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.

February 5, 1993

The Hockey News February 5, 1993

<h2>1991-92 All-Star Game Facts and Figures</h2>Score: Campbell 10, Wales 6First period score: 2-1, CampbellSecond period score: 8-3, CampbellShots on goal:Campbell 42, Wales 41.MVP-Brett HullCoaches: Bob Gainey (Campbell);Scott Bowman (Wales)Date: Jan. 18,1992Site: PhiladelphiaReferee: Don Koharski.Linesmen: Mark Vines, Mark Pare.Skills CompetitionHardest Shot: Al Maclnnis, CalgaryFastest Skater: Sergei Fedorov, DetroitRapid-fire winner: Dave Ellett,Toronto<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03298/6166887-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="419" height="309"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01758/6166880-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="574" height="916"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pavel Bure</figcaption></div><h2>CAMPBELL ROSTER</h2><h3>CENTERS</h3>Brian Bradley (Tampa Bay)Doug Gilmour (Toronto)Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles)Kelly Kisio (San Jose)Jari Kurri (Los Angeles)Mike Modano (Minnesota)Jeremy Roenick (Chicago)Steve Yzerman (Detroit)<h3>WINGERS</h3>Pavel Bure (Vancouver)Brett Hull (St. Louis)Gary Roberts (Calgary)Luc Robitaille (Los Angeles)Teemu Selanne (Winnipeg)<h3>DEFENSEMEN</h3>Jeff Brown (St. Louis)Randy Carlyle (Winnipeg)Chris Chelios (Chicago)Steve Chiasson (Detroit)Paul Coffey (Los Angeles)Phil Housley (Winnipeg)Dave Manson (Edmonton)<h3>GOALIES</h3>Ed Belfour (Chicago)Jon Casey (Minnesota)Mike Vernon (Calgary)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02471/6166873-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="574" height="909"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris Chelios</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Hull’s Camobells dominated in ’91-92

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01701/6167409-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Gartner reached the 30-goal plateau for the 14th consecutive season Jan. 23, a new league record.</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01622/6167402-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="3078" height="3494"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Kings lost 5-4 to Vancouver Jan. 21 despite Tomas Sandstrom&rsquo;s hat trick in his first game back from an injury.</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01703/6167395-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="3057" height="3498"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01666/6167388-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="3090" height="2902"></div> &#9632;

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NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011368/6165648-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="382" height="486"></div>The coach of the year should not be Pat Bums, Dave King, Terry Crisp or Darryl Sutter. Or any of the other 10 men in their first years in the NHL or with new teams.Too many of them have already won the Jack Adams Award. Nine of the last 13 winners were in their first full seasons with their teams.That&rsquo;s no coincidence.Coaches with reasonably competitive teams invariably fare well in their first years. The true test of a coach&rsquo;s worth is what he accomplishes over the long term. (Okay, so that&rsquo;s a relative term in the NHL where the average coach lasts just two years with one team.)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021110/6165641-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="588" height="799"><figcaption class="caption-body">Minnesota&rsquo;s Bob Gainey merits consideration as coach of the year.</figcaption></div>Fact is, coaches&rsquo; acts inevitably wear thin and substance, not style, is the crucial determinant to longevity. Presumably, NHL general managers agree. Otherwise, fewer coaches of the year would be fired soon after. Then again, GMs don&rsquo;t pick the best coach; the NHL Broadcasters&rsquo; Association does.If first-year coaches were excluded this season, the field would be cut by more than half. There are only 10 coaches in at least their second full seasons with their teams.Now, a disclaimer.This is not a hard-and-fast rule. It would be better described as soft-and-slow and if an exception needs to be made, it will be made. Reluctantly. And only if the evidence were overwhelming.Take heart, Pat Bums.That said, my leading contenders for the Adams this year are Bob Gainey, Pat Quinn, Scott Bowman and Terry Murray. Tops, right now, is Gainey.But that may well change-as should the trophy&rsquo;s terms of reference. It is a regular-season award with voting completed before the playoffs.Dumb.A coach is paid to win, not score goals or earn assists, and no victories are more important than those recorded during the playoffs. A team&rsquo;s post-season fortunes should be a factor in choosing a coach of the year.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03802/6165634-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="1195" height="1763"><figcaption class="caption-body">Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; coach Pat Burns should be ineligible for the Adams Trophy-unless his team goes on a tear in the playoffs. (Marco Campanelli/BBS)</figcaption></div>That doesn&rsquo;t mean the award should go to the Stanley Cup-winning coach each year. It just means that should be a consideration.Only twice in the trophy&rsquo;s 19-year history has it been won by the Cupwinning coach-Scott Bowman with the Montreal Canadiens in 1977 and Fred Shero with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974.Three other times, the coach from the Stanley Cup finalist team won the Adams.The NHL has enough individual regular-season honors. Only one. the Conn Smythe, is given for postseason excellence. THN has decided it&rsquo;s time there were an award that recognized the NHL is actually two seasons in one.Our top coach will not be picked until the Stanley Cup is decided. That way coaches can be judged properly.Logistically, it won&rsquo;t be a big deal to delay the decision on one awardwinner. It&rsquo;s well worth the trouble of conducting a last-minute vote to pick coach of the year.Rickard Fagerlund&rsquo;s grand plans for European super league have been put on hold, pending International Ice Hockey Federation talks with new NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.Fagerlund, president of the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation, has raised the prospect of a six-country professional league beginning play as soon as the 1995-96.He predicted a Jan. 14IIHF meeting in Zurich would lead to formation of a special committee.Its mandate?To examine the feasibility of a league spanning about six countries in the European Community.Instead, Fagerlund said it was decided not to proceed until IIHF representatives Walter Bush and Gordon Renwick meet with Bettman.Fagerlund said this does not mean super league plans have been shelved.&ldquo;We are still interested,&rdquo; Fagerlund said from his Stockholm office. &ldquo;On the other hand, we are also interested in co-operating with the NHL.&rdquo;THN sincerely hopes Ed Belfour&rsquo;s memory loss is only temporary.Belfour was bitter when told he did not rank among the league&rsquo;s top 10 goalies as determined by a THN survey of five NHL pro scouts.&ldquo;The Hockey News has never been good to me,&rdquo; Belfour said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s getting like the National Enquirer.&rdquo;Well, this inquiring mind wants to know if Belfour remembers a certain visit to Toronto nearly three years ago.Guess not.The Chicago Blackhawks can be happy their goalie&rsquo;s goals-against average is better than his powers of recall.Belfour was named THN&rsquo;s top rookie and best goalie in 1990-91. He was honored at our annual awards luncheon.It may happen again.The scouts&rsquo; opinion aside. Belfour has emerged as a leading contender for top goalie this year. &#9632;

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Top coach should not be first-year bench boss

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div>The person who invented Quebec&rsquo;s medicare plan must have had Benoit Brunet in mind. The Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; left winger is in the sick bay again.The hard-luck Brunet was expected to be out until late-March with a broken left arm. He sustained the injury Jan. 22 against the New Jersey Devils after being slashed by John MacLean.Brunet, who had nine goals and 21 points at the time of the injury, missed 10 games earlier this season with a sprained knee.Debilitating injuries are nothing new for the 24-year-old. His 1991-92 season was cut short last December, when he sustained a broken ankle.The year before, Brunet sustained a knee injury in training camp and missed 23 games.QUICK FIX: A videotape from Habs&rsquo; president Ronald Corey and a private meeting with coach Jacques Demers appear to have corrected what was ailing goaltender Patricl Roy.Roy went through a stretch of seven games in December and Jan uary in which he allowed 28 goals went 1-5-1 and was yanked in the second period of one game.&ldquo;I told him I still believed in him and I still considered him to be No. I in the league, but that he wasn&rsquo;t play ing like the best goaltender in the league,&rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;I noticed he wasn&rsquo;t aggressive enough, was relying too much on technique and we thinking too much.&ldquo;I told him. &ldquo;When you play like Patrick Roy, you&rsquo;re the best&rsquo;.&rdquo;At about the same time. Corey showed the players a videotape of their 1986 Stanley Cup triumph over the Calgary Flames.Roy, a rookie that season, was sensational in the team&rsquo;s improbable championship run.He went 15-5 in 20 games, had one shutout and a 1.92 goals-against average. He was selected the playoff MVP.Roy was unbeaten in his first three games following the meeting and film session, allowing five goals and recording one shutout. He reduced his GAA from 3.15 to 3.03.NOTEBOOK: Questions are being raised again about the competence of backup goaltender Andre Racicot, who played poorly in the Canadiens&rsquo; 6-2 loss to New Jersey. Racicot had a shaky first period, allowing three goals to Bobby Holik Racicot was beaten 31 seconds into the game, on the first shot he saw, and twice more on the next eight shots. He was also weak on two third-period goals. His record was 10-3-0 in 13 starts, but most came against weak teams.Denis Savard was suspended by the NHL for one game after he became involved in a spearing duel with Viacheslav Fetisov in the game against New Jersey. Savard received a major and game misconduct. It was his second stick infraction of the year, so he was slapped with an automatic one-game suspension. He sat out the Habs&rsquo; 4-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Jan. 23.<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Kirk Muller. Denis Savard. Stephan Lebeau. Guy Carfaonneau, Brian Skrud-land.LW-GUbert Dionne. Vincent Damp-housse. Donald Dufresne, Mario Roberge.RW-Brian Bellows. Mike Keane, Todd Ewen, Ed Ronan.LD-Mathieu Schneider. Jean-Jacques Daiqneault, Kevin Haller.RD-Lyle Odelein. Eric Desjardins. Patrice Brisebois. Sean Hill.G-Patrick Roy. Andre Racicot<h3>INJURIES</h3>Benoit Brunet, L.W, broken left arm, Indefinite. John LeClair, LW, charley-horse. indefinite. &#9632;

Staying healthy Brunet’s biggest challenge

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04580/6165686-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="358" height="356"></div>Mike Gartner. The durable New York Ranger sniper set an NHL record with 14 consecutive 30-goal seasons. Not only that, the 33-year-old is on pace for a career high 53 goals this season.Wayne Maxner. The deposed Windsor Spitfire coach laid the blame for his firing on a newspaper columnist-never mind the fact his Ontario League team was in last place with a 1425-2 record.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-05422/6165679-1-eng-US/f0002-052.jpg" title="f0002-05" width="354" height="356"></div> &#9632;

