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.

May 8, 1992

The Hockey News May 8, 1992

<div class="byline">By Rick Sadowski</div>Tony Granato isn&rsquo;t planning on running for office in Edmonton anytime soon. He&rsquo;s a U.S. citizen and couldn&rsquo;t even if he wanted to. Just as well because the Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; center probably would end up running for his life.Granato hasn&rsquo;t been the most popular player in northern Alberta since he knocked two of David Maley&rsquo;s teeth out with a high stick in the second game of the Kings&rsquo; Smythe Division semifinal series with the Edmonton Oilers.&ldquo;They seem to be stirring up a lot of stuff,&rdquo; Granato said, referring to the Edmonton press. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve made sure to pick up the newspapers every day so I don&rsquo;t miss what it says in all the gossip columns.&rdquo;The Oilers sent a tape of the incident to the NHL in an attempt to have him suspended, but league disciplinarian Brian O&rsquo;Neill ruled Granato did not intentionally injure Maley.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry about what happened but they&rsquo;re trying to make out like it was the first time anything like this ever happened in a hockey game,&rdquo; Granato said.NOTEBOOK: Wayne Gretzky has scored more playoff goals than anyone in history (95). But until he collected a pair April 26, Gretzky had gone 12 post-season games without a goal&hellip;Retiring defenseman Larry Robinson was honored at the Forum after the first intermission of Game 5. The Kings&rsquo; players presented Robinson with a gold watch&hellip;Jari Kurri suffered a sprained left ankle April 22 in Game 3 when he tumbled into the boards after being checked by Dave Manson. Kurri missed the next two games.Playoff scratches: Jim Thomson, Jim Hiller and Darryl Gilmour didn&rsquo;t dress for the first five games against the Oilers. Kyosti Karjalainen sat out Games 1, 2 and 3 and Brent Thompson was in the press box for Games 1 and 2.<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 21: Rene Chapdelaine, D, recalled from Phoenix (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Wayne Gretzky, Tony Granato, Corey Millen, John McIntyre.LW&mdash;Marty McSoriey, Luc Robitaille, Mike Donnelly, Jay Miller, Jim Thomson.RW&mdash;Tomas Sandstrom, Dave Taylor, Kyosti Karjalainen, Bob Kudelski, Jim Hiller.LD&mdash;Paul Coffey, Peter Ahola, Tim Watters.RD&mdash;Charlie Huddy, Rob Blake, Brent Thompson, Rene Chapdelaine.G&mdash;Kelly Hrudey, Steve Weeks, Darryl Gilmour.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Scott Bjugstad, C, abdominal surgery, out for season. Jari Kurri, RW, sprained left ankle, day-to-day. Larry Robinson, D, bruised left ankle, day-to-day. &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Edmonton casts Granato as public enemy No. 1

<h2>NOTE</h2>Unofficial game summaries provided by National Hockey League; (shots on goal/plus-minus); SA-shots against; GA-goals against; ENG-empty net goals; DEC-decision, charged to goaltenders of record when deciding goal is scored.<h2>MONDAY, APRIL 20</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-10142/6602917-1-eng-US/f0028-102.jpg" title="f0028-10" width="596" height="1315"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-11136/6602910-1-eng-US/f0028-112.jpg" title="f0028-11" width="583" height="1676"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-12129/6602903-1-eng-US/f0028-122.jpg" title="f0028-12" width="595" height="1675"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-13119/6602896-1-eng-US/f0028-132.jpg" title="f0028-13" width="585" height="809"></div><h2>TUESDAY, APRIL 21</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-14104/6602889-1-eng-US/f0028-142.jpg" title="f0028-14" width="584" height="778"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-1598/6602882-1-eng-US/f0028-152.jpg" title="f0028-15" width="586" height="1679"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01763/6602875-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="608" height="2727"></div><h2>WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02491/6602868-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="578" height="699"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-03314/6602861-1-eng-US/f0029-032.jpg" title="f0029-03" width="624" height="3494"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-04223/6602854-1-eng-US/f0029-042.jpg" title="f0029-04" width="592" height="1063"></div><h2>THURSDAY. APRIL 23</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-05195/6602847-1-eng-US/f0029-052.jpg" title="f0029-05" width="597" height="2362"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01865/6602840-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="591" height="2587"></div><h2>FRIDAY, APRIL 24</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-02578/6602833-1-eng-US/f0030-022.jpg" title="f0030-02" width="582" height="842"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-03398/6602826-1-eng-US/f0030-032.jpg" title="f0030-03" width="607" height="3489"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-04283/6602819-1-eng-US/f0030-042.jpg" title="f0030-04" width="591" height="494"></div><h2>SATURDAY, APRIL 25</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-05208/6602812-1-eng-US/f0030-052.jpg" title="f0030-05" width="595" height="2917"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-06170/6602805-1-eng-US/f0030-062.jpg" title="f0030-06" width="584" height="1787"></div><h2>SUNDAY, APRIL 26</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-07143/6602798-1-eng-US/f0030-072.jpg" title="f0030-07" width="584" height="1625"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-08129/6602791-1-eng-US/f0030-082.jpg" title="f0030-08" width="589" height="3486"></div> &#9632;

f0028-10

NHL SUMMARIES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0026-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01877/6602575-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg"></div><h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02575/6602568-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="968" height="923"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bruins&rsquo; rookie Joe Juneau had five points in four games of the Adams division semifinal versus Buffalo.</figcaption></div><h2>SCHEDULE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03457/6602561-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="962" height="297"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04333/6602554-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="1378" height="2066"><figcaption class="caption-body">Goaltender Jon Casey was mighty good as Minnesota recaptured some of its 1991 playoff glory with inspired play in the Norris Division semifinals.</figcaption></div><h2>POWER PLAY</h2>(ADV)&mdash;TOTAL ADVANTAGES: (PPG)&mdash;POWER-PLAY GOALS: (PCT)&mdash;POWERPLAY GOALS DIVIDED BY TOTAL ADVANTAGES.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-05252/6602547-1-eng-US/f0026-052.jpg" title="f0026-05" width="451" height="473"></div><h2>PENALTY KILLING</h2>(TSH)&mdash;TOTAL TIMES SHORTHANDED; (PPGA)&mdash;POWER-PLAY GOALS ALLOWED. (PCT)&mdash;SUCCESSFUL PENALTY-KILLING PERCENTAGE.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-06210/6602540-1-eng-US/f0026-062.jpg" title="f0026-06" width="464" height="484"></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/f0026-07184/6602533-1-eng-US/f0026-072.jpg" title="f0026-07" width="464" height="477"></div><h2>TOP SCORERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-08164/6602526-1-eng-US/f0026-082.jpg" title="f0026-08" width="590" height="606"></div><h2>TOP DEFENSEMEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-09150/6602519-1-eng-US/f0026-092.jpg" title="f0026-09" width="589" height="341"></div><h2>TOP ROOKIES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-10143/6602512-1-eng-US/f0026-102.jpg" title="f0026-10" width="587" height="212"></div><h2>LEADERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-11138/6602505-1-eng-US/f0026-112.jpg" title="f0026-11" width="605" height="1397"></div> &#9632;

f0026-01

Can’t Beat the Real Thing

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div>Whatever happens to the Buffalo Sabres in their series with Boston, they&rsquo;ll always remember the calls that weren&rsquo;t made as a deciding factor.Referee Ron Hoggarth incited a fan uprising with 5:48 left in the third period of the Sabres&rsquo; 5-4 overtime loss to Boston in Game 4 April 25. With the game tied 4-4, Buffalo&rsquo;s Dale Hawerchuk was cut in the face by the stick of Boston&rsquo;s Steve Leach. Hawerchuk bled profusely over his Fight eye but Hoggarth, who was within four feet of the infraction, didn&rsquo;t call a penalty.Thirty&mdash;six seconds later, Sabre defenseman Keith Carney scored past goalie Andy Moog but Hoggarth ruled no goal because the net had been knocked off its pegs.Both calls were controversial and the 16,325 fans on hand in Buffalo let Hoggarth know. Play was delayed several minutes after the first incident as fans Uttered the ice with debris. They erupted again after the second call.Contrary to popular opinion, the NHL does not have a rule that calls for an automatic major penalty when ka high stick causes a player to bleed. Traditionally, however, the infraction warrants a penalty.And when the net is purposely dislodged, a rule calls for a two-minute penalty. Replays indicated Bruins&rsquo; defenseman Glen Wesley forced the net off but no penalty was called.Few Sabres, including coach John Muckier, argued over the no goal call but most were upset there was no penalty on Leach.&ldquo;I guess I don&rsquo;t know the rules,&rdquo; said Hawerchuk, who took five stitches over his right eyebrow. &ldquo;The way he (Hoggarth) came over to look at me I knew he wasn&rsquo;t going to make a call. I thought he wasn&rsquo;t going to give a major but not even a call, I blew up. It has been a penalty all year long and now it&rsquo;s not. It&rsquo;s frustrating.&rdquo;Hoggarth was taken from the building with a police escort and declined comment. Supervisor of officials Bryan Lewis said the non-calls were within Hoggarth&rsquo;s discretion.&ldquo;You are allowed to shoot the puck and permitted a normal follow through,&rdquo; Lewis said. &ldquo;Accidents happen that are not deemed to be worthy of a penalty. This was the explanation given to me by Hoggarth&hellip;Leach shot the puck in a normal manner and with that follow through it (Leach&rsquo;s stick) cut (Hawerchuk).&rdquo;Regarding the second incident, Lewis said there was never any doubt the net had been knocked off the pegs. Lewis said there was no consulation between Hoggarth and the replay official but the replay official did review the play and concurred with the decision.NOTEBOOK: Playoff scratches: Grant Ledyard and Clint Malarchuk missed the first four games of the series with Boston. Colin Patterson missed the first two games then replaced the injured Alexander Mogilny in Games 3 and 4. Bob Corkum missed the first three games then replaced the injured Christian Ruuttu in Game 4.<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Pat LaFontaine, Dale Hawerchuk, Dave Hannan.LW&mdash;Dave Andreychuk, Tony Tanti, Brad May, Colin Patterson. Rob Ray, Randy Wood.RW&mdash;Bob Corkum, Gord Donnelly, Wayne Presley.LD&mdash;Mike Ramsey, Grant Ledyard, Doug Bodger, Ken Sutton.RD&mdash;Petr Svoboda, Randy Moller, Keith Carney.G&mdash;Tom Draper, Clint Malarchuk, Daren Puppa.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Donald Audette, RW, tom right knee ligaments, dislocated right shoulder, out tor season. Alexander Mogilny, RW, groin pull, day-to-day. Christian Ruuttu, C, neck sprain, day-to-day. &#9632;

Team fumes over non-calls by referee Hoggarth

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-07234/6601211-1-eng-US/f0002-072.jpg" title="f0002-07" width="370" height="467"></div>Some cracks appeared in the NHL&rsquo;s long-term crackdown on stick fouls during a recent three-night stretch.First, on April 24, Minnesota defenseman Derian Hatcher broke Kevin Miller&rsquo;s jaw when he jabbed the Detroit right winger with the North Stars clinging to a 5-4 lead and fewer than seven minutes left in regulation play.No penalty was called by referee Dan Marouelli and Minnesota won the game-but Hatcher later received a three-game suspension from league vice president Brian O&rsquo;Neill.Second, on April 25, Boston right winger Steve Leach bloodied center Dale Hawerchuk of Buffalo above the right eye with the score tied 4-4 and just more than five minutes left in regulation time.No penalty was called by referee Ron Hoggarth and the Bruins scored in overtime to take a 3-1 lead in the series.Third, on April 26, Detroit center Steve Yzerman turned on David Shaw and speared the Minnesota defenseman.A two-minute penalty for slashing was called by Hoggarth.It is bewildering Hatcher did not receive a high-sticking major and game misconduct; Leach was not given a double minor for accidental contact; and Yzerman did not get a spearing major and game misconduct.All three incidents represented potential turning points in their games but NHL director of officiating Bryan Lewis did not second-guess his officials.He had been briefed on the Hatcher incident and witnessed the Leach incident. Lewis indicated those two cases proved the NHL justice system is fair and flexible, if not infallible.Hatcher was not punished immediately because none of the officials saw the infraction. That may seem inconceivable but Lewis said blind spots exist no matter how hard referees and linesmen work to eliminate them.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough to tell anyone in our business six eyes didn&rsquo;t witness what transpired,&rdquo; Lewis admitted.He noted Hatcher got caught up in the web of supplementary discipline, although Detroit wasn&rsquo;t happy that Hatcher was permitted to play Game 5 while Miller sat out with facial injuries.In the meantime, Buffalo fans littered the ice in protest when Hoggarth did not penalize Leach for striking Hawerchuk above the eye.It was unclear whether Leach was playing the puck when his stick flew up into the Buffalo&rsquo;s player&rsquo;s face. But Hoggarth ruled the contact accidental and part of Leach&rsquo;s normal follow-through.The key word is normal.It is the vague loophole in NHL rule enforcement meant to recognize the realities of the game.&ldquo;We do have some exceptions to the rule to protect the player who is not doing anything illegal,&rdquo; Lewis said.He read from a directive issued to officials:&ldquo;(Referees) must be vigilant to the careless use of the stick. Accidents are going to happen which are deserving of a double minor. Accidents and injuries may happen that are not deserving of a penalty.&rdquo;That interpretation serves as a reminder that NHLers are not always held accountable for their sticks.Buffalo fans should be familiar with that distinction.Earlier this season, it was the basis of executive vice-president Brian O&rsquo;Neill&rsquo;s decision to not suspend Jamie Macoun after he broke Pat LaFontaine&rsquo;s jaw with a stick check. &#9632;

f0002-07

Drawing fine line between accidents and carelessness

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011460/6601277-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="345" height="345"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021198/6601270-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="51" height="40"></div>Canadian national women&rsquo;s team. Canucks win second straight world title in convincing fashion.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03882/6601263-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="51" height="40"></div>Hartford Whalers. They may not have many supporters in their own backyard but we admire their resilience.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04655/6601256-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="49" height="40">Stick work. Numerous infractions have marred an otherwise entertaining playoff season.<div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05477/6601249-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="50" height="40"></div>Max Middendorf. Red Wing farmhand has spent more time serving suspensions than playing this year in Adirondack.</div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-06358/6601242-1-eng-US/f0002-062.jpg" title="f0002-06" width="345" height="348"></div> &#9632;

f0002-01

CHEERS & JEERS

EXECUTIVE Chairman of the Board: Remi Marcoux. President and Publisher: David Clark. Editor-in-Chief: Steve Dryden. Controller: Wendy Currie-Mills. Marketing Manager: Esther Sumka. Circulation Manager: Tom Moffat.EDITORIAL Senior Editor: Ken Campbell. Assistant Editors: Dave Bean, Jason Kay. Editorial Staff: Wayne Chow, Brian Costello, Matt Nicholls. Contributing Editors: Bob Amesse, Rand Simon. Production Manager: Brad Nussbaum. Photographer: Bruce Bennett. Design Director: Bob Torrans.ADVERTISING Manager, Generic: Randy Green. National Sales Manager: Stephen Moyer. Sales: Marilyn Patterson. Classified Advertising: David Burgess (416) 445-5702.ADMINISTRATION Editorial and advertising offices are located at 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont. M3B 2R2 (416) 445-5702.FREQUENCY The Hockey News (ISSN 00183016) is published by Transcontinental Sports Publications, Inc. weekly September through May (except for last week in December) and monthly in June, July and August. Total of 42 issues includes 37 regular issues, the THN Yearbook and four double issues&mdash;Season Preview (September). In the System supplement (January), Draft Preview (May) and Awards Review (July). Single-copy price: $2.75.SUBSCRIPTION RATES North America, $49.95. Canadian requests, send to THN, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont. M3B 2R2 (416 445-5702). U.S. subscription requests and address changes should be mailed to Box 904, Buffalo, N.Y. 14240-9554. United Kingdom and Europe, 124.35L for air mail, 99.35 &pound; for surface mail. (Publisher reserves right to adjust rates on quarterly basis.) Send to Barker&rsquo;s Worldwide Publications, 155 Maybury Rd., Woking, Surrey. GU21 5JR. Phone/Fax 0483 776141. Registered as newspaper at Post Office in United Kingdom. Outside Europe: $262.20 for air mail. $205.20 for surface mail. Send to THN, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont. M3B 2R2. Please allow two to four weeks for all subscription processing.DISTRIBUTION Newsstand: Disticor, 155 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 213. North York. Ont. M2H 3N7 (416 496-8444). Canadian Publication Mail Registration No. 1327 paid at Toronto, Ont. in United States, second-class postage (No. 0579-540) paid at Buffalo, N.Y. 14240-9544.THE HOCKEY NEWS Co-founded by Ken McKenzie and W.V. Cote in 1947.COVER PHOTO Mario Lemieux by Bruce Bennett/BBS; Dale Hawerchuk by Dan Hamilton.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-08114/6601308-1-eng-US/f0002-082.jpg" title="f0002-08" width="200" height="152"></div>Audit Bureau of CirculationsA Division of GTCTranscontinental Pub. Inc. &#9632;

f0002-08

The Hockey News

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011610/6601346-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">We have likely seen the last of the dominant teams like Bob Nystrom&rsquo;s Islanders and Mark Messier&rsquo;s and Wayne Gretzky&rsquo;s Edmonton Oilers.</figcaption></div>It used to be when a champion was crowned in the NHL, it was more like a coronation than a celebration. You could be fairly certain the team which was hoisting the Stanley Cup in May would be hoisting it again the following spring-or maybe skip a year and then win it back again.Winning the Stanley Cup was tantamount to being elected king of the sport, and the reign was supposed to be long and fruitful.Well, the palace is in revolt and &ldquo;King of the Mountain&rdquo; has become a short-term proposition. More than just defending the Cup, the so-called better teams are even having problems winning a single playoff series.&ldquo;It was only a matter of time,&rdquo; said Boston Bruins&rsquo; assistant general manager Mike Milbury. &ldquo;I guess it&rsquo;s what you call parity. The way the league is now, it&rsquo;s so balanced.&ldquo;To me, Pittsburgh was not a lock to repeat but I considered them a damn good bet to repeat. The next thing you know, they&rsquo;re trying to just to stay alive. I can&rsquo;t figure it out.&rdquo;He may, however, be staring part of the answer right in the face. More than just looking at Stanley Cup champions, take a look at the first-round wars like the one Pittsburgh was involved in with Washington. This spring, for the second consecutive year there was not a single sweep in the first round.The 1991 post-season marked the first time since 1973 that no series ended in a sweep. And judging from the advance warnings this season, it could easily turn into a second consecutive spring without a sweep.&ldquo;A dynasty now is maybe one or two championships,&rdquo; Milbury said, &ldquo;not three or four.&rdquo;Assuming the Penguins fail to repeat as champions and the Edmonton Oilers do not win this Stanley Cup, the NHL this spring will produce its fourth champion in four years: the Penguins last season, the Edmonton Oilers in 1990; and the Calgary Flames in 1989.If that occurs, it would mark the first time such a revolving door had been swung open in 50 years. Not since the Cup changed hands in five consecutive seasons starting with the New York Rangers in 1940, and then continuing to, the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and finally the Montreal Canadiens in 1944 has there been such an annual turnover.In order to get some historical bearing on that fact, remember the NHL produced only four champions in the 15 years prior to the Flames&rsquo; win (Philadelphia, Canadiens, New York Islanders, Oilers). Over that same period (19731988) Major League Baseball had 12 different World Series champions; the National Football League nine Super Bowl champs; and the National Basketball Association seven champions-despite dominance by the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.The reasons for the new-found parity range from the economic &ldquo;hardship&rdquo; of winning it all; to the early-round Holy Wars which have developed from the divisional alignments and resulting playoff system in 1982; to the simple fact that lesser teams are doing a better job of preparing for the draft and are unwilling to give away high picks for short-term gain.All you have to do is look at how tightly the Quebec Nordiques have held onto the rights to Eric Lindros, against all odds of signing him, to realize that nobody is going to give up on a top prospect very easily.As for the divisional lineup, part of the allure of the Stanley Cup playoffs has been the potential for a snake of a team, one which lays in the grass during the regular season, and then strikes during the playoffs. However, in the divisional set up, teams know each other so well from meeting seven or eight times in the regular season, that upsets have become common place.Take Minnesota last season, for example, when the Stars bushwhacked Detroit and Chicago. And if you go back through the past eight years, you&rsquo;ll see the division champion has emerged from the Norris Division only twice.Overall, during the past four springs, only seven of the 16 teams which won the division during the regular season managed to escape the division in the playoffs.To some extent, that explains the new balance in the NHL, but if you want to get to the root of why dynasties are dinosaurs just look at the root of all evil-money.Money and the ensuing issue of free agency.&ldquo;Because of financial reasons, I don&rsquo;t think you&rsquo;ll ever see a dynasty again,&rdquo; said Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; coach John Muckier. Muckier, of course, is well-versed in dynasties having served as cocoach with the the Edmonton Oilers from 1983 through 1989 and as head coach in 1990. The Oilers won the Cup five times from 1984 to 1990.&ldquo;Unless the league changes,&rdquo; Muckier said, &ldquo;you will have to balance payrolls, and economic and financial situations will determine trades.&ldquo;Just look at this year with Pittsburgh dealing (Paul) Coffey. You&rsquo;re just forced to make deals now.&rdquo;It was hardly a secret the Penguins had to shave their payroll, which is why Coffey was so available. And Muckier is even more familiar with the all-time superstar sell, having witnessed The Trade first hand.&ldquo;I felt cheated when they traded Wayne Gretzky,&rdquo; Muckier said. &ldquo;Well, maybe cheated is not the right word. But it was just that with that team you felt that you could go on an win forever, and then it was taken away.&rdquo;Also taken away from the Oiler juggernaut were superstars Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Jari Kurri and Mark Messier.Add into the mix the growing pressures of free agency, and you can see teams are forced to make choices that previous champions did not have to make. For example, last summer the Penguins had to match a million-dollar offer by the Boston Bruins or they would lose Kevin Stevens.The Penguins came up with the money, but in order to make the numbers crunch, they had to move players such as Coffey and Mark Recchi. In other cases, it might be a role player who gets moved.&ldquo;You have to risk making a trade, or risk falling apart like the Islanders did,&rdquo; said Muckier, referring to the team which won the Cup from 1979-83 and then disintegrated as players such as Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith and Bobby Nystrom tailed off and the Isles got nothing in return.What&rsquo;s even more amazing about those Islander teams is that 16 players competed on all four Cup champions. So, in addition to the first-line stars, the Isles managed to. keep their soldiers. Given the present atmosphere, it&rsquo;s virtually impossible the Islanders would be able to keep such a roster of talented players either happy, or happy with their paychecks.If you doubt that, consider the problems the Isles had with their only bona fide star of the past few seasons, Pat LaFontaine, and then recall the list of stars who were content to play with the Isles during the championship years.Indeed, it&rsquo;s a new game and the dynasties are truly dinosaurs.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021289/6601339-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="1467" height="1397"><figcaption class="caption-body">(photography by Brunce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0003-01

