when he, his father and younger brother arrived on agent Ron Salcer&rsquo;s doorstep in Los Angeles in early September.Now all the Vancouver Canucks&mdash;who drafted Bure in 1989&mdash;had to do was sign him. It seemed too easy. And it was.Seven weeks later, Bure is without a contract. He is still in the United States, waiting to have his playing status clarified. And, in a stunning twist, the 20-year-old winger could find the Canucks arguing on the side of the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation to stop Bure&rsquo;s release from his Central Red Army contract.A test of the validity of Bure&rsquo;s contract with Red Army was scheduled for a Detroit court room Oct. 30-31. Lawyer Howard Gourwitz, the agent for Minnesota star Mike Modano, has been appointed by Soviet officials to act on their behalf.If the Canucks and Bure hadn&rsquo;t reached a conditional agreement by that time, the Canucks said they would throw their support behind the Soviets to halt or delay Bure from signing with a rival team.If Bure&rsquo;s contract with Red Army is ruled invalid, he would become a Group I free agent 15 days later and can sign with another NHL team.When the Canucks drafted him in the sixth round (113th overall) of the 1989 entry draft, a number of clubs, especially the Washington Capitals, protested vigorously. According to their interpreation of the sometimes confusing draft rules, they believed Bure was not eligible to be picked after the third round.Bure would have been a first-round pick if he had been North American.NHL president John Ziegler took almost a full year to decide whether Bure&rsquo;s rights belonged to Vancouver, then ruled against the Canucks. However, Ziegler pulled a startling about-face on the eve of the 1990 draft.Bure was not expected to be available until after the 1992 Olympics&mdash;at the earliest. So when he showed up in North America a year sooner than expected, it appeared to catch the Canucks off guard.After Bure was dropped from the Soviet national team for refusing to sign a new contract with the Red Army club, Pavel, his younger brother, Valery, 17, and father Vladimir saw no other choice but to leave.Since Pavel extricated himself form his Soviet obligations, he has married his American sweetheart, Jymi, at a civil ceremony in Los Angeles, and discovered his homeland holds no monopoly on red tape.The Bures and their agent contend Pavel&rsquo;s Soviet contract was signed under duress and has as much legal weight as toilet paper.What the Bures find puzzling is the Canucks&rsquo; and Ziegler&rsquo;s cautious handling of the situation. To the Bures&rsquo; way of thinking, Ziegler and the Canucks wish to tread lightly for fear that hurt feelings might risk future endeavors with the Soviet Union.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03453/6235046-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="541" height="669"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pavel Bure</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I think only the Canucks and John Ziegler don&rsquo;t know the Soviet Union has changed,&rdquo; Vladimir says with a chuckle. &ldquo;Now there is more bureaucracy here than there is over there.&rdquo;Part of the Canucks&rsquo; reluctance to move swiftly on Bure is that Salcer, initially at least, was seeking a contract in the range of $1 million per season, which equates to the contract signed by Soviet superstar Valery Kamensky with the Quebec Nordiques.The Canucks say, no way. But if the Canucks won&rsquo;t pay, Salcer knows somebody else will.If you are a fan of Soviet intrigue, stay tuned. &#9632;