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CHEERS & JEERS

&ldquo;I saw the moves he made 20 years ago at the same speed&rdquo;&ndash;Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; coach Ted Green after watching GM Glen Sather warm up for the Heroes of Hockey game. Page 13.&ldquo;We ought to put names on their jerseys so we can pick them as one of the three stars. They&rsquo;re become that much of a factor.&rdquo;&ndash;North Dakota coach Gino Gas-parini on a perceived referee bias against his team. Page 35. &#9632;

QUOTABLE

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011533/6165765-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="298" height="378"></div>Jeff O&rsquo;Neill wasn&rsquo;t looking for preferential treatment. He hasn&rsquo;t received any. But he may not be able to avoid it next season.The 16-year-old Guelph Storm center has been superb during his rookie Ontario League season-justifying his selection first overall in the 1992 midget draft.Next year, O&rsquo;Neill will be eligible for the NHL draft and he could go No. 1 again. He and Newmar ket Royals&rsquo; center Jason Bon-signore are considered the two best prospects in North America.O&rsquo;Neill, 6-foot-l and 180 pounds, led OHL rookies with 21 goals and 50 points in 43 games. He also had 61 penalty minutes.Bonsignore had 13 goals, 27 points and zero penalty minutes in 46 games.The Storm&rsquo;s stylish pivot has attracted notice outside major junior hockey. O&rsquo;Neill was asked to play for Canada at the Spengler Cup, but turned down the chance.Anton Thun, his agent, advised against O&rsquo;Neill going to the Spengler. Thun reasoned that rest over the Christmas holidays was more important for his client than international competition against older players.Guelph, too, does not want to hurry O&rsquo;Neill. &ldquo;We made a decision to undersell Jeff,&rdquo; said Guelph general manager Mike Kelly.&ldquo;Guelph said they didn&rsquo;t expect me to be the next Eric Lindros,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Neill said.Other highly touted 1994 draft-eligible players are right winger Brett Lindros (Kingston Fronte-nacs), center Jeff Freisen (Regina Pats), Czech center Radek Bonk (ZPS Zlin) and Russian winger Alexander Kharlamov (Central Red Army). &#9632;

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OHL rookie attracting attention

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-021372/6165796-1-eng-US/f0004-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">A storm of excitement is surrounding 16-year-old Guelph sensation Jeff O&rsquo;Neill. (Dan Hamilton)</figcaption></div>Victoriaville Tigres&rsquo; center Alexandre Daigle is rated No. 1 in the Central Scouting Bureau&rsquo;s (CSB) first composite ranking of North American prospects.NHL team scouts agree Daigle is the best player available for this summer&rsquo;s entry draft.&ldquo;Daigle has star quality,&rdquo; one scout said. &ldquo;He has charisma, marketability and has definitely pulled away from the pack. He&rsquo;s now in a league of his own.&rdquo;Entering the season, Daigle and Russian left winger Viktor Kozlov were cofavorites to be chosen first. Kozlov has not played well this season.Europeans are listed separately in the CSB&rsquo;s January assessment. Kozlov is rated the sixth-best overseas prospect. Those rankings are based on play at the World Junior Championships (WJC).Most scouts place Kozlov first among the Europeans. But he fares no better than fourth overall according to a survey of scouts contacted for this story.Using the CSB North American list as our base, we have compiled a world ranking of the top 26 prospects. (That&rsquo;s how many teams will be drafting this summer should Orange County and South Florida enter the league in 1993-94.)The top five prospects are: 1. Daigle; 2. defenseman Chris Pronger, Peterborough Petes; 3. center Chris Gratton. Kingston Frontenacs; 4. Kozlov; and 5. center Rob Niedermayer, Medicine Hat Tigers. (See accompanying story to right.)Daigle shone at the Canadian Hockey League All-Star Game Jan. 19 in Montreal. The native of Laval. Que., earned four assists as the Quebec League lost 75 to a combined Westem-Ontario League team.It&rsquo;s not out of the question that Pronger, a 6-foot-5 rearguard from Dry den, Ont., will challenge for No. 1. &ldquo;Pronger is the type of player hockey people will appreciate,&rdquo; one scout said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not as exciting for the fans.&rdquo;Three Europeans are included on our list-Kozlov; Swedish defenseman Kenny Jonsson of Rogle and Swedish left winger Niklas Sundstrom of MoDo. Jonsson and Sundstrom are ranked 14th and 16th, respectively, on our list.Sundstrom is rated first and Jonsson second by CSB. Swedish center Mats Lindgren of Skelleftea and Czech center David Vybomy of Sparta Prague are two other Europeans who could crack the first round.Jocelyn Thibault of the Sherbrooke Faucons is the top-ranked goalie. Canadian WJC hero Manny Legace of the Niagara Falls Thunder is ninth. For the complete CSB listings of North American skaters and goalies, see page 42. &#9632;

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Daigle head of class

With three months of hockey left, only three overseas prospects earned first-round grades from a small sampling of scouts.There were 11 Europeans chosen in the first round of the 1992 entry draft.We have slotted Viktor Kozlov, Kenny Jonsson and Niklas Sundstrom among the Central Scouting Bureau&rsquo;s top 23 North American prospects to formulate a list of potential first-round picks.Included are position, height, weight, team and league or country.1. Alexandre Daigle C 6-0 170Victoriaville (Quebec League)2. Chris Pronger D 6-5 190Peterborough (Ontario League)3. Chris Gratton C 6-3 202Kingston (Ontario League)4. Viktor Kozlov LW 6-5 210Dynamo (Russia)5. Rob Niedermayer C 6-2 200Medicine Hat (Western League)6. Jason Arnott C 6-3 193Oshawa (Ontario League)7. Paul Kariya LW 5-10 160Maine (Hockey East)8. Denis Pederson C 6-2 189Prince Albert (Western League)9. Nick Stajduhar D 6-2 192London (Ontario League)10. Eric Lecompte LW 6-4 190Hull (Quebec League)11. Brendan Witt D 6-11/2 205Seattle (Western League)12. Todd Bertuzzi C/RW 6-3 227Guelph (Ontario League)13. Todd Harvey C 5-11 190Detroit (Ontario League)14. Kenny Jonsson D 6-3 187Rogle (Sweden)15. A. Deadmarsh C/RW 5-111/2 200 Portland (Western League)16. N. Sundstrom LW 5-11 183MoDo (Sweden)17. Jason Allison C/RW 6-21/2 192 London (Ontario League)18. A. Buckberger RW 6-2 200Swift Current (Western League)19. Steve Washburn C 6-1 178 Ottawa (Ontario League)20. Jon Coleman D 6-1 190Andover Academy (Mass.)21. Bryan McCabe D 6-11/2 200Spokane (Western League)22. Mike Wilson D 6-41/2 180Sudbury (Ontario League)23. Shean Donovan RW 6-1 172Ottawa (Ontario League)24. Jamie Rivers D 6-0 180Sudbury (Ontario League)25. Dave Roche LW 6-4 224Peterborough (Ontario League)26. S. Toporowski RW 6-2 204Prince Albert (Western League) &#9632;

The THN composite 1 st round

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>One thing was abundantly clear following two days of testimony at the Eric Lindros assault trial.The Great 88 can skate, but he can&rsquo;t dance.The Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; inability to boogie was a running joke during the first two days of his trial in Oshawa, Ont., provincial court Jan 20 and 22.Lindros, 19, was charged after allegedly spitting and pouring beer on Marie Lynn Nunney, 24, of Whitby, Ont., at a popular Whitby nightclub, Koo Koo Bananas Nov. 29, 1992. Lindros has filed countercharges of assault against Nunney.Lindros, who is out of the Flyers&rsquo; lineup with an injured left knee, was due back in court Feb. 4. Lindros did not take the stand during the first two days of testimony.Because of the attention the case drew, Judge J.R. Morgan acted on the advice of defense counsel Earl Levy and moved the trial to a courtroom with a larger seating capacity. There were about 100 spectators and 20 media members in attendance each day.Nunney and her sister Janice, 19, testified Lindros poured beer over Lynn&rsquo;s back and spit beer in her face. The exchange allegedly occurred after a minor confrontation between Lynn Nunney and Lindros on the bar&rsquo;s crowded dance floor.&ldquo;I felt a considerable amount of liquid poured over my head,&rdquo; Nun ney told crown attorney Lisa Grant. &ldquo;I turned to see Mr. Lindros holding a bottle over my head with what I believed was beer in his cheeks. He spit in my face.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011446/6165851-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="576" height="890"><figcaption class="caption-body">Eric Lindros is scheduled to testify on his own behalf.</figcaption></div>Nunney said three other men also poured beer on her, but was only able to identify one, Jeff Hardy of Whitby, who is a co-accused and was granted a separate trial. Another man, Bryan Hanke of Courtice, Ont., was also charged in the incident.When police arrived, Nunney said Lindros bragged to her,&rdquo;You are nothing. I make $3.5 million a year. I can afford a lawyer to beat any charge.&rdquo;Durham Region Police Const.James Watson, who was on pay duty at the bar. verified Nunney&rsquo;s story.Watson said he was approached by a sobbing Nunney and advised the woman of her legal options. He was later confronted by Lindros who &ldquo;appeared in control; a little put out, arrogant.&rdquo;Hardy painted a different picture of what happened that night.&ldquo;I saw Miss Nunney pour a bottle of beer over Eric&rsquo;s head. He seemed to be in a bit of shock-probably from the cold of the beer. Eric shot some beer back (over his shoulder) in the opposite direction the beer that hit him came from.&rdquo;One patron at the bar testified she thought Nunney was having fun. &ldquo;She looked to be joyful and happy,&rdquo; said Michelle Robichaud.Another customer, Karen Klaren, said Nunney had &ldquo;an unhappy look on her face.&rdquo; She said she saw Lindros &ldquo;squirt beer through his teeth-a fountain effect&rdquo; towards his friends.Shannon Jervis said she saw Nunney pour beer on Lindros twice before he reacted.The oddest occurrence of the second day came when Levy introduced private detective John McClinton, who had done work on the case for the defense.McClinton said he noticed during the first day that Nunney&rsquo;s mother, Rose, was nodding as if to coach her daughters on the stand.Lindros is expected to take the stand in his own defense when the trial resumes. &#9632;