The Price of Success

I wish everyone would stop praising Patrick Roy. He&rsquo;s a decent goaltender but not the best, as Kevin Dupont insists (THN. March 20).How about the year Vancouver&rsquo;s Kirk McLean is having? Or Winnipeg&rsquo;s Bob Essensa or Chicago&rsquo;s Ed Belfour? They&rsquo;re all better than Roy.While Toronto&rsquo;s Grant Fuhr is pelted with 45 shots most nights, Roy is handling about 25-few of which are breakaways, rebounds or pointblank Brett Hull-type shots.For two years running Roy has let his team down in the Adams Division final against Boston. While everyone blamed Belfour for last year&rsquo;s early playoff exit by Chicago, nobody mentioned some of the horrible goals Roy let in at crucial moments.The NHL just loves the Habs and Patrick Roy&rsquo;s inevitable Vezina Trophy win is just another blatant example of it.Doug Frost,&nbsp;Wallaceburg, Ont.<h2>Thanks, Clint</h2>I would like to thank THN and Clint Malarchuk.Like Malarchuk, my brother suffers from a chemical imbalance. The story on him in the March 27 issue really hit home. I felt as though I was reading about my brother.It&rsquo;s very scary and sad to helplessly watch someone you care about suffer so much. I hope after reading the story THN readers have a better understanding of the disorder.With the proper medical attention and medication, my brother is happy and healthy today. I wish the same for Clint Malarchuk.Name withheld,&nbsp;West Palm Beach, Fla.<h2>No difference</h2>I want to thank SportsChannel America for making it so easy for me to get through the NHL strike.Since it showed so few games to begin with, the total absence of hockey from TV was hardly any change at all. I didn&rsquo;t feel like I missed a thing.David Feigenbaum,&nbsp;Medford Lakes, N.J.<h2>Three rules</h2>The gods of hockey have three laws everyone should understand:1. The game is greater than the arrogance of John Ziegler.2. The game is greater than the corruption of the NHL board of governors.3. The game is greater than the greed of its players.Let it be known that the game of hockey shall endure long after the NHL is gone and forgotten.Darrell Craig,&nbsp;Santa Ana, Calif.<h2>Faring well</h2>I would like to commend Russ Farwell on a job well done.During his second season as the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; general manager, he made many key acquisitions to bring back life to a once-dying club.In Kevin Dineen, the Flyers got heart, determination and character. In Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour and Mark Recchi, they got scoring. By acquiring Steve Duchesne, Garry Galley and Brian Benning he made the Flyers more dangerous and balanced on defense.The rest of the Patrick Division teams should beware. The Flyers will be contending in about two years.Josh Dashman,&nbsp;Rydal, Pa.<h2>Striking out</h2>When I was in Vancouver last fall, I got up at 5 a.m. to get tickets to see two Canucks-Calgary Flames games.What happens when I fly in from Japan to see the contests? One is awful-the Flames lost 11-0-and the other one was postponed because of the strike.Not knowing whether it would be replayed or not, I came back to Japan. Maybe I was just unlucky, and I know I can&rsquo;t do anything about it, but I just want the NHL to know how I feel.I am very disappointed.Yoko Miura,&nbsp;Chiba, Japan<h2>Split decision</h2>In light of both the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs missing the playoffs, the question of who was the winner in the biggest trade in NHL history must again be examined.If you go by the theory that whoever gets the best player is the winner, Toronto (Doug Gilmour) wins&hellip;so far.What do you have after that? A fine group of youngsters in Calgary and a bunch of aging veterans in Toronto (with the exception of Kent Manderville). These guys will be retired before the Leafs are fixed.On the other hand, Calgary should get a few more good years from the players they received.I suggest we declare the winner to be the team that makes the playoffs first. Until then&hellip;a split decision.Bill Mahoney,&nbsp;Dartmouth, N.S.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.&nbsp;THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

Habs’ Roy isn’t king of crease

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011631/6601401-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0004-01

ELSTON

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello</div><h2>Penney for his thoughts</h2>Sandwiched between the eras of Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy in the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; crease was a storybook playoff performance by 23-year-old rookie goalie Steve Penney.Penney came out of obscurity to steal the spotlight in the 1984 playoffs, leading the Habs to upset series wins over Boston and Quebec with three shutouts and a 2.20 goals against average. But his NHL career lasted only 91 games before he retired in 1988.Penney, 32, is now co-owner of two restaurants in Ste-Foy, Que.&ldquo;That was a magical time for me,&rdquo; Penney said. &ldquo;I wish my career was longer but that year was so special.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021437/6601432-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg" title="f0004-02" width="566" height="744"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Penney</figcaption></div><h2>Minor leagues join forces</h2>The minor professional Southern League plans to begin its inaugural season in October by having an interlocking schedule with the second-year Colonial League.The proposed plan has each of the four (and perhaps two more) SHL teams make one road trip to CHL sites and vice-versa. The CHL board of governors still has to approve the idea.The SHL has Florida franchises in West Palm Beach, Jacksonville, Orlando and St. Petersburg and may add teams in Alabama and Georgia.The CHL operated with five teams in Michigan and Ontario last season and may add up to four new teams. &#9632;

f0004-02

UPDATE

<div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011553/6601463-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="368" height="473"></div>The game plan was to start the first round covering the New York Rangers, then see what developed. Sure enough. Pittsburgh lost the first two in Washington so it was time to go to there.Grandma and Grandpa live in Johnstown, 70 miles away, and hadn&rsquo;t seen the kids in a few months. There was no school because of Easter break, so this was a chance for me to be the best son since Brett Hull. So I filed my story after Game 2 in New York, hopped in the car at I a.m., hopped into bed in South Jersey at 3:30, hopped out again at 10:30. Fresh story on the way to the Toronto Sun by 3:30, fresh underwear in the suitcase by 4:30, fresh kids in the car and on the road at 5:15.We had a deal. I&rsquo;d listen to all the Gloria Estefan I could stand until 8:30, when it would be dark. Then the girls would endure hockey on the car radio until they fell asleep. Mom stayed behind because she couldn&rsquo;t get off work, and this was my big chance. When we&rsquo;re in the car, she doesn&rsquo;t mind me tuning in the Philadelphia Flyers but when I check out the St. Louis Blues, the Penguins, or the Rangers she says she can&rsquo;t take the static. I tell her she&rsquo;d have to if she played for Mike Keenan but she is unmoved. So this was a treat. On this night, the radio and two playoff games would be all mine.Only fleetingly did I regret missing them on TV. I was up for radio. I remembered the days when no drive seemed too long, provided there were word pictures coming from a stadium or arena through my dashboard. It seems like I&rsquo;m always at a game now, choosing an angle, waiting for a player to come out of the training room, looking at the clock. It&rsquo;s a nice way to make a living but the introduction of a deadline turns what I do into work. It is not nearly the joy I had as a youth scanning the dial on a clear night for treasures.Before buttons, before digital, I had the hands of a safecracker, turning the knob, fighting off the rock station at 1010 and the news at 990 to get WCFL 1000, the station that had the Chicago Blackhawks. I would move that radio around the headstand, turn it upside down or even over my head as Lloyd Petit faded away, fearful of how many goals I might miss before his voice returned.When the homework was done-and even sometimes when it wasn&rsquo;t-the radio was a ticket to wonderful mental pictures of places I knew someday I would have to see. Until the mid-1960s, a weeknight televised game in any sport was rare, and hockey on U.S. television was practically non-existent.8:30. The Detroit Red Wings would be beginning the fight for their lives at the Met Center. My first choice, with planned frequent cuts to KMOX for the Blues and Blackhawks. I tuned to 760, WJR Detroit. I heard: &ldquo;Ground ball, shortstop, Trammell has it on two hops and throws out Sierra.&rdquo;Arrrrrrgh. Tigers. Baseball. Nice game but not now, not with the Wings down 2-0. The baseball season should start June 1. June 13 in a hockey strike year.So now what? In college, at Missouri, I could get Al Shaver and the Minnesota North Stars but you don&rsquo;t pick that up in Carlisle, Pa. And if baseball had pushed hockey off the big station in Detroit, oh no, that meant the Cardinals would probably have pre-empted the Blues, too.I went to 1120. Sure enough, Jack Buck from Shea Stadium.&ldquo;Daddy, what&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; Elizabeth asked. &ldquo;Are you okay?&rdquo;One chance left. What station does the Blackhawks? How could I not know that anymore? I started at the top, at 1590, going all the way down at 780 before I found it. Pat. Dale. On WBBM Chicago, from The Arena. Where it was already 2-2.The reception wasn&rsquo;t great. &ldquo;Daddy, can&rsquo;t you get that any clearer?&rdquo; Stephanie asked. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s somebody singing opera over the game.&rdquo;&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a guy who sings at the games in St. Louis,&rdquo; I said.I could laugh now. I had a game. The reception wasn&rsquo;t good but I stayed with Tallon and Foley. Jeremy Roenick would carry across the line and the next thing I heard was a newsbreak. Hull would wind up and it would be up to three minutes before I found out whether he scored. There are three mile-long tunnels on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. During the overtime, I entered each one certain that the next thing I would hear on the other side was the wrap-up. &ldquo;What a goal it was by Larmer, too,&rdquo; Pat would say. Rats.But nobody scored through a whole overtime as I hung on every intelligible word. We got to Johnstown in time to see Hull end it.The next night, from a press-box seat with a perfect view, I saw Mario Lemieux get six points. The game ran late, so to make deadline, I had to write during the third period. I liked the game on the radio better. &#9632;

f0005-01

Nothing quite like a game on the radio

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN Staff</div>The No. 1-ranked teenage hockey player in North America impressed scouts more than himself this season.Left winger-center Todd Warriner of the Windsor Spitfires is ranked first by the Central Scouting Bureau in its confidential final rating of players eligible for the 1992 entry draft.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pretty excited,&rdquo; Warriner said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great honor. I really didn&rsquo;t expect it&hellip;I didn&rsquo;t think I played as good as I could have. I didn&rsquo;t feel I played up to my potential.&rdquo;Potential is precisely what hockey scouts see in the strong-skating Warriner, who is regarded as the best all-around offensive player in the draft.The 18-year-old native of Blenheim, Ont., scored 41 goals and 82 points in 50 Ontario League games.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s strong in close and he can score from outside,&rdquo; one scout said. &ldquo;He goes to the net real well and is a powerful player.&rdquo;Warriner is 6-foot-l and 185 pounds.The CSB&rsquo;s top six is comprised of Warriner; 2) defenseman Mike Rathje of the Medicine Hat Tigers; 3) defenseman David Cooper of Medicine Hat; 4) center Cory Stillman of Windsor; 5) center Brandon Convery of the Sudbury Wolves and; 6) left winger Ryan Sittler of Buffalo Nichols School.Warriner was ranked second to Cooper in the scouting combine&rsquo;s mid-season report.Included in end-of-season separate rankings by CSB are the top North American goalies and European players, including highly touted Czechoslovakian defenseman Roman Hamrlik.Some scouts have speculated as many as 10 Europeans will be chosen in the first round but that seems high.First pick in the draft, June 20 in Montreal, will belong to either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Ottawa Senators, two expansions teams scheduled to make their debuts next season.Choosing third through eighth, in order, are the six non-playoff teams: the San Jose Sharks, Quebec Nordiques, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders.The remaining 16 teams pick in inverse order of overall finish, except those instances in which teams have given up their top draft picks. The Washington Capitals are slated to draft 14th in place of the St. Louis Blues and the Flyers 15th in place of the Los Angeles Kings.<h2>Lions roar</h2>The Lac-St-Louis Lions beat the Thunder Bay Kings 6-1 to win the An-Canada Cup national midget championship April 26 in Dartmouth, N.S.Following a 6-0-0 record in the round-robin part of the tournament, the Lions won the championship game by scoring five straight goals after the game was tied 1-1.Dustin Kelley of the North Kamloops Lions was tournament MVP.<h2>Hurdle cleared</h2>Another hurdle has been cleared in the attempt to bring professional hockey back to Hamilton.The Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc., announced April 24 it reached a three-year deal with Double Hitch Enterprises to bring an expansion American League team to Copps Coliseum.Former NHLer Pat Hickey, president of Double Hitch, said Copps will get an undisclosed percentage of gate receipts.The Hamilton Canucks and will serve as Vancouver&rsquo;s No. 1 minorleague affiliate, which was in Milwaukee of the International League.<h2>The CSB 1st round</h2>The following is the first round of the Central Scouting Bureau&rsquo;s final rankings, with some changes in the order of the names to protect sources. Listed is name, position, team, league, height, weight, birthdate, games goals, assists, points and penalty minutes.1. Todd Warriner. C/LW, Windsor (Ontario League), 6-1. 185. Jan. 3, 1974, 50-41-41-82-64; 2. Mike Rathje. D. Medicine Hat (Western League). 6-5, 203. May 11, 1974, 67-11-23-34-109; 3. David Cooper. D. Medicine Hat (WHL), 6-2,204, Nov. 2, 1973,72-17-47-64-176;4. Cory Stillman. C, Windsor (OHL). 60. 174, Dec. 20, 1973, 63-29-61-90-59;5. Brandon Convery. C. Sudbury (OHL), 6-1.180. Feb. 4, 1974, 44-40-2666-44.6. Ryan Sittler, LW. Nichols H.S. (N.Y.), 6-1, 180, Jan. 28. 1974, N/A; 7. Paul Brousseau, RW, Hull (Quebec League), 6-2, 212. Sept. 18.1973, 57-3561-96-54; 8. Curtis Bowen, LW. Ottawa (OHL), 6-1, 189. March 24.1974,65-3145-76-94; 9. Brent Tully. D, Peterborough (OHL), 6-3, 184, March 26. 1974. 65-9-23-32-65; 10. Joe Hulbig, LW, St. Sebastians. 6-3.212. Sept. 29.1973.11. David Wilkie, D, Kamloops (WHL), 6-2. 202. May 30, 1974. 71-1228-40-153; 12. Grant Marshall. RW. Ottawa (OHL), 6-1, 185. June 9. 1973, 61-32-51-83-132; 13. Dean Melanson. D. St-Hyacinthe (QMJHL). 6-0. 211, Nov. 19. 1973. 42-8-19-27-158; 14. Jeff Shantz, C. Regina (WHL). 6-1,184. Oct 10, 1973, 72-39-50-89-75; 15. Jason Bowen, LW/D. Tri-City (WHL). 6-2, 210. Nov. 11. 1973. 19-5-3-8-135.16. Jason McBain. D, Portland (WHL), 6-2. 178, April 12, 1974. 67-924-33-107; 17. Todd Klassen. D/RW. Tri-City (WHL), 6-0, 204. April 17, 1974, 69-23-42-65-60; 18. Patrick Traverse. D, Shawinigan (QMJHL). 6-4, 173. March 14. 1974. 59-3-11-14-12; 19. Jason Smith. D. Regina (WHL), 6-3, 183. Nov. 2. 1973. 62-9-29-38-168; 20. Marc Hussey. D. Moose Jaw (WHL). 64.182. Jan. 22, 1974.72-7-27-34-203.21. Keli Corpse. C. Kingston (OHL), 5-11. 176, May 14, 1974, 65-31-52-8320, 22; 22. Chad Penney. LW, North Bav (OHL), 6-0. 196. Sept. 18. 1973.5725-27-52-90; 23. Andy MacIntyre, LW, Saskatoon (WHL). 6-2, 190. April 16, 1974, 67-28-15-43-84; 24. Tuomas Gronman. D, Tacoma (WHL). 6-2. 190, March 22,1974,61-5-18-23-102. &#9632;

Spits’ shooting star Warriner earns No. 1 billing for draft

If all of Canada&rsquo;s international hockey victories came this easily there would be no need to wonder which is the world&rsquo;s dominant country at the sport.The Canadian national women&rsquo;s team went undefeated in capturing its second consecutive Women&rsquo;s World Championship. The gold medal was won in an 8-0 victory over the United States April 26 in Tampere, Finland.After cruising through the opening round, Canada was expected to face a stiff challenge from the Americans. Goaltender Manon Rheaume of Lac-Beauport, Que., stopped 21 shots and tournament most valuable player Nancy Drolet of Drummondville, Que., scored three goals in the easy win.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t give the U.S. team any opportunities to get in the game,&rdquo; said Canada coach Rick Polutnik.Angela James of Toronto scored twice in the final and Andria Hunter of Toronto, Margot Verlaan of Kitchener, Ont., and Danielle Goyette of Ste-Foy, Que., scored one each.Included in the crowd of 1,521 which watched the final game were two members of the International Olympic Committee.The International Ice Hockey Federation has proposed women&rsquo;s hockey be included in the 1998 Winter Olympics and the two IOC delegates were on hand to study the possibility of that happening.Gilbert Felli, the IOC&rsquo;s program director and Pirjo Haggman, a Finnish IOC representative, have asked the IIHF to provide them with information on the worldwide popularity of women&rsquo;s hockey.Finland won the bronze medal with a 5-4 win over Sweden. Finland tied the game with 32 seconds left in the third period and with the score still tied after a 10-minute overtime, the game was decided on penalty shots.Annica Ahlen of Sweden was named best goaltender, Geraldine Heaney of Canada was chosen best defenseman and Cammi Granato of the U.S. was picked best forward.-Elizabeth Etue &#9632;

Canada conquers world

<div class="byline">By Stan Flschler</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011728/6601542-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Buffalo Sabre defenseman Petr Svoboda worried himself right out of Montreal, says former Canadiens&rsquo; coach Jean Perron.</figcaption></div>The influence of player agents in helping to settle the NHL strike is becoming more evident by the week. Bluelines has learned two different general managers were phoned days before the agreement was announced and in each case the agent informed that his players were ready to return to their teams. In both cases, the managers suggested a lay-low policy pending the outcome of talks. Although he vehemently denies the story, John Davidson also is reported to have been a catalyst in the settlement, having been in contact with all parties from John Ziegler to Bob Goodenow, to pivotal players such as Wayne Gretzky...New York Ranger Randy Gilhen didn&rsquo;t win any friends among ex-teammates when he said the Pittsburgh Penguin players &ldquo;don&rsquo;t like to get hit.&rdquo; Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Phil Bourque disagrees. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not his hitting we&rsquo;re worried about,&rdquo; Bourque said, &ldquo;it&rsquo;s his breath.&rdquo;<h2>Replay nightmare</h2>A scenario feared by the league would be a controversial play around the net in overtime of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals in which the referee assumes no goal is scored. On the return play, a goal would end the game and players would leave the ice only for the video goal judge to then rule that the original play was a goal. &ldquo;We have nightmares about it,&rdquo; allows NHL hockey operations vicepresident Jim Gregory. &ldquo;If two goals are scored on a play, we&rsquo;ve got to call the second one back and allow the first one.&rdquo;&hellip;Whalers&rsquo; watchers insist Hartford players were among those most prepared not to return from the strike.<h2>Petr paranoia</h2>Petr Svoboda&rsquo;s former coach, Jean Perron, says the reason the Montreal Canadiens unloaded him to Buffalo was because coach Pat Burns was tired of seeing Svoboda unhappy. &ldquo;Petr is a deeply insecure guy,&rdquo; Perron says, &ldquo;who worried about everything; taxes, the public, his ice time, the way he was used on the power play. It&rsquo;s not surprising that he had to heal a stomach ulcer. It&rsquo;s not surprising that one day Larry Robinson, who had taken him under his wing, came up to me and said, &lsquo;Coach, I can&rsquo;t take it any more. I need a break.&rsquo; &ldquo;&hellip;In the fall, Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; boss Steve Stavro was said to be ready to axe Cliff Fletcher if the Leafs missed the playoffs but now a major Maple Leaf Gardens stockholder tells Bluelines, &ldquo;Stavro can&rsquo;t afford to drop him.&rdquo;&hellip;Because of the anticipated influx of more Russian players next season, several NHL clubs are contemplating full-time employment of a Russian-speaking assistant coach who would bridge the communications gap now existing on several teams with former Soviet stars on their rosters.<h2>Hands down</h2>Brian Engblom, who has gone from NHL defense to broadcasting, offers an interesting analysis of Jari Kurri&rsquo;s decline as an offensive force. &ldquo;A big part of his game has been one-timing the puck,&rdquo; Engblom says. &ldquo;He can&rsquo;t seem to do that as often anymore. Maybe he&rsquo;s like a golfer, maybe he has changed his stroke but when he gets all of the wood on it, he&rsquo;s wide, or when he&rsquo;s on the net, he&rsquo;s not shooting as hard as he used to. They say that with the great goalscorers, the hands are the first to go.&rdquo;<h2>Tokyo Gawden?</h2>Once again Japanese bankrollers may be coming to the NHL&rsquo;s aid. Tokyo Trust, one of the largest banks in Japan, is being asked to approve a $120-million loan to build the new Boston Garden. Bank officials visited Boston for a late-March meeting with Bruins&rsquo; ownership, including board chairman Jeremy Jacobs. Among the topics discussed were the selling of prime seats and luxury boxes, which are regarded as pivotal to the project. Word on approval by the Tokyo bank is expected early in May&hellip;If any high-priced player is virtually guaranteed an off-season move it&rsquo;s Pat Verbeek. The Whalers have had it with his outbursts and aren&rsquo;t too crazy about his declining production (just 22 goals this season). &#9632;

f0006-01

Player agents had big hand in getting NHL strike settled

A weekly compendium of significant events and developments.April 22: St. Louis Blues take 2-1 series lead as right winger Brett Hull scores in double overtime in 5-4 win over Chicago Blackhawks.April 23: Tampa Bay Lightning name Terry Crisp head coach.Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; center Mario Lemieux records three goals and three assists in 6-4 win over Washington Capitals. Washington leads series 2-1.April 25: Washington right winger Dino Ciccarelli scores four goals in 7-2 win over Pittsburgh. Washington leads series 3-1.April 26: Canada defeats United States 8-0 to win Women&rsquo;s World Championships in Tampere, Finland. It is Canada&rsquo;s second straight title.Lac St-Louis Lions defeat Thunder Bay Kings 6-1 to capture Air Canada Cup national midget championship. &#9632;

THE WEEK IN HOCKEY: APRIL 20-26

<div class="byline">By Stan Flschler</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021175/6601604-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="374" height="470"></div>The saga of the Tampa Bay Lightning can be summed up with a simple tale of tardiness.A year ago, a ground-breaking ceremony for the Tampa Coliseum was held and not a shovelful of construction work has been done since.You should know up front that the Coliseum will be the Taj Mahal of hockey rinks. Tampa residents will tell you Ottawa&rsquo;s Palladium will look like a hut and San Jose&rsquo;s rink a mere hovel by comparison.That is, if the Coliseum is ever built, which may be never.What they have in Tampa is one of two things-either a potential hockey bonanza or the biggest franchise screw-up since the Kansas City Scouts.For the pessimistic view, we go to Lakeland Ledger columnist Patrick Zier who openly warns, &ldquo;There is nothing happening to indicate the Lightning will ever take the ice.&rdquo;If he&rsquo;s right, the ramifications are great. The NHL has much at stake in Florida. For starters, there&rsquo;s prestige. The National Basketball Association went into Florida (Orlando and Miami) and instantly created two money machines. For the NHL to go belly-up in Tampa would not be good.If the Lightning short circuits, it could also pull the plug on any further southern exposure. Just what are the chances of that happening?Optimists note there&rsquo;s a general staff in place, starting with the managerial Gold Dust twins, Phil and Tony Esposito. They have a scouting crew, a publicist, a local TV deal, a coach and even a temporary rink.But the Lightning is wanting in two critical areas: a genuine NHL-size arena and hordes of people to put in the building. At latest count, 3,000 season tickets had been sold.The arena issue is even more sticky. Without a coliseum, the Lightning will play in Tampa Fairgrounds Expo Hall, which holds 10,400 and wasn&rsquo;t meant for hockey.Such happenings have created skeptics like Zier, who says, &ldquo;From the very beginning, this team has given off the odor of a total con job. It has talked a lot and blown a lot of smoke but when you clear that away, you find nothing tangible has been accomplished.&rdquo;Such negativism causes enormous grieving in the house of Tampa lawyer Mike Horan. Long before any NHL types came south, Horan was commissioner of the Horida Amateur League. Horan began pushing Tampa for the NHL when northerners thought the city was only good for cigar-making.Horan doesn&rsquo;t buy Zier&rsquo;s pessimism nor my cynicism. He believes NHL hockey will grow in Tampa faster than a palm tree.&ldquo;The doomsayers are focusing too much on short-term problems and are ignoring the long-term potential of the sports-hungry Tampa Bay market,&rdquo; Horan insists. &ldquo;The biggest fallacy is the Lightning&rsquo;s success is dependent on immediate construction of the Coliseum. The Fairgrounds is an adequate temporary facility.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03731/6601597-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="550" height="690"><figcaption class="caption-body">Phil Esposito</figcaption></div>David LeFevre, the New York lawyer who doubles as Lightning representative on the NHL board of governors, says not to worry. The way LeFevre sees it, the worst is over.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve suffered through a Gulf War, a recession and even the NHL&rsquo;s first strike,&rdquo; says LeFevre. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had everything but a famine. Maybe we should stockpile some food.&rdquo;Well, David, you&rsquo;d better get that Coliseum deal fixed. On March 9, Tampa mayor Sandy Freedman set an April 10 deadline for the Lightning and Tampa Coliseum Inc., to sign a lease agreement for the not-yet-built Coliseum, The deadline arrived and, whaddyaknow, it went with no lease having been signed.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re working on it,&rdquo; LeFevre assures everyone, &ldquo;but it&rsquo;s a difficult process.&rdquo;The Lightning debut in October but skeptics like Zier don&rsquo;t believe the club will skate. Me, I want to be optimistic but it ain&rsquo;t easy.We&rsquo;re talking about an American team bankrolled by a Japanese group whose No. 1 son is a chap named Yoshio Nakamura who, I&rsquo;m told, can&rsquo;t string two English sentences together without an evening&rsquo;s worth of practice. Is this man not perfect for the NHL? &#9632;