f0035-02

Canucks just may side with Soviets

<div class="byline">By Rick Sadowski</div>Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s absence and a rash of injuries gutted the Los Angeles Kings, leaving them a shell of their former selves.Still, can back-to-back road thrashings ever be justified?&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t done anything to help our own cause,&rdquo; Tony Granato said following 5-2 and 7-2 waxings Oct. 22-23 at the hands of the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers. &ldquo;Call it what you want, but it&rsquo;s just not fun right now. For the kind of talent we have, it&rsquo;s inexcusable to be playing like this.&rdquo;Gretzky missed both of those games and five overall to be with his father, Walter, who underwent surgery Oct. 19 in Hamilton, Ont., to treat a brain aneurysm.Gretzky&rsquo;s father has recovered to the point that the Kings&rsquo; center was scheduled to rejoin the team in time for its Oct. 28 game in Detroit.&ldquo;It always hurts when you lose your best player,&rdquo; Tomas Sandstrom said. &ldquo;But the rest of us have got to start picking up the slack.&rdquo;There were plenty of holes to fill with center John McIntyre (thumb) and defensemen Brian Benning (groin), Rob Blake (shoulder), Jeff Chychrun (wrist) and Charlie Huddy (groin) sidelined with injuries.Coach Tom Webster was particularly, miffed by his team&rsquo;s sloppy defensive posture, one he vowed to correct.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got enough bodies here who can play. There are no excuses,&rdquo; he said.SANDSTROM SIGNS: General manager Rogie Vachon would have preferred nailing down a longer deal for winger Tomas Sandstrom, who Oct. 21 signed a two-year (plus option year) contract worth $2.55 million.&ldquo;I was trying to get him for four or five years,&rdquo; Vachon said. &ldquo;Right now the market is so flexible, he was scared to go long-term. But I knew this was going to be expensive.&rdquo;Sandstrom, 27, will make $750,000 this season, $850,000 next year and $950,000 in his option year. Sandstrom earned $400,000 last season, when he registered career highs for goals (45) and points (89) despite missing 10 games with a fractured vertebra in his lower back.NOTEBOOK: Center John McIntyre sprained his left thumb Oct. 16 against San Jose, missed one game, then reinjured it Oct. 22 against New Jersey, forcing him out of the lineup again. &ldquo;You hate to miss games, especially with all the guys we have out,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I can&rsquo;t take draw or do what I have to do to be effective I don&rsquo;t want to come back too soon and wind up missing a lot of time. &ldquo;&hellip;Defenseman Brian Benning joined the injury list when he skated over a rut during a practice session, strained his groin, then tried to play anyway against the Devils. &ldquo;I was basically skating on one leg,&rdquo; he said.The flu prevented goaltender Kelly Hrudey from making a scheduled start Oct. 23 against the Rangers, a 7-2 loss. He recovered in time to make 25 saves in a 4-2 win over the Islanders Oct. 26&hellip;Rookie defenseman Darryl Sydor scored his first NHL goal in the Islander game.<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 21: Tomas Sandstrom, RW, signed three-year contract<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Wayne Gretzky, Bob Kudelski, Sylvain Couturier, Randy Gilhen.LW&mdash;Mike Donnelly, Tony Granato, Luc Robitaille, Jay Miller.RW&mdash;Jari Kurd, Tomas Sandstrom, Dave Taylor, Jim Thomson, Frank Breault, Ilkka Sinisalo.LD&mdash;Larry Robinson, Tim Watters, Peter Ahola.RD&mdash;Darryl Sydor, Marty McSorley, Rod Buskas, Rene Chapdelaine.G&mdash;Kelly Hrudey, Daniel Berthiaume.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Brian Benning, D, groin strain, day-today, Rob Blake, D, sprained right shoulder, indefinite, Jeff Chychrun, D, fractured left wrist, indefinite. Charlie Huddyg D, groin pull, indefinite, John McIntyre C, sprained left thumb, day-to-day &#9632;