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Koo Koo case continues

<div class="byline">Compiled by THN Staff</div>The NHL and NHLPA finally have a new collective bargaining agreement.It was signed Jan. 22., officially ending one set of negotiations and signalling the start to another.A record number of arbitrations are expected to be heard after the allstar break now that NHL management and labor have settled procedural differences.Arbitration was the last obstacle to signing a final agreement. The negotiation was the most protracted in league history and led to a 10-day strike last fall.Eight independent arbitrators, four selected by management and four by the NHL Players&rsquo; Association, were named to hear the arbitrationcases. Names of the arbitrators were not made public.A panel of three arbitrators will be chosen for each case with the player and management then selecting one from the group.If the same person is picked, that person handles the case. If they each choose a different person, the third arbitrator hears the case.According to the collective bargaining agreement, all decisions must be reached within 72 hours of the hearing.Gary Meagher, the NHL&rsquo;s executive director of communications, said a schedule for the cases is being worked out.The old arbitration system was challenged by the players during the players&rsquo; strike last April. They claimed the arbitrators were too closely tied to management.When a player files for arbitration, he submits a salary demand and the team makes an offer.Unless both sides reach an agreement before the start of training camp, the player is paid at the previous season&rsquo;s rate until the case is decided.TOP CAT: Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo;rookie goalie Felix Potvin was named NHL player of the week for the period ending Jan. 24.Potvin posted a 3-0-0 record with one shutout and two goals against during the week.The goalie edged Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; center Thomas Steen (5-5-10 in four games) and Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; defenseman Garry Galley (2-6-8 in three games) for the honor.Potvin started the season with Toronto and excelled before hitting a cold spell. He was sent to St. John&rsquo;s of the American League when veteran Grant Fuhr returned to action from an injury. &#9632;

NHL finally has signed CBA

A weekly compendium of significant events and developments.Jan. 20: Assault trial for Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; center Eric Lindros begins in Oshawa, Ont.Jan. 21: Hartford Whalers&rsquo; right winger Tim Ken-retires.Jan. 23: New York Rangers Mike Gartner scores in 8-3 win over Los Angeles Kings to become first player in NHL history to score-at least 30 goals in 14 consecutive seasons.Lindros trial adjourned until Feb. 4 after two days of testimony. &#9632;

HOCKEY WEEK: JAN. 18-24

Have the hockey gods no mercy? Must we repeatedly be deprived of the most dynamic, versatile, dominating, exciting star ever to play the game?Mario Lemieux, the NHL&rsquo;s best player, once again confronts another ordeal in a seemingly endless string of trials and tribulations.Though I am distressed by his diagnosis of Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease, I&rsquo;m greatly uplifted by the favorable prognosis.The true gauge of a champion is his response to adversity. By this standard, the Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; captain has proved he is an unparalleled champion not simply because he is a consecutive Conn Smythe winner, but because he is a warrior who overcomes the hardships of the human condition.Hockey needs you, Mario, and every fan will miss you in your absence. On behalf of fans everywhere, I wish you a speedy recovery.M.A. Devendittis, Hempstead, N. Y.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011626/6165930-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="568" height="1142"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mats Sundin was not selected to play in the All-Star Game.</figcaption></div><h2>Where&rsquo;s Mats?</h2>After looking at the list of all-star selections, I was very disappointed to see Mats Sundin was left off the list.Sundin is not only leading the Quebec Nordiques in scoring, but he played a significant role in leading Sweden to the World Championship last season.Will the Wales Conference team be better off with Peter Bondra instead of Sundin? I doubt it. Bondra is having a good season, but omitting Sundin is a serious oversight.Ross Pack. McCallum, Nfld.<h2>Canada&rsquo;s game?</h2>Al Morganti believes it&rsquo;s time for Canada to take a back seat in the direction of professional hockey. As a proud Canadian hockey fan and supporter, I take extreme exception to this notion.Perhaps Mr. Morganti should review a little history as to the number of failed American NHL franchises verses the number of failed Canadian franchises in the past 20 years. The Canadian track record is much better.Morganti thinks a little marketing will help increase hockey&rsquo;s image in the U.S. This seems unlikely to me, considering interest in professional baseball, football and basketball are at a peak in the U.S.I realize most of the NHL&rsquo;s powerbrokers are American-I just hope the Bruce McNalls and Gary Bettmans don&rsquo;t exploit professional hockey at the expense of the game itself.Hockey is near and dear to the hearts of Canadians and we want to continue to play a leading role in carrying on its great traditions.Terry O&rsquo;Hara, Chatham, Ont.<h2>Universal game</h2>In a time where I keep reading how the NHL does not correctly market its stars, I&rsquo;d like to make a comment on the popularity of one of the most famous and well-known hockey stars to ever play the game.I am a sergeant in the Canadian Armed Forces, currently serving on a United Nations tour in Croatia, in the former country of Yugoslavia. Within the first week of my arrival, I met a Serbian policeman in the UN buffer zone. With an English-Serbian translator in hand, we began to talk, albeit with some difficulty, about anything worth talking about.The conversation, if you could call it that, quickly turned to sports. After finding out his favorite sport was soccer, I mentioned hockey was mine.At the mention of the word hockey, he immediately blurted out &ldquo;Ah, hockey. Wayne&hellip;Wayne&hellip;Gretzky.&rdquo;In the middle of a war-tom town, between two warring factions, the first person I spoke to knew about Wayne Gretzky.Don&rsquo;t tell me the NHL has no athletes that aren&rsquo;t recognizable around the globe.Sgt. Steve Bourque, Victoria, B.C.Make your feelings known. Fax us your comments at&nbsp;(416) 445-2501&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;

f0006-01

Mario’s courage shines through

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021110/6165961-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0006-02

THE DRAW

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello</div><h2>Pearn looks to the future</h2>Canadian national junior team coach Perry Pearn has descended from Cloud Nine and is back on solid ground guiding the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Ookpiks.&ldquo;That first bus trip to Grande Prairie did it,&rdquo; said Pearn who led Canada to a gold medal at the World Junior Championships in Sweden.Pearn is in the process of signing with an agent and has had &ldquo;indirect&rdquo; talks with an NHL team about coaching in the minor ranks or assisting at the NHL level next season.&ldquo;There comes a time when a person knows it&rsquo;s time to move on,&rdquo; Pearn said.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03707/6165992-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg" title="f0006-03" width="574" height="750"><figcaption class="caption-body">David Quinn</figcaption></div><h2>Quinn playing on medication</h2>David Quinn has remained healthy and injury-free four months into his comeback from hemophilia.The defenseman, a first-round pick of Minnesota in 1984, is on a one-year contract with Cleveland of the International League.A drug called mono-nine, administered 30 minutes before games, brings Quinn&rsquo;s clotting factor up to 100 per cent from eight per cent.Quinn was diagnosed with hemophilia in 1987 after he sprained his ankle and almost bled to death while at Boston University. He hadn&rsquo;t played until taking the drug and skated briefly with Binghamton last season. &#9632;

f0006-03

UPDATE

<div class="byline">By Ken Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011472/6166023-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="380" height="537"></div>If the NHL really wants to open up the game and make it more exciting, it should drop the fans a line.The center-ice red line has been part of the league since 1943. The NHL&rsquo;s rationale was that a line in the middle of the rink would speed up the game and reduce offside calls. Almost 50 years later, it&rsquo;s clear that the league has not accomplished what it set out to do.It&rsquo;s also clear that, for offside purposes, the red line should become the dead line.The board of governors&rsquo; rule changes aimed at providing more freedom of movement for skill players was a valiant effort, but removing the two-line offside pass would provide more excitement and less restraint than any of those rules ever could.The red line puts a premium on the boring, defensive style of hockey that has fans reaching for their remote controls. It clogs up the neutral zone, slows down the play and turns potential breakaways into beer commercials.&ldquo;It opens up an area of the ice that can be very boring,&rdquo; said Ron Mason, whose Michigan State Spartans play without the red line in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. &ldquo;It takes away that neutral zone gridlock. Let&rsquo;s face it, the game is there to entertain the fans. They want scoring chances and this gives it to them.&rdquo;The concept has received mixed reviews at almost every level of hockey and the NHL is no different. The league&rsquo;s general managers are said to be against the idea, but the board of governors may take the decision out of their hands. And with the NHL&rsquo;s recent attempts to make the game more television-friendly, there may be enough support to eliminate the red line on a trial basis during the pre-season as early as next year.Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; owner Norm Green is in favor of the concept. Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; governor Howard Baldwin is open to the idea, but isn&rsquo;t embracing it wholeheartedly just yet.&ldquo;If it&rsquo;s something that would make the game better I&rsquo;d like to listen to it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to hear what the GMs have to say about it, but I think it&rsquo;s something the board could discuss.&rdquo;The NHL isn&rsquo;t the only league contemplating change. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association&rsquo;s board of directors will vote on making the change at its semi-annual meeting at the end of January. But the proposal will likely be defeated. &ldquo;One concern is that it&rsquo;s fine at an elite level of hockey where you have skill players,&rdquo; said Doug Grieger, the CAHA&rsquo;s manager of rules and officiating. &ldquo;But is a peewee kid going to be strong enough to shoot the puck that far and will it really help develop his skills?&rdquo;The Western League removed the red line for two pre-season games this season but the governors in that league are lukewarm to the idea because the NHL hasn&rsquo;t adopted it. The National Collegiate Athletic Association and Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union both play without the two-line offside pass.It&rsquo;s safe to assume that the 200-by-85-foot ice surface is here to stay. There are 13 NHL teams with plans to build new arenas and not one of them has provisions for the 200-by-1 OO-foot international rinks. But removing the offside pass will increase the size of the rink without moving the boards an inch. And it won&rsquo;t compromise the physical style that makes the NHL so much more exciting than international play.Removing the red line would still require judgement calls on the part of officials, but the rule would not be open to interpretation. Players around the league jokingly call the new restraining fouls &ldquo;exhibition rules&rdquo; because of the fact they were called so frequently during the early season but not after. This would be one way of providing the players with room to move with minimal imposition on the officials.A radical change like this would have all kinds of implications on the game. It would almost certainly render slow-footed defensemen useless and force teams to build more around speed and skill than ever before.Swift Current Broncos&rsquo; coach Graham James thinks the WHL and NHL should go a step further and eliminate the red line for offside and icing. He claims the possibility of missing the breakaway pass and being called for icing would deter teams from trying it more.If it&rsquo;s such a good idea, why isn&rsquo;t every league in the world jumping at the chance to be on the cutting edge by eliminating the red line?&ldquo;It&rsquo;s fear of the unknown,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;Coaches are probably scared of it because it means going to a different kind of game. Coaches like the way the game is played now.&rdquo;So do a lot of people. But it could be a lot better without a red line. &#9632;