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‘Espo’ Hall latest snag in Lightning tale of woe

<div class="byline">By Mike Beamish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011570/6601635-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="372" height="472"></div>You may notice his mop of tousled, unkempt hair first or his boyish face, framed by a day&rsquo;s growth of stubble. Or maybe you&rsquo;ll remember his creased and dishevelled clothes, giving Mike Smith the perpetual look of having come right off the Red Eye from somewhere.There is little about the 46-year-old general manager of the Winnipeg Jets which gives you an idea of what he does for a living.Smith doesn&rsquo;t wear a trademark bow tie like Bill Torrey or deck himself in natty attire like Glen Sather. He doesn&rsquo;t smoke expensive stogies like Pat Quinn, Serge Savard or Rogie Vachon or throw temper tantrums in the press box like Ron Caron.In fact, Mike Smith is rarely seen in press boxes, at practice and makes infrequent visits to the dressing room.He is a renegade and a gadfly in a profession which frowns on unconvention. But Smith has always been beyond the ken of his kind. He is looked on by hockey people with bemused perplexity.He collects 20th century paintings and sculptures by native North American artists. He has authored six books and published the English-language version of Igor Larionov&rsquo;s biography. And he has a doctorate in Russian studies from Syracuse University, a masters in social science and a bachelor of science degree.Smith has hired a Soviet journalist to work in his communications department, once placed a Finn on his coaching staff, set up an exchange program with the Ukrainian club Sokol Kiev, drafted eight players from the former Soviet Union and predicted there will be 100 Russians playing in the NHL within five years.In short, he represents everything Don Cherry detests.Yet, when Smith went looking for a coach last year, he chose a Manitoba farm boy, John Paddock, a two-time American League coach of the year who preaches old-fashioned values and has done more with less product than any coach this season.While no other hockey executive is more eclectic and circumspect than Smith, his background hardly fits that of a pointy-headed academic.Smith served a 10-year apprenticeship under the cigarchomping, impulsive, sometimes explosive John Ferguson, starting as an assistant coach with Ferguson&rsquo;s New York Rangers in 1976-77, before taking over the big job from Fergie with the Jets in November, 1988.In between, Smith was coach of the Jets&rsquo; Central League farm club in Tulsa and coached the NHL club briefly in 1980-81. Later, as Jets&rsquo; director of recruiting, Smith spent about 200 days a year on the road beating the bushes and backwaters of North America and Europe for talents such as Freddie Olausson, Teppo Numminen and Pat Elynuik.Smith, who maintains residences throughout North America from Winnipeg to Santa Fe to Martha&rsquo;s Vineyard, can never be accused of standing still or standing pat for long.Since replacing Ferguson he has made 43 trades in 40 months.Granted, most of the dealings have involved players of mediocre, third and fourth-line status-the ilk of Paul Fenton, Dave McLlwain, Randy Cunneyworth, Greg Paslawski, Phil Sykes, Paul MacDermid, Doug Evans and, of course, Brent Ashton.&ldquo;I never talk trade-never,&rdquo; Smith says. &ldquo;I never go fishing, I never waste people&rsquo;s time and I don&rsquo;t insult their intelligence. I only talk trade when I want to make a trade.&rdquo;The result of his bartering is a fine support group of hard-working but colorless players. Some fans and commentators likened the Jets to the pre-Pavel Bure Vancouver Canucks. Though short on size and polish, the Jets are long on grit and determination, which is why they improved 18 points this year.Like the Canucks, the Jets could be an emerging power in the Division. Winnipeg&rsquo;s pool of prospects is considered exceptional but high risk-because it is dotted with many European draft picks. Nonetheless, the Jets have a chance to be a much improved team next year.&ldquo;We try to draft for talent and trade for the kind of players we need to play around the talent,&rdquo; Smith says.Chances are two of those top drafts-center Alexei Zhamnov of Moscow Dynamo, considered Europe&rsquo;s best player, and Finland&rsquo;s top right winger, Teemu Selanne-will be in Jet uniforms next season.&ldquo;Zhamnov and Selanne are bigtime players,&rdquo; Smith says. &ldquo;They&rsquo;ll give us an influx of talent and at least 50 more goals. I think we have the potential-if our young, talented players meet expectations-to be a significant factor in the race for the Stanley Cup in a couple of years.&rdquo;Even if Smith&rsquo;s acumen and instincts make Winnipeg a contender one day, it will be hard for some hockey people to picture him in any place but a university faculty lounge. &#9632;

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Winnipeg’s Mike Smith? Ordinary in name only

<div class="byline">By THN Staff</div>If you still doubt that parity has hit the NHL, simply consult this year&rsquo;s Campbell Conference playoffs.As was the case last season, every first-round series was guaranteed to last at least six games. That hadn&rsquo;t happened since 1987, when the NHL lengthened the division semifinal series from a best-of-five to best-of-seven format.<h2>Sunday April 26 Detroit 3, Minnesota 0</h2>It was an evening of firsts. Tim Chevaldae recorded his first career playoff shutout and Mike Sillinger scored his first playoff goal. Both were integral as the Red Wings staved off elimination.Chevaldae shook the flu bug to stop all 24 North Star shots. Sillinger&rsquo;s goal gave the Red Wings a 20 lead in the third period. The Red Wings&rsquo; held the North Stars&rsquo; power play scoreless in eight chances.Minnesota leads series 3-2.<h2>Chicago 6, St. Louis 4</h2>Chicago coach Mike Keenan benched his leading scorer in favor of more checkers and his team responded by scoring more goals than it had in any other game in the series.Jeremy Roenick watched most of the second period while his team outshot the Blues 19-0 and took a 4-3 lead. The Blackhawks added two goals in the third period.Chicago leads series 3-2.<h2>Vancouver 8, Winnipeg 2</h2>The Canucks equalled their offensive output of the first four games of the series and forced Rick Tabaracci to a full retreat after building up a 6-0 lead in the second period.The Canucks were led by Russians Pavel Bure (1-3-4) and Igor Larionov (0-3-3) as they set a team record for goals in a playoff game.Winnipeg leads series 3-2.<h2>Edmonton 5, Los Angeles 2</h2>Esa Tikkanen scored his first postseason goals to lead Edmonton to within one game of advancing to the Smythe Division final for the ninth time in the last 10 years.Tikkanen scored a hat trick, including the winning goal with 1:15 left in the game. Wayne Gretzky scored both goals for the Kings.Edmonton leads series 3-2.<h2>Friday April 24 Minnesota 5, Detroit 4</h2>Detroit&rsquo;s superior play and a hat trick by Ray Sheppard wasn&rsquo;t enough to overcome their shoddy goaltending as Minnesota put the Wings on the brink of elimination.The Red Wings outshot Minnesota 40-29 in the game but the North Starschased starting goalie Vince Riendeau from the nets after two periods.Minnesota leads series 3-1.<h2>Chicago 5, St. Louis 3</h2>The Blackhawks were shorthanded 10 times and gave up three powerplay goals but regained home ice advantage with the win.The teams went into the third period tied 3-3 but Brian Noonan scored his third goal of the series early in the third to give Chicago the lead.Series tied 2-2.<h2>Winnipeg 3, Vancouver 1</h2>The best defensive team in the Smythe Division over the regular season continued to stifle the Canucks, holding them to eight goals in the first four games of the series.Tabaracci again was a key for the Jets, stopping 30 shots. Thomas Steen scored the winner on the power play at the 37-second mark of the third period.Winnipeg leads series 3-1.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021057/6601666-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="557" height="956"><figcaption class="caption-body">Esa Tikkanen&rsquo;s hat trick in Game 5 gave the Oilers a lead.</figcaption></div><h2>Los Angeles 4, Edmonton 3</h2>Paul Coffey&rsquo;s two goals, his third and fourth of the series, put the Kings back in the game.Trailing 2-1 after two periods, the Kings got goals from the prolific defenseman 1:50 apart before left winger Luc Robitaille scored the winning goal 51 seconds later.Series tied 2-2.<h2>Wednesday April 22 Detroit 5, Minnesota 4 (OT)</h2>The Red Wings overcame two two-goal deficits and Yves Racine scored at 1:15 of overtime to give Detroit its first win in the series.Chevaldae was pulled after allowing four goals on 14 shots. Riendeau stopped all 11 shots he faced.Minnesota leads series 2-1.<h2>St. Louis 5, Chicago 4 (20T)</h2>The Chicago Blackhawks limited Brett Hull to one goal in 10 periods but Hull&rsquo;s second of the playoffs at 3:33 of the second overtime gave St. Louis the win. Rookie Nelson Emerson staked the Blues to a 2-0 lead with his first two career playoff goals.Keenan changed goalies Ed Belfour and Dominic Hasek four times during the game.St. Louis leads series 2-1.<h2>Winnipeg 4 Vancouver 2</h2>The Jets played their first home game since the 10-day player&rsquo;s strike and were inspired by an unusually raucous crowd. The Jets outskated the Canucks and built up a 4-0 lead.Winnipeg&rsquo;s Ed Olczyk skated in the pre-game warmup but missed the game with back spasms.Winnipeg leads series 2-1.<h2>Edmonton 4, Los Angeles 3</h2>Bemie Nicholls&rsquo; second goal of the game gave the Oilers a 4-3 lead and the victory.The Oilers scored on three of seven power plays and held the Kings scoreless in four attempts.Edmonton leads series 2-1.<h2>Monday April 20 Minnesota 4, Detroit 2</h2>The North Stars struck for two power-play goals and killed off five Detroit power plays as Minnesota won its second straight game at the Joe Louis Arena.The North Stars held a 3-1 lead after two periods despite being held to 14 shots. They finished the game with 20 shots on goal while the Wings had 30.Minnesota leads series 2-0.<h2>St. Louis 5, Chicago 3</h2>Hull got his first goal of the playoffs, a shorthanded effort, to tie the game 3-3 early in the second period and Jeff Brown gave the Blues the lead late in the period.Chris Chelios had two goals for the Hawks. Belfour was pulled after allowing four goals on seven shots.Series tied 1-1.<h2>Vancouver 3, Winnipeg 2</h2>Jyrki Lumme&rsquo;s goal at 8:47 of the third gave the Canucks their first playoff win. Lumme also assisted on Trevor Linden&rsquo;s second-period goal.Tabaracci, who led the team to victory in Game 1, stopped 38 shots.Series tied 1-1.<h2>Los Angeles 8, Edmonton 5</h2>Ex-Oilers Gretzky, Coffey, Marty, McSorley, Jari Kurri and Charlie Huddy combined for 14 points against their former team to even the series. Gretzky had four assists.Former L.A. King Nicholls had two goals and an assist for the Oilers.Series tied 1-1. &#9632;

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The Joy of Six

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div>The shadow dance is alive and well with the Edmonton Oilers.In Kelly Buchberger and Esa Tikkanen, the Edmonton Oilers have two of the best shadows. Tikkanen has long been worn by Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; superstar Wayne Gretzky like a hair shirt, close-fitting and irritating as heck. When Tikkanen went down with a broken left shoulder in January, the duty of pest went to Buchberger.Gretzky says it is not a difficult job to shadow anybody. And Kings&rsquo; coach Tom Webster goes further than that, saying it is a job that should not exist, that what it does to the game is almost &ldquo;sickening.&rdquo;After Buchberger waltzed Gretzky to a virtual standstill in Game 3, Webster said there should be rules to protect the game&rsquo;s greatest players, the ones who receive shadow treatment.And while Gretzky wasn&rsquo;t complaining, he did have one observation. &ldquo;You could call a penalty on every shift.&rdquo;After Tikkanen broke loose for his first three goals of the Smythe Division semifinal in Game 5, perhaps the Kings would prefer him just hanging around The Great One instead of looking for offensive chances too.&ldquo;Basically, I decided to shoot the puck more,&rdquo; Tikkanen said. &ldquo;I took a hit in the second game and the shoulder has been great ever since. I had a meeting with Ted Green and the coaches and they told me I have to shoot more. You can&rsquo;t score if you don&rsquo;t shoot.&rdquo;Tikkanen shot, scored, spent time shadowing Gretzky, killed some penalties and played the power play. It was easily Tikkanen&rsquo;s finest hour since his return from the shoulder surgery.NOTEBOOK: Playoff scratches: Josef Beranek and Petr Klima sat out Game 1, Martin Gelinas Game 5 Shaun Van Allen, Shjon Podein, Steve Rice, Scott Thornton. Dan Currie, Norm Foster, Francois Leroux and Brad Werenka sat out the first five games.<h2>EDMONTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Bemie Nicholls, Craig MacTavish, David Maley, Josef Beranek, Shjon Podein, Shaun Van Alien, Scott Thornton.LW&mdash;Vince Damphousse, Mark Lamb, Esa Tikkanen, Martin Gelinas.RW&mdash;Joe Murphy, Kelly Buchberger, Scott Mellan-by, Petr Klima, Dan Currie. Steve Rice.LD&mdash;Kevin Lowe. Dave Manson, Luke Richardson, Geoff Smith, Francois Leroux.RD&mdash;Norm Maciver, Greg Hawgood, Brian Glynn, Brad WerenkaG&mdash;Bill Ranford, Ron Tugnutt, Norm Foster<h3>INJURIES</h3>Craig Muni, D, tom ligament in right knee, indefinite. Craig Simpson, LW, bruised shoulder, day-to-day. Anatoli Semenov, C, bruised shoulder, day-to-day &#9632;

Kelly, Tik tag-team Gretzky

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div>There is usually a surprise scorer in every playoff series, a third-liner who sees less checking than his more accomplished teammates and often becomes more effective as a result.Right winger Jim Sandlak is that man this year for the Vancouver Canucks.Vancouver has waited a long time for Sandlak to blossom. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound winger was selected fourth overall in 1985 but never fulfilled the promise he displayed as a junior. A year ago, head coach Pat Quinn scratched Sandlak for the entire Los Angeles playoff series. His future in Vancouver looked bleak.But over the summer, Sandlak rededicated himself to the game and was a new man from the first day of training camp. He learned to control himself on the ice and became one of the most feared hitters in the Smythe Division.Although he missed 14 games due to injury, the 25-year-old Kitchener, Ont., native tied his career high for points in a season with 40. It was a modest total but a significant improvement on the 13 he had the previous year.In the first five games against the Jets in the Smythe Division semifinal, Sandlak was a force both in the hitting department and on the scoreboard. He led all Canuck goal-scorers with three. He also had just about every Jet looking over his shoulder when it came to fishing for a puck along the boards.Sandlak, whose nickname is &ldquo;House&rdquo; in deference to his size and prodigious appetite, recorded the most memorable bodycheck of the series in Game 5 when he rammed Jet winger Evgeny Davydov face first into an ice-level TV camera. Sandlak didn&rsquo;t receive a penalty on the play but the hapless cameraman was given the heave-ho by referee Andy van Hellemond for not getting out of the way. Davydov, meanwhile, wound up with blood pouring down his face from a cut over his left eye.&ldquo;I have to give Stan Smyl a lot of credit,&rdquo; said Sandlak, referring to his former captain and now an assistant coach with the Canucks.Smyl&rsquo;s advice for Sandlak was simple. Play within yourself. Don&rsquo;t run around looking for the big hit and take yourself out of position.WRATH OF GRAPES: What would a playoff series be without celebrity commentator Don Cherry picking on a European?Cherry targeted Russian Pavel Bure during the opening round, calling the Canuck a &ldquo;little flea&rdquo; before upgrading it to a &ldquo;little weasel.&rdquo;Reporters covering the series smelled a controversy and rushed to Bure for a comment on the comment.Asked if he knows who Cherry is, Bure replied: &ldquo;Yeah, I see him on TV. Rock &lsquo;em, sock &lsquo;em!&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Playoff scratches: Games 1 and 2-Dana Murzyn, Petr Nedved, Randy Gregg, Jim Agnew, Gino Odjick. Game 3-Nedved, Gregg, Agnew and Odjick. Game 4-Gregg, Odjick and Geoff Courtnall. Game 5-Agnew, Odjick, Valk and Murzyn.<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Cliff Ronning, Igor Larionov, Petr Nedved, Ryan WalterLW&mdash;Greg Adams, Sergio Momesso, Tom Fergus, Geoff Courtnall, Gino Odjick.RW&mdash;Jim Sandlak, Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure, Robert Kron, Jim Agnew.LD&mdash;Robert Dirk, Dave Babych, Randy Gregg.RD&mdash;Doug Lidster, Jyrki Lumme, Adrien Plavsic.G&mdash;Kirk McLean, Troy Gamble.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Garry Valk, LW, damaged rib cartilage, indefinite. Dana Murzyn. D, bruised left ankle, indefinite Gerald Dlduck, D, groin strain, day-to-day. &#9632;

Sandlak blossoming but he’s no delicate flower

Changing teams hasn&rsquo;t had an adverse effect on Chris Brown. He led both his teams in scoring.The 10-year-old resident of Winnipeg went from Assiniboia West to Heritage Victoria and went on to lead the latter squad with 19 goals and 60 points this season. Chris also helped Heritage Victoria win the division championship.The 4-foot-8, 63 pounder started playing hockey at the age of four in Germany, where his parents were posted with Canada&rsquo;s Armed Forces. He has played the last three seasons in Winnipeg.Chris is a Grade 5 student at Lakewood School and excels in math, physical education and French. He follows the Los Angeles Kings and Wayne Gretzky.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011609/6601769-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="571" height="900"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Brown</figcaption></div>You or someone you know can be a part of The Coca-Cola Minor Hockey Showcase. Just send a photograph (non-retumable), 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, attention: Player of the Week. 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont&hellip;M3B 2R2. All entries submitted will be eligible for selection as The Coca-Cola Minor Hockey Player of the Year. &#9632;

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Player of the Week

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div>Doug Risebrough faces a long summer of trying to sort out what went wrong with his team this season.His first order of business will be to find a full-time coach.The Calgary Flames&rsquo; general manager has set an unofficial deadline of June 20-the day of the NHL entry draft in Montreal-to determine who that will be.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of reason for that (deadline),&rdquo; Risebrough said. &ldquo;The coach has to have some input into personnel decisions and into the type of team he thinks he can win with. One of the pivotal times of change is around the entry draft.&rdquo;Risebrough won&rsquo;t comment on possible candidates but two are known: interim coach Guy Charron and Canadian national team general manager-coach Dave King.Risebrough may also wait to see if someone under contract to an NHL team, such as Chicago assistant Darryl Sutter, becomes available.Charron wants the job. He took over as Flames&rsquo; coach when Risebrough stepped down after an 11-0 loss to Vancouver in early March. That loss was the worst in franchise history.Charron slowly brought the Flames back from the dead. They finished with just one loss in their last seven games.When the Flames originally put Charron behind the bench, they were grooming him as Risebrough&rsquo;s replacement. But that may not be the plan now.&ldquo;It wouldn&rsquo;t be honest or fair for me to say I don&rsquo;t want the opportunity to coach this team,&rdquo; Charron said. &ldquo;When I first got into this game, I set a few goals for myself. One of the things I wanted to determine was whether I wanted to become a head coach. I thought if I was going to become a head coach, I would have to pay some dues. You&rsquo;ve got to believe you can fulfill that particular position before you take it. I had a couple of years in junior hockey, then five years with the national team. I&rsquo;ve now had a couple of years as an assistant coach.&ldquo;Now I feel that, yeah, I&rsquo;m ready to take that step.&rdquo;DECISIONS, DECISIONS: The Flames must also decide what to do with center Robert Reichel.Reichel has two years remaining on a four-year contract he signed in the summer of 1990 but has intimated he may play in Germany if he doesn&rsquo;t get more ice time in Calgary.The Czechoslovakian has a German passport, meaning he could play there and not count against their import quota, something that would make him extremely valuable to a team in the German League.The Flames faced a similar situation with Roger Johansson last season and gave in to his demands.With their dearth of young talent, however, they must fight harder to keep Reichel-if for no other reason than 20-year-old centers with great shooting skills represent attractive trade bait. He had 20 goals and 54 points in 77 games.Reichel says he will discuss his future with Doug Risebrough over the summer.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Gary Leeman will become a free agent with compensation this summer. Under the new compensation schedule, if Leeman signs with another team for less than $500,000, the compensation to the Flames will be only one first-round draft choice. &#9632;

Risebrough’s summer agenda to focus on securing new coach

<div class="byline">By Mike Weaver</div>The San Jose Sharks had the worst record in the NHL in their first season but they weren&rsquo;t measuring success by wins and losses.And based on the goals they set for themselves, their initial season was a success.&ldquo;We wanted to be competitive and I believe we accomplished that,&rdquo; Sharks&rsquo; coach George Kingston said. &ldquo;We said we were going to try to be successful with hard work, and not many of our players took nights off.&rdquo;Although the Sharks ended their first season with a record of 17-58-5, 17 of their losses came by one goal and 13 others were decided by two goals.&ldquo;We had a great bunch of guys who came out and worked hard,&rdquo; said rookie winger Pat Falloon, who had 25 goals and 34 assists in 79 games to lead the team in scoring. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to next season.&rdquo;The Sharks are looking forward to finding out how much difference a year of experience will make for the young players at the heart of the team&rsquo;s roster.That&rsquo;s especially true for a group of young defensemen who were baptized under fire this season.&ldquo;The rule of thumb in hockey is that you don&rsquo;t go into a season with a young defense,&rdquo; Kingston said. &ldquo;But I was really encouraged by the way our defense played. I think being thrown right into the fire is going to harden them faster.&rdquo;And perhaps show results down the road.&ldquo;If you just look at our record, you&rsquo;d think this was a long season,&rdquo; winger Perry Anderson said. &ldquo;But at the same time, it was an entertaining one. I think the management here has poured a strong foundation for the future. Hockey is back in the Bay Area, and it looks like it&rsquo;s going to stick this time.&rdquo;The ill-fated Oakland/Califomia Golden Seals lasted nine seasons-from 1967 to 1976-before moving to Cleveland where they became the Barons.HACKETT MVP: Goalie Jeff Hackett was named the most valuable player for the Sharks.Hackett played 42 games and was in goal for 11 of 17 victories. Despite playing for an expansion team that allowed more than four goals per game, Hackett finished with a goals-against average of 3.84. He allowed 148 goals on 1,366 shots for a save percentage of .892.&ldquo;He proved he can be a major contributor in our future,&rdquo; assistant general manager Dean Lombardi said. &ldquo;He kept us in a lot of games.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Link Gaetz, who suffered serious head injuries in an automobile accident April 2, was released from Mills Hospital in San Mateo, Calif., April 20 and has begun a summer-long physical rehabilitation program that will be overseen by Dr. Arthur Ting, a team physician who says Gaetz should be able to report to training camp in September.The Sharks sold out all 40 home games at the 10,888-seat Cow Palace during their debut NHL season. The Sharks will play at the Cow Palace again next season while construction is completed on their new arena in San Jose. The new building is expected to be opened in time for the 199394 season.Jeff Hackett and left winger David Bruce have played out the option year of their contracts and are eligible to become Group II free agents on July 1. The Sharks are working to get both players signed to new contracts, and neither has expressed any desire to leave the team. Players entering their option years next season are forwards Perry Anderson. Perry Berezan, Steve Bozek. Dean Evason. Paul Fenton. Brian Lawton, Jeff Odgers and Mike Sullivan, defensemen Gaetz, Jayson More and Neil Wilkinson and goalies Brian Hayward and Jarmo Myllys. &#9632;