Road trip puts a real hurt on limping squad

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>It took him until Game 11, but the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; rookie center finally changed the boos at Winnipeg Arena to &ldquo;Stus.&rdquo;With but one assist to show for his first 10 games, Stu Barnes took some simple advice from veteran teammates&mdash;shoot the puck.The 20-year-old Edmonton native fired his Tirst two NHL eoals Oct. 27 against the Washington Capitals, taking a personal-high four shots on goal. Adding an assist for a three-point night, Barnes helped the Jets extend their unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1) with a 6-5 win.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t even think about it,&rdquo; Barnes said of his first-period goal against Mike Liut. &ldquo;I took it to my forehand and shot. Then again the second time, I just shot it. The veterans have been telling me to shoot the puck. It pays to listen to the older guys.&rdquo;Even though team defense had been solid through the 6-3-2 start, Jets&rsquo; coach John Paddock has been almost begging his forwards to shoot. The absence of injured centers Thomas Steen and Troy Murray depleted a thin group of finesse forwards. Production from Barnes in particular would ease the pressure.OFF-ICE SCRAPS: Maybe NHL officials should be assigned to post-game duties near Winnipeg nightclubs.On the heels of three Montreal Canadiens scrapping outside &lsquo;The Marble Club&rsquo; last season and Grant Fuhr going AWOL in October after being seen at &lsquo;Norma Jeans&rsquo;, Jets&rsquo;rookie left winger Russ Romaniuk was involved in a street scuffle early Oct. 26, hours after his team&rsquo;s 2-0 win over Philadelphia.On his way home with his roommate, Romaniuk&rsquo;s car was stopped at a light on a downtown street when two assailants apparently kicked it. After words were exchanged, Romaniuk was stopped at a light on a downtown street when two assailants apparently kicked it. After words were exchanged, Romaniuk was punched through the open window. He got out of the car and in the ensuing skirmish, chipped a bone in his right hand. He&rsquo;s expected to be out of the lineup for two weeks.The matter was reported to ptdice but as of Oct. 28 no charges had been laid.NOTEBOOK: Phil Housley, who led the team in points (3-13-16) had 13 of his points on the power play. A four-point night against Washington Oct. 27 jumped him into a share of the NHL scoring lead for defensemen and a tie for second overall&hellip;The Jets played three different goalies in consecutive games for no other reason than they were all sharp. Stephane Beauregard held the Islanders to a 1-1 tie Oct. 22 on Long Island, Rick Tabaracci was the first star in a 3-2 win in Detroit the next night as emergency replacement for injured Bob Essensa, and Essensa posted his seventh career shutout (a franchise high) two nights later in Winnipeg, beating the Flyers 2-0. Essensa had missed 13 days with a stretched knee ligament.<h2>WINNIPEG</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct 22: Sergei Kharin, LW, traded to Quebec for Shawn Anderson, D. Scott Amiel, LW, loaned to New Haven (AHL). Oct 23: Anderson traded to Washington for future considerations. Oct. 24: Rick Tabaracci, G, assigned to Moncton (AHL). Luciano Borsato, C, recalled from Moncton.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ed Olczyk, Stu Barnes, Luciano Borsato, Mike Eagles.LW&mdash;Brent Ashton, Mike Hartman, Darrin Shannon. Mark Osborne, Phil Sykes.RW&mdash;Pat Elynuik, Danton Cole. Don Barber, Paul MacDermid.LD&mdash;Randy Carlyle, Dean Kennedy, Moe Mantha.RD&mdash;Phil Housley, Teppo Numminen, Fredrik Olausson.G&mdash;Bob Essensa, Stephane Beauregard.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Shawn Cronin. D. bruised foot, day-to-day Bryan Erickson, RW, abdominal strain, Nov. 3. Troy Murray. C, separated shoulder, Nov. 5 Russ Romaniuk, LW, chip fracture of right hand, Nov. 9 Thomas Steen. C, nerve irritation of the lower back, Dec. 15. &#9632;