f0007-01

It’s time for red line to become dead line

<div class="byline">By Stan Flschler</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02986/6166054-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Former Boston Bruins&rsquo; goalie Gerry Cheevers has had numerous chances to sell his famous mask, but has resisted the temptation. (THN files)</figcaption></div>The New York Rangers&rsquo; firing of Roger Neilson has coaches thinking of forming a union. New York Islanders&rsquo; coach Al Arbour said he and his colleagues have had enough. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely time for the coaches to get together, have togetherness so we know what&rsquo;s going on and can earn more respect from everyone,&rdquo; Arbour said. New Jersey Devils&rsquo; coach Herb Brooks told Bluelines he&rsquo;s not only in favor of a coaches&rsquo; union but endorses Arbour to lead it. &ldquo;I say Al should go for it,&rdquo; Brooks said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a good spokesperson and it is an interesting concept.&rdquo; Asked whether such a group could have protected Neilson, Brooks said,&rdquo;It could since there could be a walkout like any other union.&rdquo;<h2>Mickey and Mario</h2>Mario Lemieux has the support of a sports legend in his battle against Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease. Former New York Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle lost his father and grandfather to the ailment. In 1985, Mantle&rsquo;s third son, Billy, was diagnosed with Hodgkin&rsquo;s and given &ldquo;a 25 per cent chance of living.&rdquo; The disease is in remission and Billy is living in Dallas. Mantle said Lemieux,&rdquo;has nothing to worry about. He&rsquo;ll be fine because the knowledge and technology is so different today. Tell Mario I&rsquo;m pulling for him.&rdquo;&hellip;A popular press box pastime at Joe Louis Arena is the Mike Hitch Watch, where the media keeps its eyes on the reaction of the Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; owner to his team. In early January, he left in a huff after the Toronto Maple Leafs scored their first goal in a 4-2 Toronto win. There is speculation a bad playoff will cost general managercoach Bryan Murray his job. The fact Murray bypassed Barry Melrose as coach bothers Hitch.<h2>Fighting tips</h2>Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; enforcer Gino Odjick is amazingly candid about revealing tips on winning hockey fights. &ldquo;Probably the best trick,&rdquo; Odjick said,&rdquo;is something Bob Probert uses. He lets you grab on and then he starts skating backwards and the whole jersey comes off. Then you&rsquo;ve got nothing to grab onto. That&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s so good because with anybody else, when their shirt comes off you can neutralize them a little and slow down their punches. But when Probert&rsquo;s shirt comes off, he can still throw big and throw freely.&rdquo;&hellip;Incoming NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been urged to withdraw the league&rsquo;s appeal of a recent court decision in Canada awarding more than $25 million in surplus pension funds to retired players. &ldquo;I have some of my lawyers looking into that,&rdquo; Bettman told Bluelines.<h2>Stitches in time</h2>Gerry Cheevers&rsquo; goalie mask with the painted-on stitches is probably the most recognizable piece of equipment in NHL history. The former Boston Bruins&rsquo; goalie, now a television analyst for the Hartford Whalers, is frequently asked about the famed facial protector. Cheevers said the mask is under lock and key in his home. He said he has received numerous offers to sell it &ldquo;for thousands of dollars&rdquo; and would do so-except that his wife would never allow it&hellip;After learning that fellow GM Serge Savard had forsaken cigar-smoking, Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; boss Pat Quinn offered to buy Savard&rsquo;s remaining stock of stogies. &ldquo;He wouldn&rsquo;t sell them to me,&rdquo; Quinn said. &ldquo;I guess Serge figures he wants them around in case he changes his mind.&rdquo;<h2>Smoking guns</h2>There is never a dull moment when it comes to the rowdy New York Ranger fans, but a recent tale concerning two fans has an ironic twist. During a game, two spectators who got into a brawl with Madison Square Garden security guards were off-duty New York City policemen. According to the police, the two officers, Leonard Mullazo and Joseph Bonachie battled with Garden security after Mullazo lit a cigarette, which is prohibited in the arena. No charges were laid in the incident&hellip;League insiders claim the mutual admiration between Mark Messier and Eric Lindros is so intense that neither will hit the other terribly hard on the ice. Before games between the Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, Messier and Lindros are frequently seen in conversation. &#9632;

f0007-02

Neilson ouster prompts talk of union

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div>For the first time in many seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs are serving notice to the rest of the NHL that they won&rsquo;t be pushed around.Despite not having an overly physical crew, the Leafs have been hammering out some respect, starting with a 5-3 Jan. 17 loss in Chicago. The two teams combined for 158 minutes in that game, but afterwards it was the Blackhawks complaining about the Leafs&rsquo; overly aggressive behavior.&ldquo;The next day on the team bus, nobody was sitting alone,&rdquo; said one team official. &ldquo;For us, that was really different.&rdquo;Four nights later in Tampa Bay, the Lightning ran at the Leafs hard in a very rough first period, but ended up losing the majority of fights and the game, 6-1.&ldquo;Everybody was ready for it,&rdquo; said defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think any team can take us out of a game like that now. We have the tools to fight back.&rdquo;That new attitude helped the Leafs go 7-1-2 in 10 road outings betweenDec. 22 and Jan. 22. Part of the reason for the Leafs&rsquo; increased team toughness has been enforcer Ken Baumgartner. After playing sparingly in the first three months of the season, Baumgartner played in 16 of 17 games starting in late December and the Leafs went 10-4-3 in that stretch.FACING IDOL: It was an unusual situation for Maple Leaf goaltender Felix Potvin when he faced the Montreal Canadiens for the first time in his career Jan. 24.Potvin, who grew up just outside Montreal, was a Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; fan growing up and hated the Canadiens. Montreal goalie, Patrick Roy, however, was one of Potvin&rsquo;s hockey heroes, and it was Roy who was at the opposite end of the Maple Leaf Gardens&rsquo; ice when Potvin prepared for one of the biggest games of his life.Potvin managed to live up to his reputation as the hottest young goalie in hockey, shutting out the Canadiens 4-0 with a 29-save effort and besting Roy by a country mile.&ldquo;Even in the warmup for this game, I was watching (Roy) like a kid,&rdquo; Potvin said. &ldquo;It was good to win and good to beat a good team.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011546/6166085-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="567" height="1099"><figcaption class="caption-body">Felix Potvin&rsquo;s first NHL shutout came in a 4-0 win over Montreal.</figcaption></div>In his first three starts after being recalled from the minors Jan. 18 to replace the injured Grant Fuhr, Potvin was 3-0-0 with a 0.66 goals-against average. Potvin had lowered his GAA to 2.64, second-best in the NHL behind Chicago&rsquo;s Ed Belfour.NOTEBOOK: Peter Zezel&rsquo;s goal against St. Louis in a 5-1 win Jan. 19 was the 500th point of his career&hellip;Twenty-eight of Toronto&rsquo;s 53 points had come via a 13-1-2 record against St. Louis, San Jose, Tampa Bay and Ottawa.Jan. 30 will be a milestone in the history of Maple Leaf Gardens. For the first time, beer and wine will be sold in the famous arena that night during a game against the New York Rangers.Damien Cox is a hockey writer for The Toronto Star.<h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Dec. 22: Dave Tomlinson, C. assigned to St. John&rsquo;s (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Doug Gilmour, John Cullen. Peter Zezel, Dave McLlwain.LW-Nikolai Borschevsky, Mike Knjsh-elnyski, Bill Berg, Kan Baumgartner.RW-Glenn Anderson, Rob Pearson, Mark Osborne, Mike RkignoLD-Dave Ellen. Jamie Macoun, Sylvain Lefebvre, Darryl Shannon.RD-Todd GUI, Bob Rouse. Dmitri Mironov, Bob McGill.G-Felix Potvin. Rick Wamsley.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Wendel Clark, LW. strained rib cage muscle, day-to-day. Grant Fuhr, G, bruised coBarbone, day-to-day. &#9632;