Loss-filled year not a lost cause

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>Being hated isn&rsquo;t easy but Igor Ulanov has made it look that way.The 22-year-old Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; defenseman became something of a target and was making few friends on the Vancouver Canucks.&ldquo;You&rsquo;re never liked when you hit people,&rdquo; Jets&rsquo; coach John Paddock said. &ldquo;Our guys don&rsquo;t think a lot of (Jim) Sandlak, (Sergio) Momesso or Trevor (Linden). Some people don&rsquo;t hit because they&rsquo;re scared of what people might do to them.&rdquo;Ulanov&rsquo;s pleasure in hitting and his Russian birth certificate had even Canucks of soft style throwing their best elbows, sticks and fists at him.And Ulanov turned nasty when at least two Canucks tried to return some punishment. In Game 3, Ulanov speared Geoff Courtnall (five minutes and a game misconduct) as Courtnall was running at him and in Game 4 he put a cross-check into Linden&rsquo;s face as the two raced for a puck.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s clear that everybody wants to disturb me,&rdquo; Ulanov said. &ldquo;Once, they reached their goal and did that, Geoff Courtnall. Never again. These are very important games and my penalties could cost the team.&rdquo;But in the series, the more physical pressure, the better Ulanov played.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m only trying to protect myself,&rdquo; Ulanov said. &ldquo;I play this way because they force me to. I think they&rsquo;re trying to test me. I&rsquo;m just a rookie in the NHL and players want to put me in my place to be quiet, to be just a quiet little rookie. But I am not that kind of player. I&rsquo;m sorry but I can&rsquo;t do that.&rdquo;NO WORDS: Defenseman Phil Housley didn&rsquo;t react verbally to the critics after the first two games of the series, he just rained on their parade.Housley was cited for little offense and bailing out in the defensive zone after Game 2, and Vancouver forward Garry Valk, when asked why Housley would play like that, was quoted as saying: &ldquo;He is an American.&rdquo;But with 12 shots in two games, a goal and two assists, Housley was instrumental in Winnipeg&rsquo;s home victories in Games 3 and 4.&ldquo;What was said didn&rsquo;t bother me,&rdquo; Housley said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think a player can be judged in two games.&rdquo;About Valk&rsquo;s remark, Housley said &ldquo;I just toss that aside. It&rsquo;s one person&rsquo;s opinion. Stuff like that can&rsquo;t affect your game. I went through a drawn-out contract negotiation this year and it didn&rsquo;t affect my play.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: General manager Mike Smith is talking contract with agent Martin Heller, who&rsquo;s representing Russian center Alexei Zhamnov. Zhamnov was to play with the Commonwealth of Independent States at the World Championships.After 2,000 tickets went unsold for Game 3 against Vancouver, the Jets missed a team playoff attendance record by four when a crowd of 15,568 showed up for Game 4.Playoff scratches: Mario Marois Doug Evans, Danton Cole ant Stephane Beauregard (Games 1 tt 5), Shawn Cronin and Luciei Deblois (1 and 2). Luciano Borsatt (1, 2, 4 and 5), Mike Hartman ant Kris Draper (3, 4 and 5).<h2>WINNIPEG</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Thomas Steen, Troy Murray, Mike Eagles, Aaron Broten, Luciano Borsato, Kris Draper.LW&mdash;Evgeny Davydov, Darrin Shannon, Phil Sykes, Keith Tkachuk, Doug Evans.RW&mdash;Ed Olczyk, Pat Elynulk, Mike Hartman, Lucien Deblois, Danton Cole.LD&mdash;Mike Lalor, Randy Carlyle, Igor Ulanov, Shawn Cronin.RD&mdash;Phil Housley, Teppo Numminen, Fredrik Olausson, Mario Marois.G&mdash;Bob Essensa, Rick Tabaracci, Stephane Beauregard.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Bryan Erickson, RW, abdominal surgery, out for season; Dean Kennedy, D, left knee surgery, May 1. &#9632;

Newcomer Ulanov high on Canucks’ hit parade

<div class="byline">By Jason Kay</div>It was the $64,000 question during the strike: what harmful, long-lasting effects would the abor impasse have on the game?While we likely won&rsquo;t be able to each any conclusions until some time next season, the regular-season, post-strike and playoff attendance figures offer some interesting observations.Based on our figures-obtained through the teams and from THN summaries-league-wide regular-season attendance was up by just more than 10,000 over 1990-91. On the surface, taking the tough economic times into account, that seems like a positive indicator.However, through 30 homes games for each team this season, attendance was up by more than 77,000. That means attendance decreased by about 65,000 over the final quarter of the year. The dropoff can be attributed almost entirely to the strike.Thirteen of 21 teams (the expansion San Jose Sharks were not included in this survey because they didn&rsquo;t play in 1990-91) averaged fewer fans for their post-strike games than they averaged for the games played before the strike. For many of the 13, the dip was substantial and in several cases teams had their lowest turnout of the year after the players came back.Granted, this year didn&rsquo;t exactly offer many thrilling races to the wire. Even hard-core fans had a tough time getting up for the post-strike games. But the downward attendance trend has carried over into the playoffs.Six of the 16 playoff teams drew fewer fans per game to their first two post-season dates than they did during the regular season. And while most of the attention was focused on the Hartford Whalers-they had an announced crowd of 6,728 for their April 23 game against Montreal-there were other surprisingly small turnouts.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011567/6601886-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="559" height="1044"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Yzerman&rsquo;s Red Wings led the league in total attendance.</figcaption></div>In Boston, for example, the Bruins averaged 12,789 for their first two games against Buffalo in the Adams Division semifinal. That&rsquo;s about 1,500 fewer than the Bruins averaged during the regular season.The Sabres, meanwhile, had just 14,207 in attendance for their first home game against Boston, 1,000 fewer than their regular-season average.Even the Montreal Canadiens didn&rsquo;t sell out their first two games against the Whalers in the Adams Division semifinal.What else do the figures tell us?&#9633; Fourteen teams saw their regular-season attendance decrease, while seven teams experienced an increase.&#9633; The Detroit Red Wings led in attendance for the second year in a row with a total of 788,920 (19,723 average). That was the highest figure in franchise history. The New York Islanders had the lowest total in the league for the second straight year at 401,554 (10,038 average).&#9633; The Minnesota North Stars had the biggest jump over the previous season, attracting 225,000 more fans than in 1990-91. Take away their resurgence at the gate, and leaguewide attendance would have been down by more than 200,000.&#9633; The Islanders, as well as having the lowest attendance, also earned the dubious distinction of having the biggest drop over last year (79,954).It&rsquo;s too early to tell what effect the 10-day strike will have. Major League Baseball and the National Football League experienced backlashes immediately following their strikes and both are thriving now.It remains to be seen whether the NHL will experience the same longterm resurgence.<h2>FIRST TO WORST</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021266/6601879-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="546" height="1054"></div><h2>MOVERS AND SHAKERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03828/6601872-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="1155" height="1046"></div> &#9632;

f0012-01

The Days After

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04482/6601917-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="370" height="469"></div>First off, let&rsquo;s get one thing straight. Although I think it would be best for the NHL if the Whalers left Hartford, this is not meant to be an exercise in bashing the city of Hartford.The place has been through enough, what with the recession hitting there as hard as anywhere. When the local economy is in the dumpster like it is in Connecticut, the last item on your list of priorities is the fortunes of the local hockey team.So, this is not a free-for-all aimed at the people of Hartford, whom critics contend embarrassed the Whalers and the NHL when 5,602 showed up at the Civic Center for a first-round playoff game against the Montreal Canadiens.Heck, the Canadiens could have probably scheduled a prime-time practice at the Montreal Forum and attracted more fans.But nowhere is it written that a citizen has a civic responsibility to support a pro sports team. You get no tax breaks for going to the games and there is no asterisk next to your name on the voting lists commending you for your support.The bottom line with the Hartford Whalers is that the club has screwed things up for so long the public has every right to be wary. And if you look at all the pluses and minuses, you ought to come to the conclusion that if the Whalers&rsquo; management has a chance to move the club, the NHL should be encouraging bids from other cities.For more than a few years the whispers have been heard the Whalers were headed for Miami, or Milwaukee; Seattle or Atlanta; Dallas or Orange County. Those whispers grew louder this season when the club&rsquo;s ownership hit upon hard times (it has since been solidified under Richard Gordon), and there was all sorts of speculation one of those cities in which investors did not want to get stuck up with the $50-million expansion fee would look for a bargain in the Whalers.Over the years, the NHL has implemented a commendable philosophy of pulling out all the stops in order to keep a franchise in place. It worked with St. Louis and Minnesota but it doesn&rsquo;t make much sense to pull out all the stops to keep the Whalers in Hartford.The sad part of the situation is the people of Hartford deserve better. Since the Whalers entered the NHL in 1979, their fans have been relatively strong in their support. But the key word here is &ldquo;relatively.&rdquo;Unfortunately, Hartford is the American city which comes closest to living out the adage &ldquo;between a rock and a hard place.&rdquo; It is sort of halfway between a hard place called New York-which has the Rangers, Islanders and New Jersey Devils-and a rock of a franchise in Boston with the Bruins.Despite their geographic disadvantage the Whalers have played to about 80 per cent of capacity since moving to the Civic Center in 1980. That number peaked at an average of 14,574 in 1986-87 (the season after they won their only playoff series), but has fallen steadily in every season since.The sad part is that the fans were there and ready to be romanced. The city even threw a parade for a team which lost a division final playoff series to Montreal in 1986.Since then the Whalers have turned back into a faceless entity. They are never really horrible but neither are they anything to get excited about.Thanks to the Quebec Nordiques, they always get their playoff invitation but this spring the Whalers&rsquo; fans made a statement when they refused to get excited about the first-round series with the Habs.It is simply a matter of having seen this all before, why go through the motions? Sure, a victory over the Canadiens would spark some interest, and then maybe there would even be sellouts for a possible division final against the arch-rival Bruins. But who&rsquo;s fooling whom?The Hartford Whalers might have used the name &ldquo;New England&rdquo; Whalers in a previous life but New England belongs to the Bruins. A look at the number of Bruin jerseys at the Civic Center when Boston comes to town is all the proof you need.At one time, it might have made sense to protect the Whales. At one time, it looked like a very nice success story could be written in Hartford, a small market which would embrace a club and make it healthy.But times have changed. The NHL came clean with some sorry looking financial sheets during the recent negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, and you&rsquo;ve got to wonder if it makes any sense to continue to struggle in Hartford.Make no mistake, it&rsquo;s much more the team&rsquo;s fault than lack of support from the city but the time might be at hand to urge the Whalers to leave their little pond. Under the present economic conditions, bigger is better. &#9632;

f0012-04

Whalers have worn out Hartford welcome

<div class="byline">By Dave Sell</div>The Washington Capitals have found a slew of new players to score goals for them on a consistent basis this season. But none of them do it with the excitement generated by Dino Ciccarelli.The veteran right winger set a team playoff record by scoring four goals in a 7-2 victory over Pittsburgh in Game 4 of the Patrick Division semifinals April 25, helping the Caps take a 3-1 lead in the series.It was the fourth career playoff hat trick for Ciccarelli, who led the Capitals in goals this season with 38. Ciccarelli also had a goal in the Capitals&rsquo; 6-2 victory in Game 2 of the series.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s playoff time and I think it&rsquo;s Dino Ciccarelli&rsquo;s time of the year,&rdquo; coach Terry Murray said. &ldquo;He has come through for us in many different playoff games. Again, when you have to have a guy step forward and do a big job for you, Dino does it.&rdquo;Ciccarelli&rsquo;s scoring binge followed a game and off-day of verbal sparring with Penguins&rsquo; coach Scott Bowman. The two had yapped at each other during the teams&rsquo; final regular-season meeting April 15 and resumed it during the Penguins&rsquo; victory in Game 3.&ldquo;We were just talking about what he was going to do this summer,&rdquo; Ciccarelli said. &ldquo;It was just yapping back and forth. He started it in the last game of the season.&rdquo;Ciccarelli downplayed the squabbling with Bowman but teammates saw it as a positive sign.&ldquo;Yeah, he&rsquo;s excited,&rdquo; Don Beaupre said of Ciccarelli. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s so good about him. He has the emotion running more and when Dino&rsquo;s emotions are running, it&rsquo;s good to have him on the team.&rdquo;BURRIDGE SETBACK: Randy Burridge injured his left knee March 1 but resumed playing in the regular season&rsquo;s final game and then started the playoffs.But his comeback was sidetracked when he hyper-extended the same knee after being checked by Penguins&rsquo; defenseman Grant Jennings.Burridge, who was the team leader in points when he was first injured, was playing on a the top line with Michal Pivonka and Peter Bondra. So the new problem was discouraging.&ldquo;It certainly is,&rdquo; said Burridge, who wasn&rsquo;t sure when he would be able to return. &ldquo;I felt great and had the jump. I was on the line with Bondra and Pivonka and the line was playing really well. I felt good.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Jason Woolley was one of four Baltimore Skipjacks recalled at the end of the American League season. But Woolley was loaned to Team Canada for the World Championships in Czechoslovakia with the understanding that he could be recalled if needed. Playoff scratches: Tim Bergland. Nick Kypreos and Ken Sabourin sat out the first four games against the Penguins. Todd Krygier got into the lineup for Games 3 and 4, replacing injured Randy Burridge.<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 24: Jason Woolley, D, loaned to Team Canada.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mike Ridley, Dale Hunter, Michal Pivonka, Dave Tippett, Steve KonowalchukRW&mdash;Dino Ciccarelli, Paul MacDermid, Peter Bondra, Alan May, Tim Bergland, Keith Jones.LW&mdash;Kelly Miller, Dimitri Khrlstich, John Druce, Todd Krygier, Nick Kypreos.RO&mdash;AI latrate, Kevin Hatcher, Brad Schlegel.LD&mdash;Rod Langway, Calle Johansson. Sylvain Cote, Ken Sabourin.G&mdash;Don Beaupre, Jim Hrivnak, Byron Dafoe.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Randy Burridge, LW, hyper-extended left knee, day-to-day. Shawn Chambers D, left knee surgery, indefinite Mike Llut, G, herniated disc in back, indefinite. &#9632;

Ciccarelli talks a good game then backs it up

<div class="byline">By Frank Brown</div>Perhaps the New York Rangers would have won the game anyway. Even if they had not changed one player from last year&rsquo;s team, they might have survived their first crisis of the season.Still, it helped immeasurably to confront the problem with such people as Mark Messier, Jeff Beukeboom, Adam Graves and Randy Gilhen.The four were brought to New York to give the team the benefit of their talents, of course; but at least as important was the benefit of their playoff success.You don&rsquo;t know how important that will be until you really need it, and the Rangers needed it desperately when they fell behind 2-1 after three games to their cross-river rivals, the New Jersey Devils. The Rangers won Game 5 of the series 3-0 at the Meadowlands April 25.In the off-day between Games 3 and 4, the Rangers&rsquo; dressing room was a place of remarkable calm. There is an almost annual playoff panic in New York, and this would have seemed the perfect time for one. In this case, at least, the panic never was allowed to emerge.&ldquo;Everyone here has been in the same situation in a different league at some point in their careers,&rdquo; Messier said. &ldquo;Everybody can draw from past experience.&rdquo;But if that were enough, the Rangers would have done a lot more playoff winning over the past 50-odd years. It seemed unmistakable the Rangers&rsquo; four Cup veterans played essential roles in keeping the other players&rsquo; heads on straight.ROAD PALS: Goalie Mike Richter has won only two playoff road games in his career, and each has been by shutout. Right winger Paul Broten has scored only two playoff goals in his career, and each has come during one of Richter&rsquo;s road victories.Richter beat the Washington Capitals 6-0 in Landover, Md., in the third game of last season&rsquo;s first round disappointment, with Broten contributing a shorthanded score to the triumph. On April 25, Richter rebounded from a poor showing in Game 3 against the Devils and helped the Rangers tie the Devils with two victories each.Naturally, Broten clinched it with the 2-0 goal.NOTEBOOK: Playoff scratches: John Ogrodnick, Per Djoos and Normand Rochefort sat out the first four games of the Devils&rsquo; series. Tie Domi was scratched from the first three, then made his playoff debut when he replaced Joe Kocur (charley horse) in Game 4. Doug Weight was scratched from the first three, then took the place of Darren Turcotte (sprained wrist).<h2>N.Y. RANGERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mark Messier, Sergei Nemchinov, Randy Gilhen, Doug Weight.LW&mdash;Adam Graves, Kris King, Jan Erixon, Tim Kerr, John Ogrodnick.RW&mdash;Mike Gartner, Tony Amonte, Paul Broten, Tie Domi.LD&mdash;Brian Leetch, Mark Hardy, Jay Wells, Normand Rochefort.RD&mdash;James Patrick, Jeff Beukeboom, Joe Cirella, Per Djoos.G&mdash;Mike Richter, John Vanbies-brouck.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Joe Kocur, RW, Charley horse, day-to-day. Darren Turcotte, C, sprained wrist, day-to-day. &#9632;

Experienced Cup graduates teach teammates art of calm

<div class="byline">By Mark Herrmann</div>Precedent and patterns took a beating during the New York Islanders&rsquo; season. Old habits, in fact, took it on the chin more than the Islanders did.That was a sign that a franchise known for keeping the status quo underwent long-overdue changes. In some cases, they were growing pains more than positive turns.Either way, the season did provide more than the usual share of firsts, including:&#9633; First time the Islanders missed the playoffs without finishing last in their division-they were fifth in the Patrick.&#9633; First back-to-back non-playoff seasons since the franchise&rsquo;s first two seasons.&#9633; First Islanders inducted to the Hall of Fame-Denis Potvin and Mike Bossy became the first teammates enshrined together. Theirs became the first Islander numbers-5 and 22, respectively-retired and raised to the rafters at Nassau Coliseum.&#9633; First coach to reach 1,438 games-Al Arbour set an NHL record.&#9633; First trade of an Islander captain-Brent Sutter was dispatched Oct. 25. Pat LaFontaine was also traded in the Islanders&rsquo; first 11-player transaction day in franchise history&#9633; First sports ownership experience for four Long Island businessmen. and Islander season ticketholders, who bought a controlling interest from John O. Pickett. They became the first owners to be approved by a league during a players&rsquo; strike (April 6).&#9633; First 19-point improvement over the previous season since 1980-81, their second Stanley Cup year.&#9633; First 40-goal season for Derek King, who never even had 20 before.&#9633; First 30-goal season for center Benoit Hogue.&#9633; First trio of 40-goal scorers since 1984-85, first quintet of 30-goal scorers since 1980-81.&#9633; First time in recent memory, and possibly in NHL history, that a team with three 40-goal scorers missed the playoffs.&#9633; First black player in team history, Graeme Townshend.&#9633; First serious negotiations with a player from the former Soviet Union. Talks are ongoing with standout defenseman Vladimir Malakhov.&#9633; First absence of an entire defensive corps at one time&mdash;Uwe Krupp, Jeff Norton, Joe Reekie, Wayne McBean, Gary Nylund and Rick Green were all out of the lineup simultaneously with injuries in February. The team still managed to close within a point of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins by the end of the month.&#9633; First trade of a player to his fourth division in the same season-Dave McLlwain finished in the Norris when the Islanders sent him to Toronto, his fourth team of the season, just before the trading deadline.&#9633; First shutout since 1990-Glenn Healy stopped New Jersey 7-0 in the season finale April 15.&#9633; First impressions were favorable-defenseman Scott Lachance arrived directly from the U.S. Olympic team and built a plus-13 record in 17 games. Olympic teammate Marty McInnis also showed promise, collecting eight points in 15 games.&#9633; First time in several years Islander players left for summer vacation with sincere enthusiasm for next season.NOTEBOOK: Ray Ferraro, Derek King and Steve Thomas left right after the season to play for Team Canada in the World Championships. Dennis Vaske will play for Team USA. David Volek was somewhat disappointed that Czechoslovakia did not invite him to compete in the tournament it is hosting (in Prague and Bratislava). He believes he was snubbed because he declined to play in the Canada Cup. &#9632;