Barnes listens and learns

<div class="byline">By Mike Weaver</div>As if losing 11 of their first 12 games wasn&rsquo;t bad enough, the San Jose Sharks now must spend some time without veteran defenseman Doug Wilson.The Sharks have lost Wilson indefinitely to a dislocated right wrist. He suffered the injury Oct. 26 in a 9-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils.Wilson, the team captain, was hurt when he fell after his stick got caught between teammate Ken Hammond and Devils&rsquo; center Patrik Sundstrom while Wilson was chasing Laurie Boschman. Boschman skated around the fallen Wilson and scored.&ldquo;I just fell on it,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;I went down hard; and my wrist was in a bad place.&rdquo;The Sharks trailed only 2-0 when Wilson was hurt, but the Devils scored seven more goals after he left.&ldquo;Doug Wilson is a very important player for us,&rdquo; Sharks&rsquo; coach George Kingston said. &ldquo;His presence makes a big difference.&rdquo;The Sharks, who had given up a league-high 65 goals in 12 games, would be hard hit by the loss of their most experienced player.Wilson, who is in his 15th NHL season, also had a problem with his right wrist during training camp and played in only one exhibition game. He had played in all 12 regular-season games and had three assists.TAKING OFFENSE: The Sharks were expected to be a low-scoring team in their first NHL season, but they didn&rsquo;t expect goals to be as rare as they have been in recent games.After scoring five times in an 8-5 loss to the Los Angeles Kings Oct. 16, the Sharks produced only four goals in their next five games. They were shut out twice in the first three games of their seven-game Eastern swing&mdash;losing 3-0 to Hartford Oct. 23 to go with the loss to the Devils. The Sharks got their only offense in the three games from defenseman Bob McGill, who scored in a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres Oct. 25.NOTEBOOK: Coach George Kingston hasn&rsquo;t been pleased with the&rsquo;officiating in recent games, and the threat of a league fine wasn&rsquo;t enough to keep him from talking about it. &ldquo;This probably will cost me some money, but I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;ve been getting a fair shake,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think some of the calls have been very questionable, and it has become a big distraction for the players. It&rsquo;s frustrating.&rdquo; Kingston was most upset about a hooking penalty that was called against Doug Wilson late in the game against Hartford. The Whalers put that game away with a power-play goal that was scored after Wilson was called for hooking Pat Verbeek, and Kingston said referee Paul Devorski insinuated to Wilson after the call was made that Verbeek took a dive. &ldquo;The fact that he would say that tells me something is wrong,&rdquo; Kingston said.<h2>SAN JOSE</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Perry Berezan, Dean Evason, Brian Lawton.LW&mdash;Steve Bozek, John Carter. Link Gaetz, Paul Fenton. Perry Anderson.RW&mdash;Pat Falloon, Brian Mullen, Wayne Presley, Ed Courtenay, Craig Coxe.LD&mdash;Ken Hammond. Pat MacLeod, Bob McGill.RD&mdash;Neil Wilkinson, Rob Zettler.G&mdash;Jeff Hackett, Jarmo Myllys.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Brian Hayward, G, back spasms, day-to-day. Tony Hrkac. C, cracked bone in left wrist, indefinite. Kelly Kisio, C, sprained ligaments in left foot, indefinite. Rick Lessard, D, punctured ear drum, day-today. Jayson More, D. fractured bone in left foot, indefinite Doug Wilson. D, dislocated right wrist, indefinite. &#9632;