f0008-01

Pushy attitude paying dividends

<div class="byline">By Keith Gave</div>The Detroit Red Wings are using unhappy left winger Keith Primeau to try and pry forward Esa Tikkanen and defenseman Dave Manson away from the Edmonton Oilers.But several bothersome clauses in Tikkanen&rsquo;s contract have threatened negotiations.Tikkanen, however, was so sure of a deal he told friends after a game Jan. 22 that he had been traded to Detroit.Detroit coach-general manager Bryan Murray denied the deal the next morning.The day before Tikkanen&rsquo;s premature announcement, however, Murray met with owner Mike Hitch, executive vice-president Jim Lites and former GM Jimmy Devellano to discuss a deal.Team officials said the group was concerned with several clauses in Tikkanen&rsquo;s $1 million-a-year contract, which runs until he&rsquo;s 32. Tikkanen turned 27 Jan. 25.One problem, a source said, was an unpaid $300,000 signing bonus the Oilers expected Detroit to pay.One theory suggested cash-strapped Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington, who negotiated Tikkanen&rsquo;s deal, was so eager to unload the contract he was willing to include Manson and his $1.2 million salary in the deal for as many as three or four young Detroit players.Murray, the coach, wanted to make the deal. He felt Tikkanen, despite his lackluster play this season, would rise to the occasion in the playoffs.And Manson would give the Wings the skill and physical presence Murray has been seeking since the season began.But Murray, the general manager, was playing hardball. He wasn&rsquo;t enamored with parting with several young players who would become NHL regulars in five years.Primeau gave Murray his blessing to arrange a deal. The 21-year-old was the team&rsquo;s first pick in the 1990 entry draft. He had 16 points in 47 games.&ldquo;I understand his position and he understands my position,&rdquo; Primeau said. &ldquo;Being mentioned in trade rumors is a positive thing. It shows teams are interested and if they trade for me they&rsquo;re going to play me.&rdquo;BATTLE STATIONS: The Wings lost 4-3 to St. Louis Jan. 23, and got involved in an ugly incident 54 seconds into the game.That&rsquo;s when Jim Cummins and Bob Probert went to work in separate confrontations with Blues&rsquo; enforcer Kelly Chase. Soon, every player on the ice-including the goaltend-ers-were paired off.The highlight, at least for the packed Arena crowd, was a center-ice bout between goalies Tim Cheveldae and Curtis Joseph, which left Cheveldae sporting a shiner over his left eye.&ldquo;It gave us a reason to rally,&rdquo; Bryan Murray said. &ldquo;Things like that don&rsquo;t hurt, usually.&rdquo;More potentially harmful, at least for Murray, was a possible 10-game suspension to be levied against the coach of a team whose player leaves the penalty box to continue fighting, as Cummins did when Probert was being double-teamed.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011483/6166116-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg" title="f0009-01" width="574" height="658"><figcaption class="caption-body">Coach-GM Bryan Murray got into trouble against St. Louis.</figcaption></div>The normal five-game suspension for the infraction is doubled because it&rsquo;s the second such infraction by one of Murray&rsquo;s players in a span of three years.Last season, Yves Racine left the box in New York&rsquo;s Madison Square Gardens to rejoin a fracas.Cummins, a rookie right winger, was automatically suspended without pay for 10 days and his team fined $15,000.&ldquo;Two on one? That&rsquo;s gutless,&rdquo; Cummins said. &ldquo;Anybody can get hurt with four fists swinging at you.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Wings pulled out of their season-long slump at just the right time. They went 12-4-3 in 19 games just prior to a four-game western road trip.<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 21: Bobby Dollas, D. recalled from Adirondack (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Steve Yzerman. Sergei Fedorov, Jimmy Carson. Mike Sillinger.LW-Gerard Gallant, Shawn Burr. Dallas Drake. Bob Probert. Keith Prfmeau, Chris TancaU, John Ogrodnick.RW-Dino Ciccarelli, Paul Ysebaert, Hay Sheppard, Sheldon Kennedy, Jim Cummins.LD-Steve Chiasson. Yves Racine, Nicklas Lidstrom, Bobby Dollas.RD-Vladimir Konstantinov, Mark Howe, Brad McCrimmon.G-Tim Cheveldae, Vince Riendeau.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dennis Vial. D. separated shoulder, indefinite. &#9632;

f0009-01

Primeau trade on hold-for now

<div class="byline">By Roy Cummings</div>In retrospect, all that talk about the Tampa Bay Lightning making the playoffs in their inaugural season proved to be just that-talk.Since jumping out to a 9-8-1 start, the Lightning fell back to earth with a resounding thud.By the time the free fall ended with a 5-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks Jan. 23, the Lightning had lost 24 of its last 30 games-including seven straight-.&ldquo;If you look at the standings, this was a game we had to win,&rdquo; left winger Mikael Andersson said. &ldquo;To have lost to them in this building would have been the lowest point of the season by far. It might have killed us.&rdquo;The Lightning were outshot 38-37 and outplayed during major portions of the game, but after struggling through a lengthy losing streak, no one was complaining.Marc Bureau, who has spent most of the season on a checking line, sparked the victory with the first two-goal game of his career.It was the result of a pre-game line change in which Lightning coach Terry Crisp paired Bureau with Tampa Bay&rsquo;s All-Star Game representative Brian Bradley.Bradley set up both goals to take over the team lead in assists with 29 and goalie Pat Jablonski chipped in with a 36-save effort.Jablonski was especially tough during a four-minute San Jose power play in which he stopped seven shots while maintaining a 3-1 Tampa Bay lead.Jablonski did have something to prove. With the emergence of J.C. Bergeron, Jablonski had slipped to No. 2 on the Lightning&rsquo;s goaltending depth chart.His performance against San Jose may have altered that.FIGHTING SPIRIT: Lightning assistant coach Wayne Cashman is trying his best to get accustomed to being part of a losing organization.The former NHL left winger spent 18 seasons with the highly successful Boston Bruins and he&rsquo;s trying to pass on his philosophy on winning to the Lightning players.&ldquo;Just wanting to win doesn&rsquo;t make you win,&rdquo; Cashman told his troops. &ldquo;Fear of losing is what makes you win and every player on this team has to develop an absolute hatred for losing.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Lightning power play remained in a deep freeze against San Jose, going 0-for-9 with the manpower advantage against the 23rd-ranked penalty-killing unit in the league. That left the team 4-for-46 in its last seven games&hellip;Adam Creighton went 17 games without scoring before notching his ninth goal of the season asainst San Jose.<h2>TAMPA BAY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 20: Wendell Young, G. assigned to Atlanta (IHL). Jan. 23: Chris LiPuma. D, recalled from Atlanta.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Brian Bradley. Adam Creighton, Steve Kasper, Rob DiMalo.LW-John Tucker, Chris Kontos, Mikael Andersson, Rob Zamuner, Shayne Stevenson.RW-Marc Bureau. Steve Maltais, Basil McRae, Danton Cole, Mike Hartman.LD-Roman Hamrilk, Peter Taglianet-8, Shawn Chambers.RD-Rob Ramage, Marc Bergevin. Bob Beers, Chris LiPuma.G-J.C. Bergeron, Pat Jablonski.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Joe Reekie. D. broken left leg, indefinite. &#9632;

Reality beginning to set in following exceptional start

<div class="byline">By Gary Olson</div>The Minnesota North Stars have never been known as a team with enormous depth. Especially since they helped stock the San Jose Sharks two summers ago.So when a recent stretch of injuries hit the squad, coach-general manager Bob Gainey hoped he could dive into the team&rsquo;s talent pool without bottoming out.The North Stars&rsquo; towers of de-fense-Derian Hatcher and Mark Tinordi-were sidelined until midFebruary with knee injuries.If that wasn&rsquo;t enough, the Stars&rsquo; training room has filled as teammates do in each other.Dave Gagner was getting tugged down by an Ottawa Senator Jan. 21 and his stick caught Bobby Smith in the mouth, breaking what he thought would be a permanent dental plate.&ldquo;Most players use temporary plates and those who have permanent plates usually wear mouth guards,&rdquo; Smith said after 10 teeth were rearranged by Gagner&rsquo;s stick. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t fit in either group.&rdquo;As nasty as that injury was, it wasn&rsquo;t nearly as frightening as the one Todd Elik sustained two days later against Vancouver. Elik was skating behind the Canucks&rsquo; net when teammate Russ Courtnail unloaded a shot that sailed high. The puck hit Elik on the forehead, knocked him out and and created a wound that required 48 stitches.The scene was gory enough that two fans and one usher who watched close by needed medical treatment.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t remember much about it,&rdquo; a groggy Elik said. &ldquo;The only thing that gets me emotional is when I look at the replay on TV. I was (knocked) out on my feet and was dead weight when I hit the ice.&rdquo;When he landed chin-first on the ice, he suffered a whiplash effect to his neck and chipped a couple teeth.&ldquo;I imagine someone was looking over me because it could have been a lot worse,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The first thing I want to do is let this heal right. When I get back, I hope it doesn&rsquo;t make me timid or insecure.&rdquo;TOGETHER FOREVER: Bob Gainey has mixed and matched players most of the season but has left one line together-Neal Broten between Gaetan Duchesne and Russ Courtnall.Each has already scored more goals than he did last season.Courtnall, who was limited to 27 games with Montreal last season, had 24 goals and 54 points in 48 games. Duchesne has as many goals (12) as he has ever scored in any of three seasons with the Stars and Broten already has two more goals (10) than he scored last season.The trio is used mostly as a checking line, getting lots of ice time against opponents&rsquo; best players.NOTEBOOK: Club owner Norman Green hasn&rsquo;t said much about the bids he received from the Target Center in Minneapolis or the Civic Center in St. Paul except to say there appears to be a workable solution to the Stars&rsquo; financial woes in the Twin Cities.<h2>MINNESOTA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 21: Richard Matvichuk. D. recalled to Kalamazoo (IHL). Jan. 24: Doug Barrault, C, recalled from Kalamazoo.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mike Modano, Neal Broten. Dave Gagner, Doug Barrault.LW-Stewart Gavin, Gaetan Duchesne, Mike McPhee, Ulf Dahlen.RW-MIke Craig, Russ Courtnall, Trent Klatt, Shane Churla.LD-Enrico Ciccone, Craig Ludwig, Richard Matvichuk.RD-Tommy Sjodln. Jim Johnson, Brad Berry.G-Jon Casey. Darcy Wakaiuk.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Todd Elik C, concussion, facial lacerations, day-to-day Dertan Hatcher. D, sprained left knee, indefinite. Bobby Smith, C. facial lacerations, day-to-day. Mark Tlnordl D, sprained knee, day-to-day. &#9632;