Season of firsts on Island

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div>The Pittsburgh Penguins started the playoffs dreaming of another Stanley Cup. Less than a week later, their objective was nothing more than to stay alive for another day.The Washington Capitals consistently outplayed them during the first four games of the series and ran up a 3-1 advantage.There was plenty of blame to go around for the Penguins&rsquo; feeble showing, and plenty of candidates to shoulder a share of it.With the striking exception of Mario Lemieux who, after missing Game 1 with a bruised right shoulder, ran off four goals and five assists in the next three games, Pittsburgh&rsquo;s most powerful offensive weapons were quiet during the first four games against Washington.Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis were the only other Penguins who had three points entering Game 5. Joe Mullen, Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet-who missed Game 3 with a bruised right shoulder-had two points each. Larry Murphy had one.Pittsburgh led the NHL with 343 goals during the regular season but Lemieux was the only Penguin who managed to get more than one goal in the first four games.Stevens, who led the playoffs with 17 goals last spring and rolled up 54 more this season, was particularly frustrated.He had 18 shots in the first four games, tying Lemieux for the team lead, but was able to get only one puck past Washington goalie Don Beaupre.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011443/6602020-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="703" height="1093"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Stevens scored on just one of his first 18 post-season shots on goal.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting chances,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;I should have had three goals in the second game, but I missed them. I&rsquo;m just not putting the puck in the net like I was before.&rdquo;Stevens was in a terrific groove before the 10day strike in early April but seemed to lose his touch during the layoff.&ldquo;It screwed me up a little bit, but I don&rsquo;t think you can blame that,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;I think everybody was off a little bit. But I would have liked to have played right through, because I like to skate every day. I don&rsquo;t like to take time off during the year.&rdquo;BOWMAN RECORD: Pittsburgh&rsquo;s 6-4 victory in Game 3 against the Capitals was the 115th of Scott Bowman&rsquo;s career, making him the winningest coach in NHL playoff history.He had been tied with Al Arbour of the New York Islanders at 114.Bowman got another piece of the record book in Game 4 against the Capitals. That was his 190th game behind the bench during the playoffs, tying Dick Irvin&rsquo;s record of 190.He also was trying to make a little informal history. Before this season. Bowman&rsquo;s teams had faced a 2-0 deficit in 17 series, and had not won any of them.NOTEBOOK: Rick Tocchet expected Washington to target his injured shoulder for special abuse when he returned to the lineup, if only because he would take the same approach against an injured opponent. &ldquo;If a guy had a bad shoulder, I&rsquo;d probably hit him,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way it is.&rdquo;Center Bryan Trottier became the second player to appear in 200 career playoff games when he hit that plateau in Game 2. Trottier trails Los Angeles defenseman Larry Robinson on the all-time list.Defenseman Bryan Fogarty, whom the Penguins acquired from Quebec just before the March 10 trading deadline, left their Muskegon farm team and entered an unidentified rehabilitation after another relapse in his ongoing battle with alcohol abuse.Playoff scratches: Shawn McEachern, Jeff Chychrun and Wendell Young all sat out the first four games against Washington. Defenseman Jim Paek returned to the lineup for Games 3 and 4, replacing Gord Roberts.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier, Jiri Hrdina.LW&mdash;Kevin Stevens, Bob Errey, Troy Loney, Phil Bourque. Shawn McEachern.RW&mdash;Rick Tocchet, Joe Mullen, Jaromir Jagr, Jay Canfield.LD&mdash;Ulf Samuelsson, Jim Paek, Grant Jennings, Gord Roberts.RD&mdash;Larry Murphy, Jeff Chychrun, Paul Stanton.G&mdash;Tom Barrasso, Ken Wregget, Wendell Young.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Peter Tagllanetti, D, back surgery, indefinite. KJell Samuelsson, D, jammed wrist, day-to-day. &#9632;

f0015-01

NHL’s most prolific offense goes into hiding

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div>The images linger: Toronto&rsquo;s Wendel Clark pummeling a stunned Viacheslav Fetisov during a regular-season game and Washington&rsquo;s Dale Hunter elbowing and hitting Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov into non-factors in the 1990 playoffs.It took some time for Fetisov to learn the ground rules but the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; 34-year-old Russian defenseman discovered in the Patrick Division semifinals against the New York Rangers that it is better to deliver punishing hits than to absorb them.Fetisov went out of his way to hit opponents such as Joey Kocur, Adam Graves and Mark Messier in the series that stood even at two games each. He also resented suggestions prior to the playoffs he needs protection to be effective.&ldquo;Maybe it pushed me to be more aggressive,&rdquo; Fetisov said. &ldquo;Checking is part of hockey, especially for a defenseman.&ldquo;You see football games and the quarterback gets run. It doesn&rsquo;t mean he is afraid. Back with the Soviet teams, we&rsquo;d take hits to make a pass to the forwards. Somebody was always taking a run at me. It looks like I&rsquo;m not ready but I would&rsquo;ve been gone a long time ago if I wasn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;Actually, Fetisov was regarded as one of the most physical Russian defensemen in international play. He showed Kocur why with a check into the boards in Game 3 and stood Messier up at the blue line in the same game.&ldquo;He wants to win,&rdquo; coach Tom McVie said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not doing anything illegal, just taking the man.&rdquo;STICKY SITUATION: Although Claude Lemieux played his usual antagonistic style in shadowing Mark Messier, it was the Rangers&rsquo; captain who used his stick on Lemieux on several occasions out of frustration.The Devils complained when Messier speared Lemieux in the ribs in Game 2, but MSG-Network said it did not have a video of the incident even though one camera was assigned to isolate the Lemieux-Messier matchup.Messier used his stick on Lemieux again in Game 4 and pulled Lemieux&rsquo;s helmet off with a headlock in the same game.NOTEBOOK: Rookie right winger Bill Guerin scored a goal in his first Stanley Cup game April 19.Playoff scratches: Doug Brown, Troy Mallette and Tommy Albelin were all scratched from the lineup for the first four games of the series with the Rangers.<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Peter Stastny, Kevin Todd. Laurie Boschman, Alexander Semak, Jarrod Skalde. Janne Ojanen.LW&mdash;Claude Vilgrain. Valeri Zelepukin, Pat Conacher, Zdeno Ciger, Tom Chorske.RW&mdash;Claude Lemieux, Randy McKay, Stephane Richer, Bill Guerin, Doug Brown, Troy Mallette.LD&mdash;Scott Stevens, Bruce Driver. Viacheslav Fetisov, Tommy Albelin, Myles O&rsquo;Connor.RD&mdash;Alexei Kasatonov, Eric Weinrich, Ken Daneyko.G&mdash;Chris Terreri, Martin Brodeur, Chad Erickson.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dave Barr, C, right wrist surgery, out for season. Craig Billington, G, right knee surgery, indefinite. John MacLean, RW. right knee surgery, Indefinite. Patrik Sundstrom, C, strained left thigh, indefinite. &#9632;

Fetisov takes on all comers in proving he’s no pushover

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div>Youth movements don&rsquo;t go far without a veteran or two. Just ask the Philadelphia Flyers.The Flyers made a concerted effort to inject youth into their lineup in 1991-92. But the plan only seemed to work when 36-year-old Mark Howe was on the ice.Howe, who made a successful comeback from last year&rsquo;s back surgery, was probably the Flyers&rsquo; best defenseman in the 42 games he played. While his back held up, he missed two months with a broken left thumb and the team struggled in his absence.The Flyers were 21-18-3 with Howe, 11-19-8 without him.General manager Russ Farwell now faces a tough decision. To save money, the Flyers gave Howe a termination contract last summer. When they didn&rsquo;t re-sign him during the season, he became an unrestricted free agent.Now, with Howe&rsquo;s health status no longer a major question mark, other teams are likely to show an interest again. That&rsquo;s why the Flyers will wait until after the expansion draft before making an overture to Howe. They don&rsquo;t want to have to protect him from Tampa Bay or Ottawa.Howe led the Flyers in plus-minus with a plus-18. Among defensemen, Kerry Huffman, Garry Galley and Dan Kordic were next best at plus-1.If coach Bill Dineen has any say in the matter, Howe will be back with the Flyers next year.&ldquo;The guy&rsquo;s a plus-18 on the hockey club,&rdquo; Dineen said. &ldquo;Check our wins and losses when he&rsquo;s in the lineup&rdquo;Howe, who turns 37 on May 28, would like to stay with the Flyers. He has been with the team 10 years, is its all-time defense scoring leader and enjoys living in the area.&ldquo;Nobody has said anything whether they want to sign me or not,&rdquo; Howe said. &ldquo;I think they have to sit down and figure out if I&rsquo;m in their plans. If I am, they will have to talk to me after the draft.&rdquo;Howe missed half the 1989-90 season with a back problem and all but 19 games last year. That&rsquo;s all behind him now, it would appear, and the Flyers certainly could use him.If Howe does go to another team, it will probably be a team in the east with a reasonable travel schedule. Plane trips of more than two hours tend to cause his back to act up.The negotiating will begin in earnest after the expansion draft. The Flyers have until July 1 before Howe begins entertaining offers from other teams.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not really a No. 1 defenseman anymore, not in my opinion,&rdquo; Howe said. &ldquo;But on some of the better teams with strong defenses, I&rsquo;m sure I can make a difference.&rdquo;ROUSSEL ON RISE: Rookie goaltender Dominic Roussel started the final two games of the season and finished with strong efforts.Roussel finished with a 7-8-2 record, a 2.60 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 17 games.Those numbers compare favorably with Buffalo&rsquo;s Tom Draper (10-9-5, 3.21, .895, 26 games) and Chicago&rsquo;s Dominik Hasek (10-4-1, 2.60, .893, 20 games) among the league&rsquo;s top rookie goalies.Flyer fans are wondering if Roussel has mounted a legitimate threat to Ron Hextall&rsquo;s No. 1 status. Coach Bill Dineen said the situation will sort itself out in training camp.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s up for grabs,&rdquo; Dineen said. &ldquo;It has to be proved in training camp. Whoever plays best in training camp is going to make it.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Flyers had only 11 sellout crowds this season, down from 27 in 1990-91. However, average attendance was only down 202 per game (17,140)&hellip;The Flyers improved dramatically in one area this season: shorthanded goals. They scored 15 this year after notching only two in 1990-91. &#9632;

Howe could be back

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011195/6602106-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="369" height="470"></div>There are hundreds of guys in hockey like Tom Draper. They live mostly in the minors, buried deep down on someone&rsquo;s depth chart. If they&rsquo;re lucky, they get a look-see in training camp, a word of encouragement from a general manager and then a ticket to nowhere. Most of them never get to live their dream.But Draper, the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; goaltender in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, is living his dream. And though his won-lost total doesn&rsquo;t show it, he&rsquo;s succeeding at it.Now in the NHL after long stints in the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; minor league system and then with Buffalo&rsquo;s American League affiliate in Rochester, Draper has passed Daren Puppa, Clint Malarchuk, David Littman and Bill Pye to emerge as the Sabres&rsquo; No 1 goaltender this season.He started his first-ever NHL playoff game in Boston Garden, and won it 3-2 on the strength of a magnificent 17-save effort in the final period. He lost the next game 3-2 on a bizarre overtime goal that still couldn&rsquo;t take away from a sterling 39-save, 71 minute performance. He lost the third game 3-2 and the fourth game 5-4 in overtime.Losing, however, is to be expected with Buffalo in the playoffs every spring. The won-lost record isn&rsquo;t the story during the post-season anymore. Losing is a franchise tradition here, but Draper is something else again.He came to Buffalo from Winnipeg for future considerations, and, laugh if you must, he did appreciate the move. He was 25 and had been stuck behind three goaltenders in Winnipeg. It appeared his future had come and gone without even letting him see it.At first, it didn&rsquo;t appear to be any different in Buffalo but then Puppa got hurt and, later, Malarchuk got sick. After five separate callups, Draper started getting regular ice time and he responded. Opportunity had finally had come knocking and Draper didn&rsquo;t need to have it hit him in the head to realize he shouldn&rsquo;t waste it.&ldquo;I got a chance to play in Winnipeg at the beginning of the season two years ago,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They gave me six games but I really wasn&rsquo;t playing as well as I should have. I let in one bad goal a game.&ldquo;Getting out of Winnipeg was a good thing for me,&rdquo; said the native of Outremont, Que. &ldquo;The Winnipeg general manager (Mike Smith) let me know he planned on making me the No. 3 goalie, but I wasn&rsquo;t willing to accept that. I was more prepared to be No. 3 in a different organization.&rdquo;Welcome to Buffalo, city of no illusions.That Buffalo was losing to Boston came as no surprise. People in this city have come to accept missing out even if it is by degrees. The Buffalo Bills have won the American Football Conference championship the last two seasons, but they haven&rsquo;t won the big one.Buffalo has the best-run (and usually successful) minor league team in baseball, but Montreal, then Toronto and now Denver got the big league franchises the fans so desperately wanted. Buffalo&rsquo;s Sabres are among the league&rsquo;s top 10 franchises for percentage of wins in the regular season, but they can&rsquo;t do it in the playoffs.Nobody expected the Sabres to do it this year either, but Draper at least made it interesting. Even if hope fades and the team fails, he has already succeeded.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02902/6602099-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="560" height="729"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tom Draper</figcaption></div>Maybe it&rsquo;s because hockey is the last of the pro sports that still has some touch with an age of innocence or maybe it&rsquo;s because we still cling to the notion that a kid with some talent and a willingness to try can still realize his dreams, but people in this beleaguered town (you can buy a T-shirt here that says Buffalo, City of No Illusions) have taken to Draper because he gave them that hope.Like the city itself, he&rsquo;s small, but proud. He has been tested, and at times found wanting, but he has never stopped trying. People here appreciate that.&ldquo;This is the funnest year I&rsquo;ve ever had in hockey,&rdquo; Draper said of his surprising turn of fortune. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really enjoying this.&rdquo;So are Buffalo&rsquo;s hockey fans. &#9632;

f0017-01

Buffalo embraces ‘underdog’ Draper

<div class="byline">By THN Staff</div>Pittsburgh Penguin superstar Mario Lemieux carried his team to a Stanley Cup championship on a sore back last season.But as the Washington Capitals had the defending Cup champions on the brink of elimination this season, Lemieux&rsquo;s heroics were of little consequence. In the first four games of the Patrick Division semifinal, Lemieux was the only Penguin playing with any semblance of consistency, scoring four goals and nine points after missing the first game with injury<h2>Saturday April 25 Washington 7, Pittsburgh 2</h2>Dino Ciccarelli, who had spent much of the series engaged in verbal warfare with Pittsburgh coach Scott Bowman, spoke volumes with his offense.Ciccarelli scored four goals. His first one of the game gave the Capitals a 4-0 lead and put the game out of reach.Ken Wregget replaced Tom Barrasso after the Penguins&rsquo; starter surrendered three first-period goals.Washington leads series 3-1.<h2>Rangers 3, New Jersey 0</h2>Coming off an admittedly bad performance in Game 4, Ranger goalie Mike Richter was solid in stopping 33 shots for his second career playoff shutout.The outcome wasn&rsquo;t decided until the last period when the Rangers got goals from Jan Erixon, Paul Broten and Mike Gartner. The Devils outshot the Rangers 14-8 in the third and 33-28 overall.Series tied 2-2.<h2>Boston 5, Buffalo 4 (OT)</h2>Ted Donato&rsquo;s overtime goal at the 2:08 mark of the extra period put Buffalo one game away from another first-round exit. The Sabres haven&rsquo;t won a playoff round since 1983.The Sabres had an apparent goal called back late in the third period. Referee Ron Hoggarth said the Bruins&rsquo; net came off the pegs. Adam Oates scored his fourth goal of the series for the Bruins.Boston leads series 3-1.<h2>Hartford 3, Montreal 1</h2>The Whalers won back-to-back games at the Civic Center for the first time in more than three months and that allowed them back in a series that looked lost two games before.The Whalers needed strong goaltending from Frank Pietrangelo in the third period and got a power-play goal from Randy Cunneyworth to pull ahead 2-0.The Canadiens were 0-7-1 in their last eight road games.Series tied 2-2.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03656/6602144-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="555" height="850"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dino Ciccarelli had four goals in a Game 4 rout of Pittsburgh.</figcaption></div><h2>Thursday April 23 Pittsburgh 6, Washington 4</h2>Lemieux came into the game with a bad back and a sore shoulder but he inflicted more pain on the Capitals with a three-goal, three-assist performance.The Penguins had built up a 5-2 lead but needed Lemieux&rsquo;s empty netterate in the third period to seal the victory.Washington leads series 2-1.<h2>New Jersey 3, Rangers 1</h2>Devils&rsquo; goalie Chris Terreri was at his acrobatic best, stopping 34 shots to lead New Jersey to victory.The win aside, it was a game from Hell for the Devils. They had six shots in each period and were soundly outplayed. Scott Stevens scored the winner at 16:14 of the first period.New Jersey leads series 2-1.<h2>Boston 3, Buffalo 2</h2>Adam Oates, known better for his playmaking than scoring, scored his third goal of the series to provide Boston with the margin of victory. It was his second straight winning goal in the series.The goal was one of two the Bruins scored on four power-play opportunities.Boston leads series 2-1.<h2>Hartford 5, Montreal 2</h2>Montreal coach Pat Bums allegedly struck a Hartford fan with a stick but it&rsquo;s a wonder how he found any fans in the first place. An announced crowd of 6,728 saw the Whalers score five straight goals.Murray Craven had two goals and Patrick Poulin had the first post-season goal of his career.Montreal leads series 2-1.<h2>Tuesday, April 21 Washington 6, Pittsburgh 3</h2>Lemieux returned to the Penguins&rsquo; lineup after missing Game 1 but it was the same result as Pittsburgh dropped its second straight game.Lemieux had two assists as the Penguins took a 2-0 lead but Peter Bondra and Dimitri Khristich of Washington each had a goal and two assists as the Capitals scored six straight goals. It marked the first time in six years that the Capitals had won the first two games of a playoff series.Washington leads series 2-0.<h2>New Jersey 7, Rangers 3</h2>New Jersey&rsquo;s Claude Lemieux couldn&rsquo;t keep the Rangers&rsquo; Mark Messier off the scoreboard, but he did lead the Devils to an important victory in New York.Lemieux, assigned to shadow Messier, scored two goals to lead the Devils. Messier had two goals of his own, both shorthanded, to tie a playoff record for most shorthanded goals in a game shared by five other players.Series tied 1-1.<h2>Boston 3, Buffalo 2 (OT)</h2>Oates scored at the 11:14 mark of the extra frame to settle the first overtime game of the 1992 playoffs.Facing off against Pat LaFontaine, Oates slapped the puck past Sabres&rsquo; goalie Tom Draper the instant it hit the ice. The Bruins outshot the Sabres 42-21.Series tied 1-1.<h2>Montreal 5, Hartford 2</h2>Denis Savard set up four goals, two by Brent Gilchrist, as the Canadiens took control of the series. Savard had assists on six of the Canadiens&rsquo; first seven goals in the series.The Canadiens held the Whalers to 17 shots, five in the third period.Montreal leads series 2-0.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04479/6602137-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="570" height="781"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Pietrangelo&rsquo;s play kept the Whalers from extinction.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0017-03

Only the Lonely

<div class="byline">By Jeff Jacobs</div>There are two hockey players skating within Yvon Corriveau.One is the failed first-round draft pick, a kid broken by disappointment, with dreams chewed to bits by a harsh NHL system. The second one is the Ikester. The Ikester is confident, comfortable and comedic.It was the Ikester who was at work April 25, scoring a goal and setting up two others to spearhead the Hartford Whalers&rsquo; 3-1 win over Montreal and tie the best-of-seven Adams Division semifinals at two games each.A guy dangerously close to fading from the Whaler picture in September suddenly is front and center.&ldquo;I hear him bugging somebody in the locker room or somebody poking fun at him these days,&rdquo; Whalers&rsquo; coach Jim Roberts said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s when I know he&rsquo;s at his best. He was known as the Ikester in Springfield. The Ikester is the leader in the locker room and center of attention on the team bus. He has got to feel good about himself. Sometimes it&rsquo;s so hard because it&rsquo;s a pressure cooker here.&rdquo;Although Corriveau said he was never close to quitting, that NHL pressure cooker came close to deepfrying his psyche. Drafted in the first round by Washington in 1985, Corriveau bounced between the NHL and the minors for four years before the Caps traded him to the Whalers March 6, 1990 for Mike Liut.&ldquo;The biggest problem with Yvon is he had given up on himself,&rdquo; Roberts said. &ldquo;He was brought into pro hockey as a first-round draft pick and a lot was expected of him. I don&rsquo;t think he was ready for it mentally or physically. He wasn&rsquo;t strong mentally. It scarred him, totally tore his confidence apart.&rdquo;&ldquo;Washington had a great team when I came in,&rdquo; Corriveau said. &ldquo;It was so hard to crack the lineup. You come out of junior after scoring 54 goals full of expectations and you end up playing fourth-line.&rdquo;After doing everything to justify dealing Liut, the Whalers sent Corriveau to the minors last season.&ldquo;I tried to build some confidence in him,&rdquo; Roberts said. &ldquo;But more than me, his teammates down there made him feel comfortable. Away from NHL pressure, it brought his leadership ability out.&rdquo;CUNNEY-WORTH IT: Randy Cunneyworth generated a game-high seven shots in Game 4 in addition to scoring his second goal of the series and continuing his physical play.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I expected of him all year and never got it,&rdquo; Jim Roberts said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why he was on the slab a lot of the year. He&rsquo;s showing why he stayed in the league for many years.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Whalers had an announced crowd of 6,728 for the 5-2 victory in Game 3 April 23 but only 5,602 went through the turnstiles. Game 4 drew 10,071 fans.Player scratches: Peter Sidorkiewcz, Jim McKenzie and Ed Kastelic missed the first four games. Adam Burt (Games 1, 3 and 4). Daniel Shank and Todd Richards (Games 1 and 2), Mark Hunter and Brad Shaw (Games 3 and 4) also sat.<h2>HARTFORD</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 23: Daniel Shank, LW, and Todd Richards, D, recalled from Springfield (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;John Cullen, Geoff Sanderson, Andrew Cassels, Paul Gillis.LW&mdash;Patrick Poulin, Mikael Andersson, Murray Craven, Daniel Shank, Jim McKenzie.RW&mdash;Pat Verbeek, Bob Holik, Yvon Corriveau, Randy Cunneyworth, Ed Kastelic, Mark Hunter.LD&mdash;Zartey Zalapski, Steve Konroyd, Randy Ladouceur, Adam Burt.RD&mdash;Doug Houda, Todd Richards, Marc Bergevin Brad Shaw.G&mdash;Frank Pietrangelo. Kay Whitmore, Peter Sidorkiewicz.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

The Ikester finds his niche in body of Corriveau

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div>Ted Donato was the last of the five Olympians to join the Boston Bruins this season. Because the team really didn&rsquo;t know what to expect from the 24-year-old left winger, it didn&rsquo;t expect very much.Donato&rsquo;s play in the first four playoff games against Buffalo has helped the Bruins form a more concrete and positive opinion.Donato played a valuable two-way role, particularly in Games 3 and 4 at Buffalo. His overtime goal in Game 4 sent the Bruins back to Boston with a 3-1 lead despite the fact it was their least-impressive outing of the series.&ldquo;Teddy has done a great job,&rdquo; coach Rick Bowness said. &ldquo;He has scored a couple of big goals for us but he has also done a great job killing penalties, too.&rdquo;Donato completed his eligibility at Harvard University last year but didn&rsquo;t attend the Bruins&rsquo; training camp in September. The native of nearby Dedham, Mass., instead joined the U.S. pre-Olympic squad, where he also rehabilitated from offseason shoulder surgery.Donato didn&rsquo;t sign with Boston until March 7, after fellow former Olympians Clark Donatelli, Steve Heinze. Gord Hynes and Joe Juneau, had already made their NHL debuts. Bowness left Donato out of the lineup three times in Boston&rsquo;s last 13 games but he collected an assist in the Bruins&rsquo; last two games and played well enough to stay in their playoff plans.REGGIE READY: Reggie Lemelin, who had played only once since severely straining a hamstring muscle Jan. 2, officially became the backup to Andy Moog before Boston left for Buffalo. Daniel Berthiaume was left behind, along with the other players the Bruins didn&rsquo;t intend to use.The Bruins brought a third goalie to Buffalo, Mike Bales of Ohio State, a fifth-round pick in 1990. Boston hadn&rsquo;t announced a contract had been signed but did say Bales wouldn&rsquo;t return to the Buckeyes.NOTEBOOK: Playoff scratches: None of Boston&rsquo;s pre-playoff callups-defenseman Petr Prajsler and forwards Peter Douris and Dave Thomlinson-played through the first four games of the series. Others who hadn&rsquo;t seen action were forward Scott Arniel and defenseman Matt Hervey. Defenseman Bob Beers and forwards Clark Donatelli and Jeff Lazaro played the first game but not the next three. They were replaced by Gord Hynes, Bob Sweeney and Lyndon Byers, who had all healed from minor injuries.<h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Adam Oates, Vladimir Ruzicka, Dave Poulin, Bob Sweeney.LW&mdash;Joe Juneau, Ted Donato, Dave Reid, Brent Hughes, Bob Carpenter, Clark Donatelli, Jeff Lazaro, Scott Arniel, Dave Thomlinson.RW&mdash;Glen Murray, Steve Leach, Steve Heinze, Lyndon Byers, Peter DourisLD&mdash;Glen Wesley, Don Sweeney, Gord Hynes, Petr Prajsler.RD&mdash;Ray Bourque, Gord Murphy, Jim Wiemer, Bob Beers, Matt Hervey.G&mdash;Andy Moog, Reggie Lemelln, Mike Bales.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Brent Ashton, LW, left knee surgery, indefinite. Glen Featherstone, D, back surgery, indefinite. Cam Neely, RW, left knee surgery, indefinite. Jim Vesey, C, right shoulder surgery, indefinite. &#9632;