Defensive woes grow with loss of Wilson

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div>The Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; giddy early-season ride atop the Smythe Division finally hit a speed bump called the Edmonton Oilers.Two days after they beat the Washington Capitals 3-1 Oct. 24 to assume first place overall, the Canucks were swept 5-4 and 6-3 by the Oilers in a weekend home-and-home series.If the sweep was surprising, the manner in which it occurred was a total shock. The Canucks blew a 3-1 lead in the first game while managing only 17 shots on goal. In the second game, they fell behind 6-0 on home ice before rallying late.&ldquo;Everything went right out the window,&rdquo; Canuck coach Pat Quinn said. &ldquo;Our forwards are going to cost us a lot of games if they keep playing like that (getting caught up the ice).&rdquo;Veteran defenseman Doug Lidster, who has been with the Canucks since 1984&mdash;virtually all of them lean years&mdash;admitted the team appeared to hit a high against Washington. In success-starved Vancouver, the game had been hyped as the &ldquo;Battle For First Overall.&rdquo;&ldquo;I hate to say we took the Oilers lightly,&rdquo; Lidster said. &ldquo;But we didn&rsquo;t have enough intensity.&rdquo;The lesson should be a good one for the Canucks. When they were still riding high after the Washington victory, Quinn suggested they would have to learn about being a first-place team, about dealing with teams wanting to knock them off their lofty perch instead of the other way around.Despite the bad series with Edmonton, the 8-3-1 Canucks remained in first place in the Smythe Division, a spot they have held since Day 1 of the season.DOCTOR IS OUT: Defenseman Randy Gregg waited three weeks and 11 games to play his first game as a Canuck, then pulled his groin in the first period of the 6-3 loss to Edmonton. He is out indefinitely.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unfortunate,&rdquo; said Quinn, who spent a year trying to lure the 35-year-old veteran into a Canuck uniform. &ldquo;It was his first game for us. He&rsquo;s right back to square one.&rdquo;Gregg, a medical doctor, began the season on the injury list with a minor groin problem. He was healthy by Game 3 but couldn&rsquo;t crack a Canuck lineup that was playing superbly.NOTEBOOK: The Canucks will honor former captain Stan Smyl and retire his No. 12 jersey in ceremonies Nov. 3. Smyl, now an assistant coach with the team, retired in the summer as the franchise leader in games played (896), goals (262), assists (411) and points (673). The only other Canuck to have his sweater retired (No. 11) was the late Wayne Maki&hellip;A decision was expected Oct. 31 in the continuing saga of Soviet player Pavel Bure. Bure&rsquo;s agent, Ron Salcer, is seeking to have his Soviet contract invalidated by a Detroit court. The Canucks have been trying to sign Bure to a contract that would kick in as soon as he is cleared to play.St. Louis Blues&rsquo; castoff Cliff Ronning continues to rack up impressive numbers for the Canucks. He had 17 points in his first 12 games this season to improve his overall Vancouver totals to 18-20-38 in 29 games (includini) playoffs)&hellip;Igor Larionov continues to disappoint with no points in eight games.<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Cliff Ronning. Petr Nedved, Ryan Walter. Igor Larionov, Robert Kron.LW&mdash;Greg Adams, Sergio Momesso, Geoff Courtnall, Gino Odjick.RW&mdash;Trevor Linden. Jim Sandlak, Jay Mazur, Garry Valk, Andrew McBain.LD&mdash;Robert Dirk, Dave Babych, Dana Murzyn, Jim Agnew.RD&mdash;Doug Lidster, Gerald Diduck, Jyrki Lumme.G&mdash;Kirk McLean, Troy Gamble.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Randy Gregg, D, strained groin, indefinite. &#9632;