Depth getting good test

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div>For most of last season, the road was the last place the Chicago Blackhawks wanted to be. This year the Hawks can&rsquo;t wait to pack their bags.The Hawks&rsquo; 6-2 win at Hartford Jan. 23 was their 13th road victory of the season, matching their total from 1991-92. Since the end of November, the Hawks were 9-3-2 on the road.&ldquo;Our preparation has been better on the road.&rdquo; said Steve Smith. &ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t been intimidated going into other buildings. We won some important games on the road in the playoffs last spring and we&rsquo;ve built on that.&rdquo;&ldquo;We&rsquo;re more confident because we&rsquo;re scoring a few more goals,&rdquo; said Michel Goulet. &ldquo;Everyone was struggling to score on the road last year.&rdquo;Steve Larmer has experienced the biggest turnaround. He scored just seven road goals last year but had 13 through 26 games this season. While the Hawks have been a very good road team, they would love to own home ice through the playoffs, which gave a pair of late January games withSmythe Division leader Vancouver added importance.The Hawks took the opener of a home-and-home series with the Canucks 6-2 Jan. 24 for their seventh win in eight games.The Hawks beat the Canucks despite losing Jeremy Roenick in the second period. Roenick was ejected by referee Dan Marouelli for high-sticking even though TV replays clearly showed it was Anatoli Semenov&rsquo;s stick that cut Dixon Ward.Marouelli later admitted his mistake and apologized to Roenick.&ldquo;I appreciate his apologizing, but that doesn&rsquo;t do me any good,&rdquo; Roenick said. &ldquo;It takes me out of a pretty important game. It&rsquo;s a joke. Why don&rsquo;t they use replay to look at plays like that?&rdquo;It was the second time in two days one of the Hawks received a stick-related major penalty he didn&rsquo;t deserve. Smith got a game misconduct for spearing Nick Kypreos Jan. 23 at Hartford only to have it rescinded the following day when video replays showed he didn&rsquo;t do it.NOT AGAIN: For Brent Sutter, it was another tough break-literally.Sutter broke the index finger on his right hand Jan. 19 against Winnipeg when struck by a Cam Russell shot.It was the second time this season Sutter was injured by a teammate&rsquo;s shot while standing in front of the net. Sutter broke his right foot in a preseason game when Steve Smith drilled him. That forced Sutter to miss 14 games.The broken finger was expected to keep Sutter out until Feb. 1.&ldquo;At least he&rsquo;s in the right spot (in front of the net),&rdquo; joked brother and coach Darryl.Deep down Darryl wasn&rsquo;t laughing, since he knows what his brother means to the club. Without Sutter early in the season, the Hawks went 5-6-3. They were 22-11-3 with him.NOTEBOOK: Jeremy Roenick brushed off news that Winnipeg coach John Paddock sent a tape to the league asking Roenick be punished for slashing Phil Housley on the wrist Jan. 19. &ldquo;That happens to me twice a game,&rdquo; said Roenick&hellip;Steve Larmer reached the 30-goal plateau for the ninth time in 11 seasons.The Hawks got unexpected offense from Jocelyn Lemieux in 6-2 wins over Washington Jan. 21 and Hartford Jan. 23-three points each game.<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Nona.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Jeremy Roenick, Christian Ruuttu, Davs Christian. Brian Noonan.LW-Michel Goulet, Greg Gilbert, Stephane Matteau, Stu Grimson, Rob Brown.RW-Steve Larmer, Dirk Graham, Jocelyn Lemieux, Brad Lauer.LD-Steve Smith, Frantisek Kucera, Cam Russell. Mean Tichy.RD-Chris Cheiios, Keith Brown, Bryan Marchment.G-Ed Balfour, Jimmy Waite.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mike Hudson, C, virus, day-to-day. Igor Kravchuk, 0, sprained left ankle, day-to-day. Brent Sutter. C, broken right index finger, day-to-day. &#9632;

Life on the road hasn’t been that tough

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div>A freak accident with a motorcycle has ended the season-and perhaps the career-of St. Louis Blues&rsquo; veteran defenseman Lee Norwood.Norwood, 32, underwent emergency surgery Jan. 22 to repair a fracture and dislocation of his left ankle that the Blues&rsquo; orthopedic surgeon described as &ldquo;catastrophic.&rdquo;&ldquo;On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the worst, this is a 10,&rdquo; Dr. Jerome Gilden said. &ldquo;The ankle is angulated and deformed.&rdquo;Gilden inserted a plate and eight screws into Norwood&rsquo;s ankle in a two-hour operation. Norwood will need at least six months to recuperate and because of his age and contract status-he&rsquo;s on a one-year deal-his career is in jeopardy.&ldquo;I want to have a positive attitude,&rdquo; Gilden said. &ldquo;I said, &lsquo;Lee, 1&rsquo;11 do my best so you can play again.&rsquo; He&rsquo;s disappointed and upset and he&rsquo;s worried about his future.&rdquo;The freakish injury occurred at the home of winger Brendan Shanahan in suburban St. Louis. Norwood stored the motorcycle, a 1993 Harley Davidson Nostalgia purchased five days earlier, in Shanahan&rsquo;s garage.Gilden said Norwood told him the motorcycle fell on him while he was wheeling it out of the garage.The loss of Norwood was devastating for the Blues, who have been plagued by injuries. Defenseman Jeff Brown was sidelined with a broken bone on the inside of his left foot.The timing couldn&rsquo;t have been worse for Norwood, who recently solidified a regular job and had played 12 consecutive games, his longest stint since early last season. He had three goals and 10 points in 32 games this season.CUJO STRIKES: Goalie Curtis Joseph is known to his teammates by two nicknames.He&rsquo;s called &ldquo;The Cat&rdquo; because of his quick, cat-like reflexes. He&rsquo;s also called &ldquo;Cujo,&rdquo; a derivative of the first two letters of his first and last names.Cujo sounds menacing, fitting Joseph&rsquo;s combative nature. It also happens to be the name of a Stephen King book about a rabid killer dog.Cujo fit nicely Jan. 23 when Joseph was more killer dog than pussycat. Joseph beat up Detroit goalie Tim Cheveldae in a rare fight between goalies and then stopped 39 shots to beat the Red Wings 4-3.NOTEBOOK: Russian left winger Vitali Karamnov was demoted to Peoria of the International League by the Blues Jan. 19. When Karamnov was drafted this past June, general manager Ron Caron predicted he would score 30 goals this season. Karamnov had no goals and one assist in seven games when he was demoted.<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 19: Vitali Karamnov, LW, assigned to Peoria (IHL). Jan. 20: Dave Mackey. LW, assigned to Peoria. Jan. 22: Geoff Sarjeant, G, recalled from Peoria.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Craig Janney, Ron Sutter, Ron Wilson, Bob Bassen, Igor Korolev.LW-Brendan Shanahan, Kevin Miller, Philippe Bozon, Dave Lowry, Vitali Prokhorov.RW-Nelson Emerson, Brett Hull, Rich Sutter, Kelly Chase.LD-Murray Baron. Bret Hedican, Curt Giles.RD-Garth Butcher, Rick Zombo, Stephane Quintal.G-Curtis Joseph. Geoff Sarjeant.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jeff Brown, D, broken left foot, indefinite. Guy Hebert, G, pulled groin, day-to-day Lee Norwood, D. broken left ankle, out for season. &#9632;

Accident may end career

<div class="byline">By Brent Hurst</div>The Edmonton Oilers are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.But that&rsquo;s the least of their worries.The Oilers have seen their average attendance plummet by almost 1,700 per game to 14,423 after 20 home games this season. They fill 83 per cent of the capacity of the Northlands Coliseum, placing them 20th in the NHL in that category.That contrasts to a leaguewide trend that has seen attendance increase by a per-game average of 82 fans. The expansion teams Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning are not included.Edmonton isn&rsquo;t the only team facing turnstile troubles. The Hartford Whalers&rsquo; attendance woes are well documented and the New Jersey Devils are also having a tough time attracting fans.Faced with a decreasing attendance problem and a lack of luxury-box revenue, Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington has said his lease with Northlands is unacceptable.The Oilers, who have spent $24.8 million in rent since moving into Northlands in 1974, don&rsquo;t receive any revenues from parking or concession sales.The Oilers earn $30,000 annually from 14 of the arena&rsquo;s luxury boxes. The other 50 per cent goes to Northlands.&ldquo;Who&rsquo;s gouging who?&rdquo; said Oiler spokesman Bill Tuele. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re tired of being painted as the bad guys.&rdquo;Critics suggest the Oilers are the architects of their own demise. Fans have stayed away because the team has traded its best players rather than sign them to richer contracts. Others claim Pocklington has used the Oilers to prop up other money-losing busi ness ventures.One sports executive told The Globe and Mail that Pocklington has earned $175 million in revenue since joining the NHL, not including expansion money and the cash they made in trades.&ldquo;In a 10-year period, Pocklington has earned more cash-in, cash-out profit than any club in NHL history,&rdquo; the source said.The Oilers must either rework the lease that runs to the end of the decade, construct a new arena, or leave town, Tuele said.&ldquo;A franchise is not a stationary object,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It can be moved.&rdquo;Tuele said Pocklington intends to announce the construction of a new arena some time in February. But construction is conditional upon the sale of five-to seven-year leases on 70 corporate luxury boxes, with an average price of $50,000, and a minimum of 10,000 season-ticket subscribers. The Oilers have 9,500 season-ticket holders this season.The Oilers have already received three offers to relocate. Milwaukee, San Diego and Phoenix are reportedly the interested cities.&ldquo;Peter (Pocklington) could walk out and back up the (moving) trucks but he doesn&rsquo;t want to do that,&rdquo; Tuele said. &ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t entirely motivated by money.&rdquo;But the NHL&rsquo;s escalating salary structure has made it impossible for the team not to lose money under the team&rsquo;s current rent agreement negotiated in the &rsquo;80s, Tuele said.&#9633; In New Jersey, Devils&rsquo; owner John McMullen has seen his team&rsquo;s attendance rise slightly to 12,120. But that&rsquo;s more than 3,000 fewer than four seasons ago and only 66 per cent of the Meadowland&rsquo;s 19,040-seat capacity. Only Hartford is worse in that category.The Devils use their turnstile count in calculating official attendance figures, not the higher paid-attendance numbers which many NHL teams use.&ldquo;This is our 11th season and we&rsquo;ve had a very difficult time,&rdquo; McMullen told The Hockey News at the recent board of governors meeting in Florida. &ldquo;But we think we&rsquo;re doing a very credible job for the community and it has come time, sometime where the community has to help.&rdquo;With the exception of the traditional sellouts against the New York Islanders and Rangers, the Devils have struggled to attract fans since moving from Colorado prior to the start of the 1982-83 season.The Devils haven&rsquo;t sought community help, but McMullen hinted that could be in the team&rsquo;s future.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not 100 per cent certain we&rsquo;re doing the real job,&rdquo; McMullen said,&rdquo;but once I&rsquo;m certain of that then the next step obviously is to seek relief.&rdquo;<h2>YEARLY COMPARISON</h2>Here&rsquo;s how teams&rsquo; attendance compared after 20 home games this year to last year&rsquo;s first 20:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-021225/6166264-1-eng-US/f0012-022.jpg" title="f0012-02" width="829" height="963"></div><h2>HOME</h2>Average attendance and percentage of capacity that represents:<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011500/6166257-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="544" height="1044"></div><h2>YEARLY AVERAGE</h2>Here&rsquo;s how Edmonton and New Jersey have fared at the box office the past 10 seasons:<h3>Edmonton</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-03805/6166250-1-eng-US/f0012-032.jpg" title="f0012-03" width="516" height="456"></div><h3>New Jersey</h3><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-04469/6166243-1-eng-US/f0012-042.jpg" title="f0012-04" width="516" height="460"></div> &#9632;