American Olympian Donato saves best efforts for last

<div class="byline">By Kevin Johnston</div>Eric Lindros has made it perfectly clear he will never play in Quebec.But Nordiques&rsquo; coach-general manager-Pierre Page hasn&rsquo;t stopped dreaming about having the 6-foot-5, 225-pound phenom in the lineup next season.Lindros, 19, the first overall choice in last year&rsquo;s entry draft, has attracted trade offers from several teams but Nordique management is adamant, at least publicly, that it will not trade him.&ldquo;We know, after discussing with a few teams and after studying their offers that the player who would help us the most right now is Eric Lindros,&rdquo; Page said. &ldquo;Of what we&rsquo;ve seen and heard up until now, we would be losers if we traded away his rights.&rdquo;Page spoke to Lindros&rsquo; parents, Bonnie and Carl, in late March in the hopes of persuading them to re-consider their position. The conversation didn&rsquo;t change anything.&ldquo;We spoke but not for very long,&rdquo; Page said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll just say we had trouble understanding each other. And not because there was a bad connection.&rdquo;Page hasn&rsquo;t been impressed with the trade offers he has received from other NHL teams.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t seen anything yet that has gotten me excited,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Our goal is to get our hands on the Stanley Cup and the players we&rsquo;ve been offered aren&rsquo;t the kind that would bring us there.&rdquo;Page said he knows Nordique fans are sick and tired of hearing how the team still wants Lindros.&ldquo;I know this seems impossible but it&rsquo;s my job to try and do the best for this organization,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And that&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m doing.&rdquo;So is Page prepared to let the Lindros situation drag on into next season?The answer is no. Page wants to get the situation resolved by the beginning of October, when NHL teams must assign young players back to their junior clubs. There is speculation too, that the Nordiques will face reality and trade Lindros this summer.&ldquo;If Eric Lindros wants to play in the NHL, I think he&rsquo;s going to understand that his chances are as good in Quebec as anywhere else,&rdquo; he said.MAKING CONTRACTS: One of Pierre Page&rsquo;s first tasks this summer will be renegotiating contracts for young forwards Owen Nolan and Mats Sundin.Both were promised new deals in the off-season.Sundin and agent Marc Perrone are confident an reasonable package cart) be worked out. Sundin, who finished with 76 points in 80 games, made close to $175,000 last season.&ldquo;I hope they come to terms,&rdquo; Sundin said. &ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t want my play to be affected by long talks.&rdquo;Nolan is coming off a fine sophomore season in which he had 42 goals and 73 points in 75 games. He made $250,000 last year and has told Nordique management he wants to be better compensated for his efforts.&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s just say it&rsquo;s in the team&rsquo;s interests to renegotiate,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The Nordiques management promised us things and they usually, are good for their word.&rdquo;Nolan has full confidence he and agent Gene McBumey will work things out.NOTEBOOK: Pierre Page told Quebec reporters he is prepared to seriously alter the make-up of the team next season. &ldquo;I want reinforcements, and fast,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to go after experienced players to help solidify our core of youngsters.&rdquo;The Nordiques have the fourth choice overall at the June 20 entry draft in Montreal. Sources close to management suggest the team is targeting Windsor Spitfires&rsquo; (Ontario League) left winger Todd Warriner as its first pick. &#9632;

Lindros situation the same

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div>Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; center Denis Savard showed he could travel back in time and come up with a winning effort in the first two games of the team&rsquo;s Adams Division semifinal against the Hartford Whalers.Unfortunately for Savard and his Montreal teammates, they can&rsquo;t travel to Hartford and win.The frustrating road performances which have haunted the Canadiens for most of the season (14-20-6 away From the Forum) dogged them again in Hartford as the Whalers evened the series 2-2 with 5-2 and 3-1 wins.The losses also meant the Canadiens had lost 15 of their last 17 road games and have yet to win in Hartford this season in six tries.Savard&rsquo;s plight mirrored that of the club.In Montreal for the first two games, he assisted on the first six Canadien goals of the series and conjured up memories of his glory days.The losses in Hartford-in which Savard was limited to just one assist and saw his ice time reduced while Montreal killed off a wave of penalties-underlined just how important a quick-skating Savard can be to the goal-starved Canadiens away from home.The team&rsquo;s chances in the playoffs may well ride on Savard&rsquo;s shoulders; they need him to produce the way he used to with the Chicago Blackhawks in the mid-1980s.I Savard, who was traded to Montreal for Chris Chelios in 1990, has exhibited in the playoffs his patented skating style and jump, one which he says comes fleetingly now to his 31-year-old legs; perhaps only five or 10 times a season.&ldquo;Some nights you&rsquo;re nervous and others you&rsquo;re not. When you&rsquo;re not nervous, it means you&rsquo;re well-prepared,&rdquo; Savard said.STICK IT TO &lsquo;EM Pat Bums, was, well, spitting mad.That&rsquo;s the reason he took a stick to a spectator in the Hartford Civic Center following the Canadiens&rsquo; 5-2 loss to the Whalers in Game 3 of their Adams Division semifinal April 23.Bums, according to the police report, hit a 26-year-old man in the side as the Canadiens left the ice. The Montreal players were being pelted with drinks-which Bums can live with-but then he was spat on-which he can&rsquo;t.The incident occurred because the canopy that usually covers their retreat from the ice to the dressing room had not been put in place.The security guards responsible for that task were breaking up a fight.The fan who was hit told the police he was not injured and left the building. He did not file a complaint.Bums was summoned to a station two hours after the game and spent about two hours talking to police.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d do the same thing if I got spit on again,&rdquo; Bums said.NOTEBOOK: Playoff scratches: Sylvain Lefebvre and Sylvain Turgeon sat out the first four games of the Hartford series. John LeClair sat for the first game. Todd Ewen was in the press box for the first three games, Chris Nilan the fourth.<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Guy Carbonneau, Stephan Lebeau, Denis Savard, Brian Skrudland.LW&mdash;Mike McPhee. Shayne Corson, Gilbert Dionne, Brent Gilchrist, Sylvain Turgeon, John LeClair.RW&mdash;Russ Courtnall, Kirk Muller. Chris Nilan, Todd Ewen.LD&mdash;Jean-Jacques Dalgneault, Mathieu Schneider, Kevin Haller, Sylvain Lefebvre.RD&mdash;Lyle Odelein, Patrice Brisebois, Eric Desjardins.G&mdash;Patrick Roy, Andre Racicot.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Benoit Brunet, LW, broken right ankle, indefinite. Mike Keane, RW, ear infection, day-to-day. &#9632;

Savard’s home show simply doesn’t travel well

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzlja</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01922/6602295-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"></div>Teams usually do their fighting on the ice but Capital District Islanders&rsquo; owner Albert Lawrence is taking his battle with the Adirondack Red Wings into the courtroom.Lawrence filed a $10-million lawsuit against Adirondack and the parent Detroit Red Wings April 21 in federal court in Albany, N.Y., claiming U.S. anti-trust laws have been violated.Because of a case backlog, it may take two years to be heard.The lawsuit was prompted by what Lawrence views as hooliganism on the ice by the Red Wings against the Islanders.Lawrence was irate about a vicious stick-swinging incident during which Adirondack forward Max Middendorf broke the jaw and nasal cavity of Capital District winger Graeme Townshend in a game March 21. Middendorf was suspended for 11 games by the American League and Townshend missed four games.&ldquo;That was the straw that broke the camel&rsquo;s back,&rdquo; Lawrence said.Detroit assistant general manager Nick Polano called the lawsuit a &ldquo;smokescreen.&rdquo; He said Lawrence is attempting to back out of an agreement that requires the Schenectady, N.Y., businessman to pay Detroit $50,000 a year until the year 2000, plus a percentage of ticket, concession and parking revenue, for being able to operate within Adirondack&rsquo;s area of direct influence.That contract was signed by CDI&rsquo;s former owner, Mike Cantanucci, when the Islanders entered the AHL in 1990-91. The Islanders are within the 50-mile territorial radius of the Red Wings.Lawrence is attempting to have those boundaries eliminated or made less restrictive.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t agree to that agreement,&rdquo; said Lawrence, who purchased the team before the 1991-92 season. &ldquo;Our eyes were open to the fact that this was an onerous and illegal contract. We&rsquo;ve raised questions continuously.&rdquo;Said Polano: &ldquo;The whole thing is really ridiculous. Mr. Lawrence bought the team. He knew then what the deal was and all of a sudden he has decided to challenge it.&rdquo;An Islanders&rsquo; spokesman said CDI has stopped making its monthly payments to Detroit while the lawsuit is pending.Lawrence believes Adirondack deliberately attempted to injure CDI players during regular-season games, thus weakening the franchise on the ice and its ability to draw fans.In court papers, Lawrence says the NHL Red Wings, &ldquo;conspired to maim some of our players through these acts, thus making us a less viable franchise in this area.&rdquo;Polano called the accusation ridiculous.&ldquo;He better be prepared to prove that point,&rdquo; Polano said. &ldquo;That statement is so ridiculous I don&rsquo;t even want to comment on it.&rdquo;Lawrence wanted Middendorf arrested following the Townshend incident.Rensselaer County authorities say Townshend must file a complaint against Middendorf before there can be any criminal charges. Townshend apparently has no intention of doing so.CANADIENS BOUNCED: The AHL&rsquo;s regular-season champions didn&rsquo;t make it out of the first round.The Fredericton Canadiens posted a league-best 43-27-10 record but were eliminated in a thrilling sevengame series by Moncton.Four games went into overtime, including Games 6 and 7, which Moncton won 4-3 and 3-2. Moncton finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 32-3810 record.Hawks&rsquo; goalie Mike O&rsquo;Neill was the unofficial most valuable player of the series. He played every minute and posted a 2.49 goals against average and .929 save percentage. He made 47 saves in the Game 7 victory at Fredericton&rsquo;s Aitken University Centre.&ldquo;The fans of New Brunswick were treated to some of the best hockey this province has even seen, live or on TV,&rdquo; Hawks&rsquo; coach Dave Farrish said.The fans also saw the emergence of a new hero in Moncton, at least for April. Rookie defenseman Dave MacIntyre scored the overtime goal in Game 7. He also scored the winning goal in Game 3.MacIntyre was a late-season replacement for injured Rob Cowie He was with the Hawks in training camp but Farrish asked him to pla; the season with Johnstown of the East Coast League.&ldquo;I thought he needed some grooming for professional hockey,&rdquo; Farrish said.TRAVELING MAN: When Bruci Boudreau is done playing hockey, he can publish the authoritative guide fo living in Canada and the United States All information will be first-hand.Is there anywhere Boudreau hasn&rsquo; lived? The 17-year pro joined the Adirondack Red Wings April 23 as an emergency playoff fill-in. It is his 15tl team and he has played in six leagues.Boudreau, 37, had 95 points fo Fort Wayne of the International League this season. Since For Wayne&rsquo;s seagrooming for professional hockey season is over and becausi the AHL considers the IHL a lowe league, he was eligible to sign with the Red Wings.Adirondack needed Boudreat because center Mike Sillinger. the leading playoff scorer with 14 point: in five games, was recalled by Detroi and center Max Middendorf was serv ing a four-game suspension for fight ing with tape on his hand.Since being acquired from Cape Breton in a trade between Edmonton and Detroit, Middendorf played in 10 games and had been suspended for 15.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2>HIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 20 TO 26): Kent Mandervflle scored with 29 seconds left to give the St John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs a 6-5 victory in Game 2 of their sereis with Moncton. Manderville had nine points in three playoff games&hellip;Binghamton&rsquo;s Rob Zamuner scored the first hat trick of his minor-league career in Game 4 of the series with Utica&hellip;Weirdest playoff goal: In Game 7 of the Indians&rsquo; series with Capital District, Springfield&rsquo;s Brian Chapman, at his own end line, fired the puck the length of the ice and goalie Danny Lorenz misplayed it and deflected it into the net. &#9632;

f0022-01

Isles seek Capital punishment in court

<div class="byline">By Nick Gates</div>Hooliganism won&rsquo;t be tolerated in the East Coast League.That&rsquo;s the message commissioner Pat Kelly got across after suspending Johnstown&rsquo;s Brian Ferreira and Matt Glennon for their roles in an ugly melee in Game 2 of the Cincinnati-Johnstown series March 27.The Boston Bruins&rsquo; farmhands were suspended 30 games each and fined $500. They verbally abused referee Bob Wilier and his crew throughout the game and were each assessed game misconduct penalties in the second period.They continued their verbal assault in the third and Ferreira deliberately checked linesman Norm Eberle into the boards mid-way through the final frame.&ldquo;The East Coast Hockey League will not tolerate this type of action,&rdquo; Kelly said. &ldquo;Any player who physically abuses or threatens physical abuse of any official, referee or linesman, or because of his unwarranted actions brings discredit upon the ECHL or any of its teams, will be subject to severe disciplinary action.&rdquo;in addition to hitting Eberle, Ferreira threw a puck towards the pressbox where Kelly was seated. The puck missed.When the game ended, Ferreira donned skateguards and raced up the pressbox stairs in an attempt to confront Kelly. He reconsidered before reaching the commissioner and returned to the dressing room.&ldquo;He came close to hitting a reporter in the head (with the puck),&rdquo; Kelly said. &ldquo;Then he proceeded to go up in the stands after me.&ldquo;We feel this league has come a long way in the last year. We&rsquo;ve cleaned it up and we don&rsquo;t want it to go backwards.&rdquo;Ferreira and Glennon did not appeal their suspensions, which begin next season. Because the ECHL has reciprocal agreements with the NHL, American League and International League regarding suspensions and fines, the two players won&rsquo;t be able to join other professional teams until their suspensions are served.TV TALK: Producer Meyer Davis and partner Bill Beindorf are trying to get an ECHL Game of the Week package for next season.Their initial three-year proposal was rejected by the league but Davis is optimistic an alternative deal can be worked out.&ldquo;They want to put it (contract) up for bid,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;But if they do, I think they&rsquo;ll find it a hard sell. We&rsquo;re going to go back to them and say, &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s try it on a trial basis for one year.&rsquo;&rdquo;Rising operating expenses, particularly in the smaller-market cities, have owners cautious about agreeing to a TV contract which compromises gate revenue.&ldquo;This is all new to them, so I don&rsquo;t blame them for being cautious,&rdquo; Davis said.PRIME-TIME PLAYERS: The third game of the Riley Cup final between Hampton Roads and Louisville was televised by Norfolk, Va., station WTVZ-TV from Louisville.Jeff Rimmer of Home Team Sports-the cable station of the Washington Capitals-did the play-by-play while Hampton Roads&rsquo; announcer Pat Shetler was the color commentator.WVEC in Norfolk televised three regular-season games but wasn&rsquo;t contacted about doing post-season games.COACH BANTER: Toledo general manager Barry Soskin has begun negotiating a new contract with coach Chris McSorley. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d love to have Chris back,&rdquo; Soskin said. &ldquo;The fans love him.&rdquo;Pat Kelly was pleased to see Hampton Roads defend their ECHL title. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy for (coach) John Brophy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He has endured a lot in hockey.&rdquo; &#9632;

Kelly sends out clear message with 30-game ban

<div class="byline">By Dave Eminian</div>Ross Wilson has been biding his time for a chance to play this season, and now he has turned out to be worth his weight in goals for A Kalamazoo Wings.Wilson, 22, was a playoff hero for the Wings in their stunning seven-game, first-round upset over East Division champion Fort Wayne.In his first-ever playoff as a pro, the third-year player scored a hat trick in the seventh game, a 4-3 Wings&rsquo; win.That raised his goal total to seven in six games, making him the IHL&rsquo;s post-season scoring leader.&ldquo;We wanted them, wanted to play Fort Wayne,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;We were prepared to play anyone, but we wanted to play the first-place team.&rdquo;When we lost to them during the season, it was because of penalties and power-play goals. We didn&rsquo;t take bad penalties this time.&rdquo; in fact, both teams left their heavies in the stands for Games 6 and 7 and tried to play a disciplined game.Komets&rsquo; winger Scott Gruhl missed the seventh game while serving an automatic suspension for accumulating too many major stick fouls.Wilson, meanwhile, put an exclamation point on his series performance by notching his first hat trick as a pro in the first period of Game 7.It was a long time coming but Wilson-a 6-foot-3, 197-pound right winger who was Los Angeles&rsquo; third-round pick in 1987&mdash;is used to waiting.&ldquo;I scored (29) goals in New Haven last season (for L.A.&rsquo;s American League farm team) and I couldn&rsquo;t get a chance in Phoenix this vear,&rdquo; said Wilson, who was loaned from A&rsquo;s IHL farm team to Kalamazoo Jan. 3. &ldquo;I guess I just wasn&rsquo;t in L.A.&rsquo;s plans. I really appreciate the chance in Kalamazoo.&rdquo;He didn&rsquo;t play a lot for the Wings at first either but wound up with 18 goals and six assists in 31 games for them and is making up for lost time in the playoffs.&ldquo;The guys are giving me a hard time out there,&rdquo; joked Wilson, referring to his Cy Young-like statistics of seven goals and zero assists in the post-season. &ldquo;My linemates are setting me up, though.&rdquo;Wilson has been playing with center Steve Gotaas and veteran left winger Craig Coxe. The latter, like Wilson, is a loaned player who came over from the Kansas City Blades March 17.These post-season Wings are markedly different than the team that cruised into a fourth place finish in the East Division.In addition to Wilson and Coxe, Kalamazoo has also added three top-notch players through trades involving parent club Minnesota: left winger Bobby Reynolds (from the Washington Capitals), center Mark Janssens (from the New York Rangers) and center Kip Miller (from the Quebec Nordiques).ROCKY-MOUNTAIN HIGH: League commissioner Tom Berry says the IHL is close to placing another expansion team in Denver, possibly in time for next season. But the deal will have to be completed soon.The team would be owned by Bill Comrie, whose brother, Fred, bought the San Diego Gulls in March.Bill Comrie approached the league earlier this year lobbying for an expansion team in Saskatoon, but the bid was rejected because of the remote location.Berry was careful to establish then that the league wanted Comrie, just not the location.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re close to getting it done,&rdquo; Berry said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m optimistic, but I&rsquo;m not saying yet that we have a team in Denver.&rdquo;Berry said Comrie has been negotiating since February for a lease to play at Denver&rsquo;s 15,000-seat McNichols Arena.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s almost done,&rdquo; Berry said. &ldquo;But time is also running out.&rdquo;The IHL had a team in Denver in 1987-88 and 1988-89. The ill-fated farm team of the New York Rangers was originally known as the Colorado Rangers before becoming the Denver Rangers.EIGHT IS ENOUGH: Muskegon Lumberjacks&rsquo; center Jock Callander produced an unusual scoring line for his team&rsquo;s quarterfinal series win over the Milwaukee Admirals.Through March 21, Callander was second among post-season scorers with eight points. He reached that total in five playoff games against Milwaukee by scoring no goals, eight assists. That puts him on pace for the IHL record for most assists in the post-season (22) set in 17 games by Port Huron&rsquo;s Dave Faulkner in 1978.I-OPENERS: Peoria Rivermen right winger Yves Heroux took an unusual statistic into his team&rsquo;s semifinal series against Kansas City: Heroux led Peoria goal-scorers against the Blades in the 10-game season series, notching seven-all at Kansas City. Of his 41 goals this season, 28 came on the road. Only San Diego&rsquo;s Dmitri Kvartalnov, with 34, had more road goals.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2>WEST DIVISION EAST DIVISION<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01820/6602350-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="919" height="251"></div>HIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 20 TO 26): Kalamazoo&rsquo;s Larry Dyck made 35 saves in leading the Wings to a 3-1 victory in Game 1 at Muskegon. The &lsquo;Jax won Game 2 with Daniel Gauthier scoring the winner at 7:26 of overtime. Kansas City shocked Peoria by rolling to a 3-0 lead in their semifinal series as Blades&rsquo; goalie Arturs Irbe extended his domination over the Rivermen to six consecutive victories. &#9632;

f0023-01

Wilson a scoring machine

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>Ron Bertrand doesn&rsquo;t want to silence his critics.Just the opposite. He wants them to keep talking about his goaltending for the North Bay Centennials.In previous seasons, Bertrand has been faulted for the Centennials&rsquo; lack of success in the Ontario League playoffs. Now he&rsquo;s a major reason North Bay made it to this year&rsquo;s final against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t really let it bother me. All I can do is go out and prove everybody wrong,&rdquo; Bertrand said. He led all OHL goalies with a 12-2 playoff record and 2.43 goals-against average heading into the championship round.Bertrand, 20. was outstanding in the Leyden Division final against the Peterborough Petes as the Centennials won in five games. The one loss to the Petes snapped a seven-game winning streak by Bertrand and his teammates.Peterborough received a first-round bye and swept the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s in four games in the second round.Goalies such as Manny Lt-gace of the Niagara Falls Thunder, Fred Brathwaite of the London Knights, Mike Fountain of the Oshawa Generals and Mike Torchia of the Kitchener Rangers have grabbed much of the spotlight. But that&rsquo;s fine with Bertrand. Those goalies are now watching him in the finals.&ldquo;Those guys down south get the attention,&rdquo; said Bertrand, a native of Ottawa. He was North Bay&rsquo;s fifth-round draft choice in 1989.Centennials&rsquo; coach-general manager Bert Templeton said Bertrand has been unjustly criticized in past playoffs.&ldquo;We just let people talk about that but Ron has played pretty well for us in the past,&rdquo; Templeton said. &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t get the accolades but we know what he has done.&ldquo;We were one of only three teams to win 40 or more games last year (Oshawa and the Greyhounds were the others) and we were one of only three teams to win 40 or more this year (Peterborough and the Greyhounds being the others). It&rsquo;s damn hard to do that if you&rsquo;re goaltending is as bad as everyone says.&rdquo;But Templeton still wanted to make sure his No. 1 man was on top of his game for the playoffs. Toward the end of the regular season, rookie Sandy Allan was seeing as much ice time as Bertrand. Templeton said he would go with the more successful goalie for the playoffs.Bertrand was in the nets for the regular-season finale against Peterborough and responded with a 4-3 win, snapping the Petes&rsquo; 18-game unbeaten streak.&ldquo;As with many goalies, Ron operates at his best when he has a challenge,&rdquo; Templeton said. &ldquo;When Ron got the chance, no way Sandy was going to get back in there.&rdquo;Bertrand finished the regular season with a 22-15-1 record and 3.76 goals-against average. Allan, 18, was 18-5-4 with a 3.85 GAA.Bertrand said Allen pushed him to play better. &ldquo;This is my last chance to get drafted (by the NHL). It&rsquo;s nice to be getting some positive attention.&rdquo;BULLISH CHOICE: Belleville Bulls&rsquo; right winger Darren McCarty is the OHL&rsquo;s nominee for the Canadian Hockey League player of the year.In voting done by coaches and general managers, McCarty received 47 points, seven more than Todd Simon of Niagara Falls. Brett Seguin of Ottawa was third with 29 points.McCarty, 19, had 55 goals and 127 points for fourth in scoring. He also had 177 penalty minutes.The player of the year will be announced May 11 at the Memorial Cup in Seattle. Kamloops&rsquo; goalie Corey Hirsch and St-Hyacinthe center Charles Poulin are the other nominees.SWEET DEAL: Former Cornwall Royals&rsquo; owner William Wise offered a big concession to OHL governors before they voted 15-1 to allow him to transfer his team to Newmarket next season.Wise said he wouldn&rsquo;t exercise territorial rights over Barrie or Toronto if either of those cities applied for an expansion team in the future.Existing OHL teams can protect an 80-kilo-metre radius. Peterborough was the only team to vote against the Royals&rsquo; move to Newmarket.Interestingly, Petes&rsquo; governor Ed Rowe was inducted into the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame two years ago.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02517/6602381-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="911" height="517"></div>HIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 20 TO 26): The defending champion Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds served notice they&rsquo;ve come to play in the OHL final. With the Leyden Division champion North Bay Centennials listed as favorites, the Emms champion Greyhounds won the opener 7-2 in the Soo, building an early 5-0 lead. The Centennials won the second game 4-3, using a 13-minute lapse by the &lsquo;Hounds at the start of the game. &#9632;