Spirits crash down to earth, and so does team

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div>Forty-four seconds into his comeback, Edmonton Oiler winger Petr Klima was minus-one with a split lip and a sore back.&ldquo;It was a good first shift,&rdquo; said Klima Oct. 26 after playing his first game since asking to be traded two weeks earlier. &ldquo;The first 10 seconds I get cross-checked from behind and bit the boards. Five seconds later, they scored. Welcome back.&rdquo;Klima sat out six straight games after being sent home from Detroit firing a road trip. The Oilers were upset with comments Klima reportedly made suggesting he wasn&rsquo;t giving 100 per cent so they would trade him to a U.S. team. Klima denied making the statements or even the inference.Needing offensive punch, Oiler coach Ted Green gave Klima a chance to redeem himself. In his return against Vancouver Oct. 26, Klima scored his first goal of the year and added an assist.The Northlands Coliseum fans welcomed Klima back with a smattering of boos in the pre-game announcements but cheered lustily when he scored on the power play to put the filers up 4-3 in a game they would in 5-4.It was important for him to contribute.&ldquo;Very important,&rdquo; stressed Green. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I want from Petr Klima is goals. That&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s here. The pressure was on Petr Klima to do well. He did the job.&rdquo;So far, so good. Team captain kevin Lowe said things are fine for now with the players, too.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll play it by ear,&rdquo; Lowe said. &ldquo;In the dressing room he&rsquo;s accepted by the players. He&rsquo;s making an effort to work hard and make up for it. It certainly helps that he scored a big goal.&rdquo;BUCKING A TREND: It has already been a career year for Oilers&rsquo; winger Kelly Buchberger.With a pair of goals against Washington Oct. 23 (6-5 loss), his fourth and fifth, Buchberger tied his season-high set through 66 games of. the 1988-89 campaign.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to explain,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just getting lucky. A guy is due Ince in awhile, I guess.&rdquo;It helps that Green is giving Buchberger far more opportunity, ice time and responsibility in this, his fourth full year with the Oilers. Buchberger, 24, is killing penalties with Craig MacTavish and getting into pressure situations, like playing during the last minute of close games. That&rsquo;s how he scored his first empty-netter in Long Island Oct. 19.NOTEBOOK: In a rare move, NHL executive vice-president Brian O&rsquo;Neill left his Montreal office and came to Edmonton to investigate the Oilers&rsquo; charge that two Kings directed racial slurs at French Canadian winger Martin Gelinas&hellip;Vince Damphousse had just one goal in his first 12 games as an Oiler.The Oilers&rsquo; AHL farm team in Cape Breton lost promising center Craig Fisher, who is out indefinitely with a separated shoulder&hellip;Martin Rucinsky, who suffered a broken collarbone courtesy of an Eric Lindros check during the Canada Cup, was to begin practising with the Oilers Oct. 29.<h2>EDMONTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;EsaTikkanen, Vince Damphousse, Craig MacTavish, Josef Beranek, Mark Lamb.LW&mdash;Craig Simpson, Scott Thornton. Martin Gelinas, Louie DeBrusk, Troy Mallette.RW&mdash;Petr Klima, Scott Mellanby, Joe Murphy, Kelly Buchberger, Anatoli Semenov.LD&mdash;Kevin Lowe, Luke Richardson, Geoff Smith, Norm Maciver.RD&mdash;Craig Muni, Jeff Beukeboom, Dave Manson.G&mdash;Bill Ranford, Peter Ing.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Martin Rucinsky, LW, broken collarbone, indefinite. &#9632;

klima back in good graces—for time being

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/c0004-01234/6235228-1-eng-US/c0004-012.jpg" title="C0004-01" width="561" height="759"></div>New Jersey Devils&rsquo; goaltender Chris Terreri was named NHL Pro Set player of the week for the period ending Oct. 27.Terreri posted a 3-0 record with a 1.33 goals-against average and one shutout. He stopped 68 of 72 shots for a .944 save percentage.Runners-up for the award were Boston Bruins&rsquo; center Andy Brickley and Calgary Flames&rsquo; goalie Mike Vernon.Throughout the 1991-92 NHL season, Pro Set, Inc., will donate $600 to the youth hockey organization designated by the player of the week. Pro Set will also contribute $1,200 on behalf of the player of the month and $8,500 for the player of the year award. Entering its second season as sponsor of these NHL awards, Pro Set is contributing over $56,000 to youth hockey organizations across North America.Terreri opened his outstanding week backstopping the Devils to a 5-2 win over Los Angeles Oct. 22. He then blocked 27 of 29 shots in a 4-2 New Jersey triumph over Pittsburgh Oct. 24. He capped the week off by blanking the San Jose Sharks 9-0 Oct. 26, turning aside 26 shots.The 27-year-old native of Providence, R.I., appeared in all of New Jersey&rsquo;s first 11 games and was 7-4 with a 3.11 GAA. His seven wins and 637 minutes played ranked second among NHL goalies behind Vancouver&rsquo;s Kirk McLean.Brickley led NHL scorers with three goals and seven points in three games.Vernon was 2-0-1 with a 1.95 GAA for the Flames. &#9632;

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November 8, 1991

Sabres come a’ Colin, take home Patterson

Goalie’s death linked to heart disorder

NHL SUMMARIES

Two-job Murray building a winner