f0012-02

That empty feeling

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-05337/6166295-1-eng-US/f0012-052.jpg" title="f0012-05" width="377" height="529"></div>Questions, questions and more questions. Now, if only we had the answers:&#9633; How long will Brett Hull remain with the St. Louis Blues?The Blues aren&rsquo;t trying to trade the underachieving right winger. At least not yet.And the superstar truly loves the St. Louis area and wouldn&rsquo;t necessarily be adverse to finishing his career there.But beyond the Blues&rsquo; losing ways and Hull&rsquo;s inability to score anywhere close to what he has produced in the last few years, there is the matter of his contract.He&rsquo;s on the third year of a four-year deal that will pay him $1.6 million this season. Next season is his option year, worth a cool $2.2 million.But Hull, his agent Mike Barnett and the Blues&rsquo; management would like to settle on a new deal before then.There&rsquo;s just one little problem.They have vastly different ideas or what amount is appropriate.Hull is said to be looking for at least $4 million a year and perhaps much more, second only to Mario Lemieux. The Blues, especially giver the current state of affairs in the NHL, are having some difficulty witf that.They are willing to pay. a premium for Hull&rsquo;s services because he&rsquo;s a major asset, especially for the role he will play in helping to get the new Kiel Center arena in St. Louis built and sold out.But there is an limit to their largesse.Since Hull is so popular in St. Louis, the Blues would have difficulty trading him against his wishes. But if he were to play the villain and suggest the time has come for him to move on, the Blues would in good conscience be able to move him to another team.Hull would get his money, relocate to a major market (Los Angeles?) anc be happy. The Blues, presumably, would get a core of players to rebuild their sagging fortunes.And everybody would live happily ever after.That scenario is by no means certain to occur, but it&rsquo;s not out of the question either.&#9633; When only 4,300 show up at the Montreal Forum for the Canadian Hockey League all-star challenge, what does it tell you about junior hockey?Well, you&rsquo;ve got a choice.One, the mainstream appeal of the game is severely limited, especially in an NHL city where the Montreal Canadiens are king, as long as they&rsquo;r winning, that is.Or two, the Quebec League, which organized this year&rsquo;s game, would have difficulty getting a one-car funeral procession down Rue Ste-Catherine.It has got to be more the latter than the former, although last year&rsquo;s event in Saskatoon was also poorly attended.This year&rsquo;s game had all the right elements-Quebec against the Ontaric and Western Leagues and native son superstar Alexandre Daigle in high gear.Daigle, with four assists, was brilliant, but the performance went large ly unappreciated because of the smal crowd on hand.For the second consecutive year, il was a dandy game.The acid test for the future of the event, and perhaps major junior hockey&rsquo;s prowess as a drawing card in major cities, will be next season.The OHL will play host and may opt to put the game in Maple Leaf Gardens.If the OHL could sell it out, it would say a lot about the junior hock ey product and how it can be marketed successfully. On the downside, another small crowd would also speak volumes.&#9633; Does Brian Sutter have a longterm future with the Boston Bruins?The hard-driving Bruins&rsquo; coach received a full vote of confidence from hardboots Harry S inden and Mike Milbury during recent weeks of controversy in Beantown.But if the Bruins continue to struggle and Sutter continues to keep the pedal to the metal and alienate many of his best players, the Bruins&rsquo; management will demonstrate once again what is the bottom line.&#9633; Should we pay heed to the ubiquitous Steve Yzerman trade rumors?No one asked, but if I were the Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; general manager I wouldn&rsquo;t trade the team&rsquo;s best player.Yet there is the inescapable feeling that were they able to secure a stud on defense, the Wings would part with Yzerman.These rumors that just won&rsquo;t go away can&rsquo;t be totally baseless, can they?Bob McKenzie is a hockey columnist for The Toronto Star. &#9632;

f0012-05

Will Hull keep the spirit of St. Louis?

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div>Will Edmonton go from being the city of champions to the city without an NHL team?Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington has not come out and actually threatened to move the team, but anyone who doesn&rsquo;t think that is a distinct possibility at this point must have his head in the clouds.Pocklington has continually said his team is no longer financially viable in Northlands Coliseum, that he must have his own building. Barring that, he&rsquo;d need revenue from concessions and parking in his present building.And unless he gets commitments for about 65 luxury boxes and 10,000 season tickets for his proposed new rink, he won&rsquo;t be building anything.&ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t get the commitments, then I wouldn&rsquo;t spend $95 million building the arena,&rdquo; Pocklington said.Pocklington also lets everybody know he has received three serious and lucrative offers to relocate his team. Hamilton&rsquo;s Copps Coliseum may be one of the buildings.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to move this team out of the city,&rdquo; Pocklington said. &ldquo;When there are situations beyond any owner&rsquo;s control, unless we make a return on investment, or worse than that, if we continue to lose money, the team is not a stationary fixture in a small market.&rdquo;The issue took a decidedly ridiculous turn when the Northlands board of directors voted unanimously to make an offer to buy the Oilers.It held a news conference Jan. 21 to announce the move, saying it had been approached by &ldquo;a facilitator&rdquo; who it believed represented Pocklington, a man who told the board the Oilers were for sale.&ldquo;The team is not for sale,&rdquo; Pocklington said that day.He added that the facilitator is a mutual friend of his and Northlands&rsquo; president Gerry Yuen. An embarrassed friend.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s feeling very, very bad about this right now,&rdquo; Pocklington said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a shy guy. He&rsquo;s not a facilitator. He&rsquo;s not a broker. He&rsquo;s just a friend who made it known that I&rsquo;d be willing to sell a third of the team.&rdquo;Northlands is not at all interested in becoming a Pocklington partner. Yuen and another Northlands&rsquo; official met with Pocklington Jan. 22 but neither side would comment on the substance of the meeting.Despite speculation that the Oilers&rsquo; owner is going broke, Pocklington maintains his desire to sell 30 per cent of the Oilers is less for financial gain than it is for public relations purposes. He said he&rsquo;d like to take on partners who would have an easier time dealing with politicians, people with a more positive image than the one he says a negative media corps has created.As the Jan. 21 soap opera reached its conclusion, Pocklington joked that the new price tag of his team is $125 million, up from the $85 million he&rsquo;d attached to it earlier in the month. Many news outlets took him seriously.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011419/6166326-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="572" height="716"><figcaption class="caption-body">Is Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington considering moving his team?</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I have no idea how anybody could think I was serious,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was another way to say &lsquo;No Sale&rsquo; and I never dreamed somebody would have taken it as anything other than that.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK:Unproductive Esa Tikkanen is being bothered by numerous trade rumors. &ldquo;Every morning you get up and read the paper and your name is somewhere else: Toronto, St. Louis, Detroit, New Jersey, Boston,&rdquo; Tikkanen said&hellip;General manager Glen Sather recently hit the ice to in an effort to warm up for the Heroes of Hockey game in Montreal during the All-Star festivities. How Sather-who played for six teams and never scored more than 15 goals a season-could be chosen for a Heroes of Hockey game is anyone&rsquo;s guess. &ldquo;I saw the same moves he made 20 years ago at the same speed,&rdquo; said coach Ted Green.<h2>EDMONTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Kevin Todd, Shayne Corson. Craig MacTavish, Esa Tikkanen.LW-Craig Simpson. Zdeno Ciger. Louie DeBrusk, Martin Gelinas.RW&mdash;Scott Mellanby. Shjon Podein. Kelly Buchberger. Brent Gilchrist, Scott Thornton.LD-Dave Manson, Geoff Smith. Luke Richardson. Brian Benning.RD-Craig Muni. Brian Glynn. Chris Joseph. Brad Werenka.G-BiH Ranford, Ron Tugnutt.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Petr Klima, RW, groin pull, day-to-day Shaun Van Allen, C. concussion indefinite. &#9632;

f0013-01

Troubled team on the move?

<div class="byline">By Mike Weaver</div>Sizzle has been sounding more like fizzle recently for a line that had been red hot for the San Jose Sharks.The Sharks were suffering through an 0-12-1 streak after a 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay Jan. 23, and they scored only 25 goals in those games.The line of center Kelly Kisio and wingers Johan Garpenlov and Rob Gaudreau were particularly quiet. They combined for 58 points in 14 games in December, but produced only nine points in 10 games.&ldquo;Before, all the bounces were going our way,&rdquo; said Kisio. &ldquo;It seemed like every time Robbie threw the puck at the net, it would go in. Now we aren&rsquo;t getting bounces.&rdquo;Gaudreau, who led the Sharks with 15 goals during his impressive December run, said he is a streaky player. He&rsquo;s confident he and his linemates will start producing again because they are generating chances.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not frustrated,&rdquo; Gaudreau said. &ldquo;I never expected to score every night. That would be absurd. Only guys like Mario Lemieux or Wayne Gretzky can score in every game.&rdquo;Coach George Kingston saidKisio, Gaudreau and Garpenlov have been hurt by the absence of Pat Falloon, who may miss the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder.Opponents often tried to match their best defensive players against Falloon. But with him out of the lineup, opponents are able to focus their efforts on Kisio&rsquo;s line.INJURY WOES: The Sharks are having such a problem with injuries they could almost field a better lineup in a hospital than on the ice.The most recent casualty was Lyndon Byers, who sustained a separated left shoulder in a 4-2 loss to Hartford Jan. 21. He joined six other players on the injury list.&ldquo;This is very tough,&rdquo; Kingston said. &ldquo;We play hard and out of playing so hard you&rsquo;re always exposing players to injury.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The Sharks dealt winger Yvon Corriveau to Hartford Jan. 21 to complete an Oct. 7 trade in which they obtained winger Michel Picard. The Sharks had claimed Corriveau from Washington during the Oct. 4 waiver draft and league rules required Corriveau to play in 20 games with the Sharks before he could be moved. In 20 games with the Sharks, Corriveau, 25, scored three goals and 10 points. He missed 29 games because of a back strain early in the season.<h2>SAN JOSE</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 21: Yvon Corriveau, LW. traded to Hartford to complete previous trade.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Keily Kisio, Dean Evason, Mike Sullivan, David Maley.LW-Johan Garpenlov, Michel Picard, Jaroslav Otevref, Ray Whitney.RW-Rob Gaudreau, Jeff Odgers. Huble McDonough, Robin Bawa.LD-Neil Wilkinson, Doug Wilson, Tom Pederson. David Williams.RD-Jay More. Doug Zmolek, Rob Zettfer.G-Jefi Hackett, Arturs Irbe.<h3>INJURIES</h3>David Bruce. LW. groin pull, indefinitt Lyndon Byers RW, separated right shoulder, Feb. 8. Pat Falloon, RW, disk cated right shoulder, indefinite. Bria Hayward, G. back strain, indefinite Ps MacLeod, D, separated left shoulder, in definite Sandls Ozolinsh D, tom left knee ligament out for season. Mark Pec arson. LW, separated left shoulder, ir definite. &#9632;