f0023-02

Bertrand secret to Cents’ success

<div class="byline">By Vance Oliver</div>The Prince Albert Raiders, who led from start to finish in the Western League&rsquo;s East Division during the regular season, were stunned by the Saskatoon Blades 4-2 in the best-of-seven East Division final.The Blades bounced the Raiders 10-3 April 20 to end the series.&ldquo;Our guys never did work hard enough in this series,&rdquo; Prince Albert general manager Dale Engel said. &ldquo;As soon as we fell down, we gave up easily instead of working through our problems.&rdquo;A major problem facing the Raiders was the absence of captain JeffNelson from the lineup for Game 6.Nelson was assessed a one-game suspension after head-butting Blades&rsquo; center Ryan Fujita during a fight in Game 5 April 18.&ldquo;My sweater was pulled over and I had him up against the boards,&rdquo; Nelson said. &ldquo;I went to push him up back off the boards. His head must must have been down. Apparently, we bumped heads and the referee was right there, so it&rsquo;s his decision to call.&rdquo;Nelson, a second-round pick of the Washington Capitals in 1991, fought Fujita out of frustration with 1:03 left in the fifth game.With the Raiders trailing 7-1, Raiders&rsquo; heavyweight Dan Kesa jumped on Blades&rsquo; right winger Shane Calder, while Nelson selected the diminutive Fujita as his scrapping partner.But the 5-foot-7, 140-pound Fujita, who gave up five inches and more than 35 pounds to Nelson, landed more blows.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not much of a scrapper,&rdquo; admitted the 19-year-old Fujita. &ldquo;I just tried to defend myself the best I could. I didn&rsquo;t think Nelson would do something like that but I guess he had to do what he had to do.&rdquo;KIMBI RELEASED: The Seattle Thunderbirds have kicked center Kimbi Daniels off the team.The Thunderbirds, who are assured a spot in the May 9-17 Memorial Cup as hosts, released the 20-year-old after bowing out 4-2 to the Kamloops Blazers in the West Division best-of-seven final series.&ldquo;Kimbi lost interest as the playoffs progressed,&rdquo; Thunderbirds&rsquo; coach-general manager Peter Anholt said. &ldquo;Our organization felt his lack of interest was a negative influence on the team and would continue to be as we prepare for the Memorial Cup, the biggest week in the history of this franchise.&rdquo;Daniels, a third-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1990, opened the season in the NHL before being returned to the junior ranks. The Swift Current Broncos traded his rights to Seattle for 20-year-old left winger Dody Wood Jan. 24. He finished the WHL regular season with seven goals and 21 points in 19 games. He had one goal and two points in 25 games with Philadelphia.Daniels scored a team-high 14 points in Seattle&rsquo;s playoff wins against the Tri-City Americans the Spokane Chiefs but he had only one point against Kamloops.TIME TO KILL: The T-birds have plenty of time on their hands before the Memorial Cup. Seattle has until May 9 before the opening of the Memorial Cup.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll give the guys a few days off, then begin working again,&rdquo; Peter Anholt said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think the long layoff should be a problem. We&rsquo;ll be doing a lot of imaginative thing to keep them interested.&rdquo;BLADES STAR: The Saskatoon Blades just keep on rolling up the player-of-the-week honors.Goaltender Trevor Robins was the third consecutive Blade to earn the distinction for the period ending April 20.Robins, 19, backstopped the Blades to two crucial playoff wins over the favored Prince Albert Raiders the previous week, including a 1.00 goals-against average and .967 save percentage.Blades&rsquo; right winger Mark Franks and rookie goalie Norm Maracle earned similar honors during the two previous weeks.<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01901/6602412-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="917" height="521"></div>HIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 20 TO 26): The Saskatoon Blades continue to be the Cinderella story of the 1992 playoffs. Center Ryan Fujita scored the winning goal at 4:08 overtime in Game 1 April 24 for a 3-2 Saskatoon victory in Kamloops. The loss ended a 20-game winning streak on home ice for the Blazers. All-star defenseman Scott Niedermayer was shifted to center for Game 2 and scored two goals in a 5-2 Blazers&rsquo; win. &#9632;

f0024-01

Raiders stunned in division final

<div class="byline">By Ken Warren</div>The sum of the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs&rsquo; defense is definitely greater than its parts.The Draveurs&rsquo; defensive corps boasts no superstars. What the Draveurs do have are seven steady, solid defenseman.Their consistency sometimes even leads to some confusion. Even with a program, it&rsquo;s hard to tell one from another. Each of the Draveurs&rsquo; blueliners can be described the same way-none attempt flashy end-to-end dashes, all are good in their own end and all see time on power play and shorthanded units.In short, they do all the little things that become big things in the playoffs.The proof: after back-to-back sweeps of the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Laval Titan, the Draveurs headed into the Quebec League championship series having allowed only 13 goals in eight post-season games.&ldquo;Definitely our goalie (Jean-Francois Labbe) has played outstanding and that has made us look good,&rdquo; said defensive leader Jason Downey, traded to the Draveurs from the St-Jean Lynx in February.Downey, a Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., native, certainly epitomizes the Draveurs&rsquo; defense. He&rsquo;s 5-foot-8,185 pounds.&ldquo;Our whole focus has been trying to keep the shots against low,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve pretty well kept everyone in the low 20&rsquo;s against us so far. But we&rsquo;re all everyday defensemen. We all work hard and we have experience. I don&rsquo;t think we panic.&rdquo;Familiarity has bred contentment with the Draveurs. The defense pairings-Downey and Claude Poirier; Pascal Trepanier and Stephane Julien; and, Paolo Racicot and Eric Messier-have stayed intact throughout the post-season. Rookie Charles Paquette has seen spot duty in the playoffs.Poirier and Racicot are 20-year-old veterans but they get the same treatment as the three 18-year-old first-year players-Trepanier, Julien and Messier. Julien was the highest-scoring Draveur rearguard this season with 13 goals and 54 points in 64 games.&ldquo;Our defensemen don&rsquo;t do anything fancy, we don&rsquo;t have any high-scoring types like a (Yan) Arsenault or a (Francois) Groleau,&rdquo;Draveurs&rsquo; coach Guy Chouinard said. &ldquo;But they are very steady.&rdquo;LABBE GETS CREDIT: Jean-Francois Labbe continues to receive accolades, largely because of those in front of him.The Trois-Rivieres&rsquo; goalie&rsquo;s stats have been hard to argue with: 9-0, 1.66 goals-against average.Labbe won player-of-the-week honors ending April 19, his second of the playoffs.Labbe is in position to set a QMJHL playoff standard for goals-against average. Robert Desjardins of the 1985-86 Hull Olympiques posted a 1.99 average.ATTENDANCE WATCH: The good news for the Hull Olympiques is they led the QMJHL with 79,206 fans during the 1991-92 season-an average of 2,263 per game.The bad news is Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; Wayne Gretzky is selling the club-perhaps to interests outside the city.Gretzky is concerned about the influence of the NHL-expansion Ottawa Senators on his nearby junior franchise, and is interested in purchasing an Ontario League expansion franchise for Toronto. He has received an offer of about $600,000 from a Sherbrooke, Que., group.Roger Fortier, who heads the consortium, has been actively pursuing a QMJHL franchise for Sherbrooke the past two seasons.Hull businessman Gilles Sauve, Jean-Marc Lalonde-former mayor of nearby Rock-land-and Las Vegas entertainer Paul Anka, an Ottawa native, expressed some interest in buying the franchise from Gretzky and keeping it in Hull.&ldquo;The way we look at it now, nobody wants not to have the team back in Hull,&rdquo; Olympiques&rsquo; director of operations Charlie Henry said.QMJHL president Gilles Courteau is optimistic the highest-drawing franchise will be kept in Hull.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure a couple of local investors will come through,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re watching it very closely. It&rsquo;s the best franchise in the league&hellip; when it comes to attendance.&rdquo;<h2>PLAYOFFS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02602/6602443-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="905" height="342"></div>HIGHLIGHTS (APRIL 20 TO 26): The Trois-Rivieres Draveurs won their ninth straight playoff game and took a 1-0 lead in their series with College Francais following a 5-2 win in Game 1 April 26. Eric Bellrose scored the winning goal and Carl Boudreau had three assists tor the Draveurs. Goalie Jean-Francois Labbe has a 1.66 goals-against average In nine games. No team has gone through the playoff undefeated. &#9632;

f0024-02

No-name defense making headlines

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0025-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01805/6602474-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Members of the London Source For Sports tournament champion team in Mooretown include: (front row, from left) Dave Moore, Chuck Fraser, Dave Warren, Norm Kay, Jim MacDougall, Tim Flynn and Dave Jay; (back row) Bob Arbuckle, Alan Gorrie, Paul Jeffrey, Ron Jonkhans, Tom Allen, Larry Trader and John McLean.</figcaption></div>Thanks to goaltender Norm Kay, everything turned out OK for London Source For Sports at The Hockey News Classic Cup tournament in Mooretown April 12.Kay turned aside all but three shots in London&rsquo;s four games and was selected the tournament&rsquo;s most valuable player. His goals-against average through the tournament was 0.75.London Source defeated the Sombra Rangers 3-1 in the championship game. Bob Arbuckle, Tim Flynn and Paul Jeffrey scored for London and Shane Green replied for Sombra.London beat the Chicago Sharks 5-2 and Sombra 2-0 in preliminary round games and Windsor Lucky&rsquo;s Roadhouse 6-0 in the semifinals. Goalie Kay picked up both shutouts.The Point Boys downed the Sarnia Lambton Lightnings 6-2 in the championship final of the recreation division.The Classic Cup tournament is in its second year of operation and the Mooretown tournament was the 13th in a series of 16 across Ontario.Twelve teams participated at the Mooretown Recreation Complex. Other teams came from Lambton County, Sarnia and Corunna. &#9632;

f0025-01

London resourceful at Cup tourney

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0027-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01829/6602760-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg"></div><h2>BOSTON BRUINS</h2><h2>BUFFALO SABRES</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02511/6602753-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="1004" height="596"></div><h2>CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03329/6602746-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="1002" height="702"></div><h2>DETROIT RED WINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04225/6602739-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="998" height="695"></div><h2>EDMONTON OILERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05158/6602732-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="989" height="647"></div><h2>HARTFORD WHALERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-06125/6602725-1-eng-US/f0027-062.jpg" title="f0027-06" width="984" height="617"></div><h2>LOS ANGELES KINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-07104/6602718-1-eng-US/f0027-072.jpg" title="f0027-07" width="983" height="595"></div><h2>MINNESOTA NORTH STARS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0891/6602711-1-eng-US/f0027-082.jpg" title="f0027-08" width="985" height="570"></div><h2>MONTREAL CANADIENS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-0987/6602704-1-eng-US/f0027-092.jpg" title="f0027-09" width="987" height="112"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1079/6602697-1-eng-US/f0027-102.jpg" title="f0027-10" width="1011" height="518"></div><h2>NEW JERSEY DEVILS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1168/6602690-1-eng-US/f0027-112.jpg" title="f0027-11" width="994" height="599"></div><h2>NEW YORK RANGERS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1258/6602683-1-eng-US/f0027-122.jpg" title="f0027-12" width="1000" height="617"></div><h2>PITTSBURGH PENGUINS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1352/6602676-1-eng-US/f0027-132.jpg" title="f0027-13" width="996" height="622"></div><h2>ST. LOUIS BLUES</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-1447/6602669-1-eng-US/f0027-142.jpg" title="f0027-14" width="997" height="306"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01872/6602662-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="990" height="359"></div><h2>VANCOUVER CANUCKS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02576/6602655-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="997" height="399"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03408/6602648-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="990" height="283"></div><h2>WASHINGTON CAPITALS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04290/6602641-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="983" height="477"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-05227/6602634-1-eng-US/f0028-052.jpg" title="f0028-05" width="996" height="119"></div><h2>WINNIPEG JETS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-06195/6602627-1-eng-US/f0028-062.jpg" title="f0028-06" width="999" height="646"></div><h2>NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS</h2><h3>TEAM-BY-TEAM</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-07175/6602620-1-eng-US/f0028-072.jpg" title="f0028-07" width="991" height="645"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-08159/6602613-1-eng-US/f0028-082.jpg" title="f0028-08" width="985" height="749"></div><h3>LEADERS</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-09148/6602606-1-eng-US/f0028-092.jpg" title="f0028-09" width="992" height="650"></div> &#9632;

f0027-01

NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

NOTE: ALL STATISTICS INCLUDE GAMES OF SUNDAY, APRIL 26/92, UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED.NHL AFFILIATIONS OF MINOR PROFESSIONAL TEAMS APPEAR IN BRACKETS; INDEPENDENT TEAMS WITH NO NHL AFFILIATION ARE INDICATED BY (IND).<h2>AHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01800/6602997-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="604" height="3278"></div><h2>IHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02524/6602990-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="598" height="2443"></div><h2>OHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03378/6602983-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="592" height="897"></div><h2>QMJHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04285/6602976-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="586" height="1361"></div><h2>WHL</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05233/6602969-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="588" height="1507"></div><h2>MEMORIAL CUP</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-06195/6602962-1-eng-US/f0031-062.jpg" title="f0031-06" width="578" height="393"></div><h2>WOMEN&rsquo;S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-07170/6602955-1-eng-US/f0031-072.jpg" title="f0031-07" width="609" height="2195"></div><h2>WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-08146/6602948-1-eng-US/f0031-082.jpg" title="f0031-08" width="575" height="1047"></div><h2>TEAM ROSTERS</h2><h3>CANADA</h3>HEAD COACH: DAVE KING GOALTENDERS: RON HEXTALL. TREVOR KIDD. DEFENSEMEN: TODD GILL. KERRY HUFFMAN, TRENT YAWNEY, JASON WOOLLEY. FORWARDS: KEITH ACTON, GLENN ANDERSON, ROD BRIND&rsquo;AMOUR, PAT FALLOON, RAY FERRARO, DEREK KING, MARC HABSCHEID, RANDY SMITH, STEVE THOMAS.<h3>CZECHOSLOVAKIA</h3>GOALTENDERS: PETR BRIZA, OLDRICH SVOBODA, MILAN HNILICKA. DEFENSEMEN: LEO GUDAS, JIRI JONAK, DRAHOMIR KADLEC, FRANTISEK KUCERA, FRANTISEK MUSH, FRANTISEK PROCHAZKA, PETR SVOBODA, BEDRICH SCERBAN, RICHARD SMEHLIK, ROBERT SVEHLA, FORWARDS: PATRIK AUGUSTA, PETR HRBEK, JAROMIR JAGR, OTAKAR JANECKY, TOMAS JELINEK, KAMIL KASTAK, ROBERT LANG, IGOR LUBA, LADISLAV LUBINA, ROBERT REICHEL, PETR ROSOL, VLADIMIR RUZICKA, PETER VESELOVSKY. RICHARD ZEMLICKA.<h3>FINLAND</h3>HEAD COACH: PENTTI MATIKAINEN GOALTENDERS: MARKUS KETTERER, SAKARI LINDFORS, ARI-PEKKA SIEKKINEN DEFENSEMEN: HANNU HENRIKSSON, ERIK HAMALAINEN, WALTTERI IMMONEN, TIMO JUTILA, JANNE LAUKKANEN, HARRI LAURILA, JYRKI LUMME, KAI RAUTIO, ARTO RUOTANEN, FORWARDS: HANNU JARVENPAA, JARI KURRI, JERE LEHTINEN, MIKKO MAKELA, MIKA NIEMINEN, JANNE OJANEN, TIMO PELTOMAA, RAULI RAITANEN, JUHA RIIHIJARVI, CHRISTIAN RUUTTU, TIMO SAARIKOSKI. KEIJO SAILYNOJA, ESA TIKKANEN, PEKKA TUOMISTO, JARKKO VARVIO, VESA VHTAKOSKI.<h3>FRANCE</h3>GOALTENDERS: JEAN-MARC DJIAN, PETRI YLONEN, MICHEL VALLIERE DEFENSEMEN: STEPHANE BOTTERI, MICHEL LEBLANC, JEAN-PHILIPPE LEMOINE, DENIS PEREZ, SERGE POUDRIER, BRUNO SAUNIER, STEVEN WOODBURN, FORWARDS: PETER ALMASY, MICHAEL BABIN, STEPHANE BARIN, PATRICK DUNN. YANNICK GOICOECHEE, BENOIT LAPORTE, LIONEL ORSOLINI, CHRISTIAN POUGET, PIERRE POUSSE, ANTONIA RICHER, CHRISTOPHE WILLE.<h3>GERMANY</h3>HEAD COACH: LUDEK BUKAC GOALTENDERS: RENE BIELKE, HELMUT DE RAAF, JOSEF HEISS, DEFENSEMEN: RICHARD AMANN, RON FISCHER, ULRICH HIEMER, MICHAEL HEIDT, JORG MAYR, ANDREAS NIEDERBERGER. MICHAEL SCHMIDT, FORWARDS: ANDREAS BROCKMANN, PETER DRAISAITL, GEORG FRANZ, DIETER HEGEN, RAIMOND HUGER, GEORG HOLZMANN, WOLFGANG KUMMER, ERNST KOPF, JURGEN RUMRICH, MICHAEL RUMRICH, BERND TRUNTSCHKA, GORD TRUNTSCHKA, STEFAN USTORF.<h3>ITALY</h3>HEAD COACH: BRYAN LEFLEY. GOALTENDERS: DAVID DEL FINO, RIVA DIEGO ROBERTO ROMANO, DEFENSEMEN: JIMMY CAMAZZOLA, PAOLO CASCIARO, ANTHONY CIRCELLI, GEORG COMPLOI, MICHAEL DE ANGELIS, FRANK LATTUCA, GIVANNI MARCHETTI, ROBERT OBERRAUCH, WILLIAM STEWART, FORWARDS: MARKUS BRUNNER, MARIO CHITARRONI, MARK CUPOLO, STEFAN FIGLIUZZI, ROBERT GINNETTI, EMILIO IOVIO, MAURIZIO MANSI, GATES ORLANDO. SANTINO PELLEGRINO, MARIO SIMIONI, LUCIO TOPATIGH, CARMINE VANI, IVANO ZANAITA, BRUNO ZARRILLO.<h3>NORWAY</h3>GOALTENDERS: STEVE ALLMAN, JIM MARTHINSEN, ROBERT SCHISTAD DEFENSEMEN: AGE ELLINGSEN. JAN ROAR FAGERLI, TOMMY JAKOBSEN, JON MAGNE KARLSTAD, SVEIN ENOK NORSTEBO, PETTER SALSTEN, KIM SOGAARD, FORWARDS: CATO TOM ANDERSEN, BJORN FREDDY BEKKERUO, ARNE BILLKVAM, OLE ESKILD DAHLSTROM, JARLE FRIIS, CARL GUNNAR GUNDERSEN, GEIR HOFF, ROY JOHANSEN, TOM JOHANSEN, ERIK KRISTIANSEN, TROND MAGNUSSEN, OYSTEIN OLSER, PETTER THORESEN.<h3>POLAND</h3>GOALTENDERS: MAREK BATKIEWICZ, MARIUSZ KAISA, ANDRZEJ SANISZ. DEFENSEMEN: HENRYK GRUTH, DARIUSZ GARBOCZ, KAZIMIERZ JUREK, ANDRZEJ KADZIOLKA, FORWARDS: JANUSZ ADAMIEC, KRZYSZTOF BUJAR, MARIUSZ CZERKAWSKI, KRZYSZTOF KUZNIECOW, RONAN STEBLECKI, ANDRZEJ SWISTAK, WOJCIECH TKACZ, PIETR ZDUNEK.<h3>RUSSIA</h3>HEAD COACH: VIKTOR TIKHONOV. GOALTENDERS: MAXIM MICHILOVSKI, MIKHAIL SHTALNEKOV, ANDREI TREFILOV DEFENSEMEN: SERGEI BAUTIN, ILYA BYAKIN, DIMITRI JUSKIJEVIC, DARIUS KASPARAITIS, DIMITRI MIRONOV, ALEXEI ZITNIK, SERGEI ZUBOV, FORWARDS: ALEXANDR BARKOV, IGOR BOLDIN, NIKOLAI BORSTCHEVSKI, VIACHESLAV BOUTSAEV, YURI KHMYLEV, ALEXEI KOVALEV, IGOR KOROLEV, ANDREI KOVALENKO, SERGEI PETRENKO, VITALI PROCHOROV, ALEXEI ZHAMNOV.<h3>SWEDEN</h3>HEAD COACH: CONNY EVENSSON. GOALTENDERS; HAKAN ALGOTSSON, PETER ASLIN. TOMMY SODERSTROM. DEFENSEMEN: ARTO BLOMSTEN, JOACIM ESBJORS, KENNETH KENNHOLT, PETRI LIIMATAINEN, PER LUNDELL. TOMMY SJODIN, FREDRIK STILLMAN, FORWARDS: PATRIK CARNBACK, PETER FORSBERG, JOHAN GARPENLOV, ROGER HANSSON. ANDERS HUSS, LARS KARLSSON, PATRIC KJELLBERG, JAN LARSSON, MARKUS NASLUND, MICHAEL NYLANDER, PETER OTTOSSON, DANIEL RYDMARK, MATS SUNDIN.<h3>SWITZERLAND</h3>HEAD COACH: JOHN SLETTVOLI, GOALTENDERS: RETO PAVONI, PATRICK SCHOPP, RENATO TOSIO, DEFENSEMEN: SAMUEL BALMER, SANDRO BERTAGGIA, DOUG HONEGGER, DINO KESSLER. SVEN LEUENBERGER, MARTIN RAUCH, LUIGI RIVA, PATRICK SUTTER, FORWARDS: MISKO ANTISIN, MARIO BRODMANN, MANUELE CELIO, JORG EBERLE, KEITH FAIR, FELIX HOLLENSTEIN, PATRICK HOWALD, ALFRED LUTHE, GIL MONTANDON, MARIO ROTTARIS, ANDY TOW. ROBERTO TRIOLZI, CHRISTIAN WEBER.<h3>UNITED STATES</h3>HEAD COACH: TIM TAYLOR GOALTENDERS: JOHN BLUE, MIKE DUNHAM, RAY LEBLANC DEFENSEMEN: TODD COPELAND, KEN KLEE, MARK OSIECKI, BARRY RICHTER, GARY SUTER, NEIL SHEEHY, DENNIS VASKE, DAVID WILLIAMS, FORWARDS: TOM BISSETT, ANDY BRICKLEY, MIKE BOBACK, JOHN BYCE, TODD HARKINS, DAVID A. JENSEN, JIM JOHANNSON. DEREK PLANTE, PAUL RANHEIM. JOE SACCO, CHRIS WINNES. &#9632;

f0031-01

SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01779/6603028-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="372" height="496"></div>Brian McKeown doesn&rsquo;t spend large sums of money to own and operate one of Canada&rsquo;s most successful minor hockey organizations. Being the wealthy businessman he is, McKean invests it.&ldquo;You make an investment, you get a return,&rdquo; says the 57-year-old Montrealer with a 30-year history of minor hockey involvement in that city. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the way the world works. But I can tell you this: the return I get on my (minor hockey) investment, well, you can&rsquo;t put a price on it. Whatever I spend, I get back in spades.&rdquo;Anyone&rsquo;s best estimates are that McKeown has spent close to two million dollars-about $100,000 a year-since he founded the Lac St-Louis Lions midget club 17 years ago.The team, based in the Montreal suburb of Verdun, draws on Wnngsters from the city&rsquo;s western suburbs and has a record for excellence exceeded only by Notre Dame College of Wilcox, Sask., a private school that can draw players from all over the country.Lac St-Louis won the 1992 Air Canada Cup national midget Chmpionship April 26 in Dartmouth, It was the Lions&rsquo; third national title in 11 years and their fifth appearance in the 14-year-history of the event.The Lions, along with Laval, Ste-Foy and Richelieu, are the model franchises of Quebec&rsquo;s impressive Triple A midget league.But the national titles are not McKeown&rsquo;s payoff. He believes in winning on a higher level, which is not to be confused with success in major junior or professional hockey.&ldquo;A dream is fine, but the reality is we in minor hockey are not here for the NHL,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Kids in Triple A midget hockey are the elite of their but .0001 per cent of them will ever make the NHL. We&rsquo;re here to help form their character through hockey. They&rsquo;re learning life here.&rdquo;McKeown was bom and raised in the Montreal area but now lists his principal residence as Oakville, Ont., just west of Toronto. He still maintains an apartment in Montreal, a summer home northwest of Sudbury, Ont., a vacation home on Paradise Island in the Bahamas and a camp near Vancouver.It is difficult to estimate his net worth &ldquo;because the great thing about owning private companies,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;is you never have to tell anyone Anything, especially how much money you make.&rdquo;Suffice to say, he&rsquo;s extremely wealthy. His principal business manufactures and maintains metal containers used by the major airlines-everything from cargo boxes to the food-and-drink trolley the flight attendant pushes down the aisle.While he&rsquo;s reluctant to discuss his finances, he doesn&rsquo;t hesitate to share his views of the world, what&rsquo;s wrong with it and why he makes an effort to get involved with youth.&ldquo;For me, it&rsquo;s just the right thing to do,&rdquo; he says of his commitment to the Lions and other less-heralded ventures usually involving academics and athletics. &ldquo;I truly believe the breakdown of the family is screwing up our society so bad. I think a lot of the values of today are bad. I believe our organization can help these young men, help them learn selfdiscipline and respect.&rdquo;McKeown is generally regarded as a sincere man but has strong, blunt opinions that don&rsquo;t always endear him to everyone, especially if he happens to be goring your ox. For example, he has no use for major junior hockey because he fervently believes the mix of academics and athletics is tilted too heavily to the latter.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s not much grey in my life,&rdquo; he concedes. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s black and white. Good and bad. Right and wrong.&rdquo;McKeown treats his Lion players well. They&rsquo;re outfitted in maroon sports coats and club ties, an off-ice uniform that he believes is the first, albeit superficial, step towards establishing order and discipline. They go first class in every way.&ldquo;Kids today crave discipline,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not as if we lavish them with material things. I see it as an exchange. The only reason they get it (first-class treatment) is because they give 100 per cent of themselves. They give us their dedication and respect.&ldquo;Respect, that&rsquo;s the most important thing. That&rsquo;s what so wrong today, the lack of respect in society. The thing I&rsquo;m most proud of is our kids respect themselves. They respect the guy sitting beside them in the room.&rdquo;To a large degree, he sees his midget hockey club as a metaphor for life. Or at least how it should be.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got French kids who can hardly speak a word of English and English kids who don&rsquo;t know French,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It has never been a problem. Hockey is a universal language. They work together to reach a common goal. That&rsquo;s what life is all about.&rdquo;Bob McKenzie is a hockey columnist for the Toronto Star. &#9632;

f0033-01

Youth club owner invests in way of life

<div class="byline">By Roy Cummings</div>Six years, two cities and dozens of trades later, Phil Esposito finally has his man.The Tampa Bay Lightning&rsquo;s general manager satisfied a wish he first had as general manager of the New York Rangers by naming Terry Crisp the expansion team&rsquo;s first coach.&ldquo;I wanted to make Terry my coach way back when I was with New York, and I should have,&rdquo; Esposito said. &ldquo;But I let my owners talk me out of it.&rdquo;No one was going to I talk Esposito out of hiring Crisp this time. Since he first started scribbling the I names of coaching candidates on a piece of paper eight months ago, Crisp&rsquo;s name has been at the top of the list.&ldquo;There is absolutely nobody better out there,&rdquo; Esposito said of the former Calgary Hames&rsquo; coach. &ldquo;He was the best man available, no doubt about it.&ldquo;Cliff Hetcher (who hired and fired Crisp in Calgary) even told me that. He said, &lsquo;Phil, get Crispy. He&rsquo;s the best in the business.&rsquo; And I think he&rsquo;s right. I mean, just look at his winning percentage. It&rsquo;s incredible.&rdquo;The winning percentage-a .669 that is now the best among active coaches-is indeed impressive. It was, however, compiled during a three-year span in which Crisp was in charge of a Hames&rsquo; team considered to be one of the deepest and most talented in NHL history.Crisp, who signed a three-year contract believed to be worth approximately $150,000 a year, said the Lightning offered him the kind of challenge he has been looking for.&ldquo;It didn&rsquo;t really hit me until I saw the press release but I&rsquo;m part of something brand new here, and that is something that I&rsquo;ve really wanted to become involved in,&rdquo; Crisp said. &ldquo;And to be able to do that in Horida is just wonderful. I told my wife Sheila, &lsquo;You can have a garage sale now and sell all the snow shovels. We won&rsquo;t be needing them anymore.&rsquo; &ldquo;One thing Crisp will need in Tampa, Esposito said, is shovelfuls of patience.Patience has never been one of Crisp&rsquo;s virtues, though. While in Calgary, he often tangled with players-Brett Hull was one-who he perceived as giving less than their best effort. And he was quick, some have said too quick, to criticize players for making even the most minor mistakes.Crisp insists, however, he is a changed man.&ldquo;After going through that ordeal in Calgary, I&rsquo;ve learned a lot,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve especially learned a lot about patience. I&rsquo;ve also learned how to win and how to lose. And most important of all, I guess, I&rsquo;ve learned how to deal with both of them.&ldquo;But that doesn&rsquo;t change the fact that I&rsquo;m still a very sore loser. Just like Phil, I want to win. And all I ask of my players is that they give their very best effort to achieve that goal.&rdquo;Crisp said he is excited about the Lightning&rsquo;s decision to play its first two seasons in the 10,367-seat Horida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02531/6603059-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="944" height="1637"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tampa Bay&rsquo;s Terry Crisp owns the best winning percentage of any active coach in the NHL.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m telling you it&rsquo;s tough for teams to go into small buildings like that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You get 10,000 people standing right on top of you like that, screaming and pounding the glass, and it&rsquo;s tough.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s how it is in San Jose and teams hate to go in there. They absolutely hate it, and I want Expo Hall to be the same way.&rdquo;The Lightning, who signed a two-year deal to play at the Expo Hall the day before Crisp was hired, made the move back to Tampa after lease negotiations with the Horida Sun coast Dome in St. Petersburg reached an impasse.Lightning officials had been negotiating with the Suncoast Dome since January but the talks broke down after the Dome refused to budge on the key issues of scheduling priority and climate control.The Lightning wanted scheduling priority during the months of October, April and May, and they also wanted assurances the temperature and humidity in the Dome would be low enough to keep the Lightning&rsquo;s portable ice system running at optimum efficiency.The Dome, which is hoping to attract a majorleague baseball team, finally gave in on the issue of scheduling priority.But the Lightning, who were under pressure to finalize their arena plans, had already reopened talks with the Fairgrounds and were nearing completion on a lease that was first negotiated last December.The Dome officials had also agreed to meet the Lightning&rsquo;s demand on climate control, agreeing to keep the building&rsquo;s temperature at 68 degrees Fahrenheit or lower and the humidity at 55 per cent or lower.But Lightning officials are convinced they will be able to maintain better ice at the Fairgrounds.The Fairgrounds, which is significantly smaller than the 43.000-seat Dome, was recently fitted with a new 15-ton air conditioning unit that will allow the Lightning to control the conditions inside the building. &#9632;

f0033-02

Crisp Progress

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div>When Cam Russell got the call from the Chicago Blackhawks that he was being recalled from Indianapolis for the playoffs, the 23-year-old defenseman wasn&rsquo;t sure he wanted to report.The Hawks understood. Only weeks earlier, on March 24, Russell&rsquo;s 25-year-old wife, Karen, committed suicide in Fort Wayne, Ind.&ldquo;At first, I wasn&rsquo;t sure 1 wanted to come because it might bring the other guys down if I was depressed,&rdquo; Russell said. &ldquo;I know it had a big effect on the guys at Indianapolis. They were on a roll late in the season, then after it happened they lost eight of nine and missed the playoffs.&rdquo;Grief-stricken and confused, Russell finally reported to Chicago April 16 after a talk with his father.&ldquo;My dad said, &lsquo;Pick up the phone and tell Darryl (Sutter) you&rsquo;re ready to play,&rsquo;&rdquo; Russell said. &ldquo;He has always pushed me to do the right thing. You know how parents are. He wanted me to keep busy rather than feel sorry for myself.&rdquo;Cam and Karen Russell were married for less than a year. For the last several months, Karen had frequent bouts of depression and was undergoing therapy and on medication for what was believed to be a chemical imbalance.&ldquo;I guess she just figured she wasted enough of her life suffering already&rdquo;, Russell said. &ldquo;She couldn&rsquo;t see the light at the end of the tunnel.&ldquo;We&rsquo;d be driving somewhere and out of the blue she&rsquo;d just scream and say how anxious she was. Sometimes she would scream for no reason. It was hard for me to leave her when we went on road trips because she would say things on the phone that would scare me, she was so depressed.&rdquo;Russell finds it helps to talk about the tragedy. He&rsquo;s comforted more by friends and teammates in Chicago instead of grieving by himself back home in Halifax, N.S.&ldquo;When I&rsquo;m with my teammates, everything&rsquo;s fine,&rdquo; Russell said. &ldquo;But I still have my hard moments if I&rsquo;m by myself and I have a lot of time to think. Sometimes on the bench my mind wanders. I feel like a part of me died. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, you&rsquo;re mind is supposed to be focused on one thing. But it would be even harder not to be here.&rdquo;BROWN-OUT: When the Hawks acquired Rob Brown, they were counting on him to add scoring punch. But after playing the first two games in the St. Louis series, Brown was scratched three times in a row.&ldquo;He has to improve his fitness and work ethic,&rdquo; coach Mike Keenan said.&ldquo;The worst thing would be for me to be negative and worry,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m staying positive&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Rookie Dean McAmmond suffered a second-degree sprain of his left knee in Game 5 against St. Louis April 28 when he collided with Brendan Shanahan. McAmmond, 18, was in his third game since being recalled from Prince Albert of the Western League.The Hawks&rsquo; string of 125 straigiT sellouts ended when there wasn&rsquo;t a full house Game 2 against the Blues.Playoff scratches: Bryan Marchment (Games 1 and 3), Brad Lauer (1, 2 and 3); Tony Horacek (1 and 4); Adam Bennett (1, 3 and 4); Cam Russell and Stu Crimson (2 and 3); Frantisek Kucera (2, 3 and 5); Jimmy Waite and Rob Brown (3, 4 and 5); Adam Bennett (3 and 4); Rod Buskas (4); and Tony Hrkac and Greg Gilbert (5) each took turns sitting out of the liijeup during the first five games against St. Louis.<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 21: Jimmy Waite. G, recalled from Hershey (AHL). Roch Belley, G, assigned to Indianapolis (IHL). Dean McAmmond, LW, recalled from Prince Albert (WHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Jeremy Roenick, Brent Sutter, Mike Hudson, tony Hrkac.LW&mdash;Stephane Matteau, Jocelyn Lemieux, Brad Lauer, Stu Grlmson, Tony Horacek, Greg Gilbert.RW&mdash;Steve Larmer, Dirk Graham, Brian Noonan, Mike Peluso, Rob Brown.LD&mdash;Steve Smith, Igor Kravchuk, Cam Russell, Frantisek Kucera.RD&mdash;Chris Chelios, Keith Brown, Bryan Marchment, Rod Buskas, Adam BennettG&mdash;Ed Belfour, Dominik Hasek, Jimmy Waite.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Michel Goulet, LW, groin pull, day-to-day. Dean McAmmond, LW, sprained left knee, indefinite. Dan Virrcelette, LW, broken left foot, indefinite. &#9632;

Russell finds comfort in Chicago after dealing with loss of wife

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div>Will Tom Watt be back as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs next season?That&rsquo;s the question confronting Cliff Fletcher as he plots the future of his team.Officially, the Leafs have started an internal examination of all facets of the organization, including the coaching staff of Watt and assistants Mike Kitchen and Mike Murphy.It&rsquo;s likely a decision to either replace Watt or bring him back for the final year of his contract will be made before the June 20 entry draft.Fletcher wasn&rsquo;t tipping his hand one way or another when the Leafs&rsquo; season ended.&ldquo;This is the time of year that always makes general managers and coaches nervous,&rdquo; he said.The 57-year-old Watt has compiled a 52-80-17 record in almost two seasons with the Leafs. He replaced Doug Carpenter 11 games into the 1990-91 season. The team has missed the playoffs each of the past two years.To his credit, Watt was able to keep Leafs afloat and clear up dissension when times were tough. He also brought dedication and organization to the team.On the down side, his constant referee baiting that cost the Leafs more than $15,000 in league fines in his first year was tiresome and annoying.The Leafs are expected to have many young players on their roster over the next few years as the rebuilding process continues. Watt may well be the perfect man for the job.If he does return, however, he will likely want a significant salary increase. Watt is reportedly dissatisfied with his current contract, which is believed to pay him about $100,000 per year.GILL JOINS NATS: Todd Gill&rsquo;s name doesn&rsquo;t jump to mind when NHL all-star teams are being put together. So it was somewhat surprising when the veteran defenseman was asked to join Canada&rsquo;s entry for the World Championships in Prague beginning April 28.Gill struggled for much of this season after injuring his left hand early in the year in a fight with St. Louis enforcer Darin Kimble.He agreed to play for Canada after several defensemen, including Leaf teammates Dave Ellett, and Jamse Macoun, rejected invitations.Gill was a late cut of the 1984 Canadian world junior team and has never travelled to Europe, let alone played abroad.&ldquo;To be honest, I didn&rsquo;t even think about the travel,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;All I could think about was getting the chance to play for my country.&rdquo;Glenn Anderson will also play for Team Canada, while winger Joe Sacco will skate for the U.S. team. Russian defenseman Dmitri Mironov will join the Commonwealth of Independent States.Damien Cox is a hockey writer for the Toronto Star.&rdquo; &#9632;

Moment of truth for Watt

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecklng</div>The line on Dave Christian is that he has no line. And no regular position.He&rsquo;s the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; &ldquo;Super Sub,&rdquo; a player versatile enough to play every forward position.&ldquo;His role is to be dependable,&rdquo; coach Brian Sutter said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t play without guys like that. He can play on your top scoring line, top checking line or fourth line. He can kill penalties and play the power play.&rdquo;Christian may be the only NHL hiayer this season who has played nearly every position on every line.He played both wings and center on the second through fourth lines. He played both wings on the No. 1 line. All he missed was a shift at center with Brett Hull on the top line.&ldquo;I feel like I can play anywhere,&rdquo; Christian said. &ldquo;I just stay ready. When you get the call, you play.&rdquo;Sutter called Christian&rsquo;s number early in the Norris Division semifinals and Christian responded with a goal in each of the first three games. His goal with 40 seconds left in the second period started the Blues&rsquo; comeback from a two-goal deficit en ioute to a 5-4 victory in Game 3.I A wrist injury in Game 4 knocked Christian out of the lineup for Game 5. The Blues lost both games to fall behind 3-2 against Chicago. Christian was expected to be back for Game 6 and would play his usual role, which is no specific role at all.FLYING FRENCHMAN: Though he had only one goal through five ames, rookie Philippe Bozon was among the Blues&rsquo; best forwards.He played a regular shift, showing no shyness for physical play. He took hits and dished them out, ramming Chris Chelios early in Game 3.&ldquo;I know if I want to have success in this league, I have to play physical,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s no problem for me. If I came in afraid to hit and be hit, I&rsquo;m never going to play.&rdquo;This attitude was a pleasant surprise for Brian Sutter, who was unsure what to expect when the Blues&rsquo; signed the French Olympic star in early March. The Blues thought they were getting back the skilled but passive player who left the organization after a half season in the minors in 1987.NOTEBOOK: Brett Hull predicted his game-winning goal at 3:33 of the second overtime in Game 3. &ldquo;Yeah, I did,&rdquo; Hull said. &ldquo;I think every guy wanted to and if he didn&rsquo;t, he shouldn&rsquo;t have been out there.&rdquo;Ron and Rich Sutter have been going hard at brother Brent in the series. The Sutter brothers ended up in the middle of a fray after the 5-3 loss in Game 4. &ldquo;Brent wants to win, and we want to win, so to heck with him,&rdquo; Rich Sutter said.Hull couldn&rsquo;t explain why Chicago coach Mike Keenan made four goalie changes in Game 3. &ldquo;You have one up on everyone if you figure out what&rsquo;s going on in that guy&rsquo;s mind.&rdquo;Playoff scratches: Lee Norwood. Dave Mackey. Pat Jablonski (Games 1 to 5), Kelly Chase (1, 2, 3 and 5), Denny Felsner (1, 2, 3 and 4), Curt Giles (2 and 5), Paul Cavallini (3 and 4), Garth Butcher. Bret Hedican (1), Murray Baron (2). Darin Kimble (4).<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Ron Sutter, Craig Janney, Ron Wilson, Nelson Emerson.LW&mdash;Bob Bassen, Brendan Shanahan, Philippe Bozon, Denny Felsner, Dave Mackey.RW&mdash;Brett Hull, Philippe Bozon, Rich Sutter, Darin Kimble, Kelly Chase.LD&mdash;Jeff Brown, Paul Cavallini, Bret Hedican, Lee Norwood.RD&mdash;Murray Baron, Rick Zombo, Garth Butcher, Curt Giles.G&mdash;Curtis Joseph, Guy Hebert, Pat Jablonski.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dave Christian, RW, sore left wrist, day-to-day. Stephane Quintal, D, bruised right wrist, day-to-day. &#9632;

Dependable Christian a jack of all trades

<div class="byline">By Keith Gave</div>The playoffs didn&rsquo;t exactly unfold as Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; goalie Tim Cheveldae had hoped.Cheveldae, who led NHL goalies in games played with 72 and tied for victories with 38, wanted to have a big series against Minnesota in the first round in order to accomplish two things: convince his detractors he is indeed one of the game&rsquo;s top goalies and get paid accordingly. He will negotiate a new contract this summer seeking a raise from his $200,000 salary.But midway through the series, all he had done was raise concern among even his staunchest supporters in Detroit. He performed better in Game 5 (3-0 win), but the Wings still trailed the series 3-2.Cheveldae allowed soft goals in each of the first two losses at Joe Louis Arena. He was pulled after giving up four goals on 14 shots in Game 3 at Minnesota. Vincent Riendeau started Game 4, lasted two periods and was replaced by Cheveldae. who gave up the winning goal and took his third loss of the series without a win. Which made the Game 5 win that much better, especially because it extended Detroit&rsquo;s season at least one more game.NOTEBOOK: Kevin Miller suffered a broken upper jaw, three separate cuts-one all the way through his cheek that severed a nerve-three cracked teeth and a black eye when he was hit in the face by Derian Hatcher&rsquo;s stick in Game 4. And he felt lucky. &ldquo;It could have taken my eye out,&rdquo; he said. The Wings, however, felt they were robbed of a chance to tie or win because referee Dan Marouelli didn&rsquo;t penalize Hatcher. After reviewing the incident, NHL executive vice-president Brian O&rsquo;Neill gave Hatcher a three-game suspension. &ldquo;This is one of those years when my face keeps getting in the wrong spot,&rdquo; Miller joked.Playoff scratches: Doug Crossman and Brian MacLeUan were the only Wings not to dress for the first five games. Brad Marsh played in Game 4. Troy Crowder was scratched from Games 2 to 5 after playing sparingly in Game 1.<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 23: Martin Lapointe, RW, recalled from Laval (QMJHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Steve Yzerman, Jimmy Carson, Sergei Fedorov. Mike Sillinger.LW&mdash;Keith Primeau, Bob Probed, Shawn Burr, Gerard GaHant, Brian MacLellan.RW&mdash;Paul Ysebaert, Ray Sheppard, Martin Lapointe, Alan Kerr, Troy Crowder, Slava Kozlov.LD&mdash;Nicklas Lidstrom, Vladimir Konstantinov, Yves Racine, Doug CrossmanRD&mdash;Brad McCrimmon, Bob McGill, Brad Marsh.G&mdash;Tim Cheveldae, Greg Millen, Vince Riendeau.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Brent Fedyk, RW, broken ankle, day-to-day. Kevin Miller, RW, broken jaw, day-to-day. &#9632;

Chevy’s plans go astray

<div class="byline">By Gary Olson</div>Even though Jon Casey goes to work in front of thousands of people, he stands alone in the Minnesota goal. Being a loner has served him well, especially during a season of conflict.&ldquo;I never saw the movie. The Babe,&rdquo; Casey said, &ldquo;but I understand how an athlete can get to the point where he says to heck with everybody else. I reached a point during this season when I said, &lsquo;To heck with what the owner, the general manager, the coach and the media said,&rsquo; and went out and did it for myself.&rdquo;Casey and the Stars reached a point during the season where it was impossible to separate his slump from the team&rsquo;s. He was assigned to the Stars&rsquo; International League farm team in Kalamazoo to rehabilitate his game.When the playoffs started with back-to-back victories in Detroit against the Red Wings, Casey and the Stars stood tall again, stirring memories of last spring&rsquo;s magical march to the finals. They led the series 3-2.&ldquo;Do you really think the team&rsquo;s playing the same way now that it did during the (regular) season?&rdquo; Casey asked during a pause in the every-other-day routine of playoff hockey.&ldquo;Maybe you can convince our players to play one style for a week, then another week and another week during the playoffs but you can&rsquo;t for six or seven months.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Derian Hatcher whacked Detroit&rsquo;s Kevin Miller in the face late in Game 4 and received a three-game suspension for his actions. The suspension kept him out of at least the rest of the Detroit series. If Minnesota advances past Detroit. Hatcher&rsquo;s suspension will carry over to the Norris final. If they lose to Detroit, it will end after the two remaining games of the series are served.Playoff scratches: Rob Ramage and Shane Churla missed the first five games. Mike Craig sat out Games 1,4, 5, Brad Berry Game 5.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>April 26: Brad Berry, D, recalled from Kalamazoo (IHL). April 27: Derian Hatcher, D, suspended three games by NHL for stick infraction.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C&mdash;Todd Elik, Neal Broten. Bobby Smith, Dave Gagner, Marc Bureau.LW&mdash;Brian Bellows, Gaetan Duchesne, Derrick Smith.RW&mdash;MIke Modano, Stewart Gavin. Ulf Dahlen, Trent Klatt, Mike Craig, Shane Churla.LD&mdash;Mark Tinordi, Craig Ludwig, David Shaw. Brad BerryRD&mdash;Jim Johnson, Chris Dahlquist, Rob Ramage. G-Jon Casey, Darcy Wakaluk.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Basil McRae, LW, broken left leg. indefinite. Al Pedersen, D, abdominal surgery, day-to-day. Brian 1 Propp, LW, dislocated right shoulder, day-to-day. 1 &#9632;

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May 8, 1992

Edmonton casts Granato as public enemy No. 1

NHL SUMMARIES

Can’t Beat the Real Thing

Team fumes over non-calls by referee Hoggarth