Top line falling on hard times after red-hot December run

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div>It was not so much a war of words as a test of wills.In one comer was Calgary Flames&rsquo; coach Dave King, a first-year coach in the NHL, but a veteran of the international scene. In the other comer was Sergei Makarov, a 34-year-old Russian, one of the greatest players of his generation and a man deeply set in his own ways.During Calgary&rsquo;s 10-game winless streak-extending from Jan. 5 to 23, the second longest in team his-tory-Makarov found himself in the press box once and on the bench a number of other times.According to King, there was an inconsistency in Makarov&rsquo;s play that he was trying to address.&ldquo;It was a team thing,&rdquo; King said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t want too many double standards on our team in terms of effort, effort both ways, offensively and defensively. We weren&rsquo;t just talking about defensive play, we&rsquo;re talking about improved offensive play from Sergei on a regular basis.&rdquo;Makarov started the season with 29 points in 22 games, but then picked up only 17 more in the next 25. In a two-month span, from Nov. 22 to Jan. 22, he scored only four goals.&ldquo;Because he has great stats and he&rsquo;s a great offensive player, he gets more second opportunities than somebody else would,&rdquo; King said. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s a bottom line for him too. His bottom line may have a few more steps in the ladder, but we&rsquo;ve reached it.&rdquo;Makarov&rsquo;s inability to put the puck in the net was symptomatic of a team-wide scoring slump. Just before the Flames hit the skids, they were on a season-best 9-0-1 run.How could they be so good one month and so bad the next?King was at a loss to explain it. Most nights he was happy with the team&rsquo;s effort, just not its execution.&ldquo;If the effort wasn&rsquo;t good, you&rsquo;d be looking at a lot of things to shake things up,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We felt the effort every night, out of the majority of our players, was decent. All you do is stick with guys at this point.&rdquo;CLOSING IN: The Flames reached an agreement in principle with goaltender Mike Vernon that will pay him in excess of $3 million U.S. over the next three years.But Vernon would not sign the contract until clarifying some language in the deal involving tax shelters and deferred payments.Vernon, who started a club record 27 straight games through Jan. 23, was originally scheduled to go to salary arbitration.NOTEBOOK: Center Joel Otto returned to the Flames&rsquo; lineup in a 44 tie with the Winnipeg Jets Jan. 22. Otto missed eight games with a tom rib cartilage. In Otto&rsquo;s absence, the Flames did not win (0-7-1). Otto wore a flak jacket to protect his injured rib cage.Dave King was toying with the idea of getting injured defenseman Al Maclnnis back in the lineup for a Jan. 28 game against the Los Angeles Kings, strictly as a power-play specialist. The theory was to work him in as gradually as possible. Maclnnis was injured Nov. 11.<h2>CALGARY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 21: Greg Smyth. D, assigned to Salt Lake (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Joe Nieuwendyk, Robert Relchel. Joel Otto, Todd Harkins.LW-Gary Roberts. Theo Fleury, Paul Ranheim. CJ. Young, Paul Kruse.RW-Sergei Makarov, Gary Leaman, Ron Stem, Craig Berube.LD-Gary Suter, Frank Musll, Trent Yawney.RD-Chris Dahlquist, Michel Petit Roger Johansson.G-Mike Vernon. Jeff Reese.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Kevin Dahl, D. strained left knee ligaments, day-to-day. Chris Lindberg. LW, strained right knee, day-to-day. Al Maclnnis, D, dislocated hip. day-to-day Carey Wilson, LW, tendinitis in left knee. Indefinite. &#9632;

Makarov in King’s doghouse

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div>Dixon Ward is the Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; writing rookie.A journalism major at the University of North Dakota, Ward would like to become an investigative reporter when his hockey days are over.Meanwhile, he is busy collecting bylines in the Vancouver Sun, where he writes a monthly account of his freshman NHL season.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re my first real bylines,&rdquo; said Ward, a 24-year-old native of Leduc, Alta. &ldquo;Everybody in my class at North Dakota worked on the school newspaper but I didn&rsquo;t have enough time because of hockey.&rdquo;Ward&rsquo;s mother appears to be his biggest fan. Whenever one of his diaries appears, she hops in the car and drives to the Edmonton airport where she purchases a copy of the paper.&ldquo;She has them all saved,&rdquo; Ward said. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s taking care of it.&rdquo;Unlike many athlete-written diaries, Ward&rsquo;s is not being &ldquo;ghosted&rsquo; by a professional writer. Every paragraph, every word and every comma is his.&ldquo;The paper is giving me the freedom maybe, in my case, more freedom than they give their own guys,&rdquo; said Ward, who surprisingly has no desire to try sports writing some where down the road.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m more interested in an investigative type of thing, I enjoy doing research,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I definitely don&rsquo;t want to be a sports reporter. Why? Because I don&rsquo;t want to have to deal with the same athletes telling me the same thing every day.&rdquo;Ward had 16 goals and 37 points in 46 games.NO RUSHIN&rsquo; AROUND: When Canuck left winger Greg Adams went down with a charleyhorse Jan. 16, one of the intriguing questions facing the coaching staff was who to play in his spot.Normally this wouldn&rsquo;t be brain surgery. One guy goes down, another one takes his spot in the lineup. But Adams is about the only left winger on the team who complements winger Pavel Bure.Stunning everyone, the coaches tapped four-goal man Gino Odjick on the shoulder.&ldquo;Gino has done a lot of fighting for the guys and he&rsquo;s being rewarded with a chance to play with Pavel andTony Semenov,&rdquo; said assistant coach Rick Ley.NOTEBOOK: Pavel Bure is closing in on Tony Tanti&rsquo;s club record for goals. Bure had 44 in 49 games and needed just two to set a new Vancouver standard. Tanti, now playing in Germany, had 45 goals in 1983-84.<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 18: Stephane Morin, C, recalled from Hamilton (AHL). Jan. 20: Morin assigned to Hamilton. Jiri Slegr D, recalled from Hamilton. Jan. 22: Slegr returned to Hamilton.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Cliff Ronnlng, Anatoli Semenov, Petr Nedved, Tom Fergus, Ryan Walter.LW-Sergio Momesso, Gino Odjick, Geoff Courtnail, Dixon Ward. Garry Valk.RW-Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure. Jim Sandlak, Robert Kron.LO-Robert Dirk, Dana Murzyn, Adrien Plavsic.RD-Gerald Diduck. Dave Babych, Doug Lidster.G-KIrk McLean. Kay Whitmore.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Greg Adams, LW, charleyhorse in right leg, Feb 13. Jyrki Lumme, D. sprained left knee. Feb. 2. &#9632;

Rookie Ward shows write stuff in successful rookie campaign

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>Early in the season, when the Winnipeg Jets were a frustrated, struggling team, they carried a heavy handicap into almost every game.The Jets were getting almost no production from their centers and it was killing them.But a suiprising January surge produced a 10-game unbeaten streak (90-1), moving the team from fifth in the Smythe Division to third.The streak was mainly due to the improved play of the Jets&rsquo; centermen. Rookie Alexei Zhamnov, Thomas Steen and Stu Barnes took turns pulling the team to new heights.Steen began the season with nine points in 11 games, but soon tailed off. His poor play and lack of confidence were likely health-related.Steen&rsquo;s back wasn&rsquo;t 100 per cent healthy and his bouts with and without medication caused him to lose sleep, which caused him to play poorly.His pain and personal pressure disappeared around Christmas and he started showing flashes of the skill player he has been in the past. He had six goals and 11 points in a five-game span, including four points in an 8-5 win over the Edmonton Oilers Jan. 23.The four-point night raised Steen&rsquo;s season totals to 12 goals and 35 points in 47 games.The Jets&rsquo; attack became more balanced with the unexpected success of center Stu Barnes, who was recalled from Moncton of the American League Jan. 18.Barnes had three goals and five points in his first four games, including the winner against the Oilers.&ldquo;I hope it will be hard (for them to send me back),&rdquo; said Barnes, who spent 46 games in Winnipeg last season before being demoted. &ldquo;Anybody in his right mind doesn&rsquo;t want to go back to the minors. Hopefully I&rsquo;ll stick around but I&rsquo;m not looking too far down the road. I&rsquo;m just looking forward to the next practice.&rdquo;&ldquo;I guess it will come out in the wash as time goes on but some guys take advantage of things when they get a break.&rdquo; said Jets&rsquo; coach John Paddock. &ldquo;Stu has played very well. We were lacking that balance all year.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Phil Housley&rsquo;s team-record 14-game assist streak came to an end thanks to Chicago&rsquo;s Jeremy Roenick. Housley missed two games, Jan. 22 and Jan. 23 with a sore hand after being slashed by the Chicago center Jan. 19. The Jets sent a video tape of the incident to the NHL office. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very irrelevant,&rdquo; John Paddock said of the NHL&rsquo;s discipline system. &ldquo;All it might do is give Jeremy Roenick a day off. He might appreciate it.&rdquo;&hellip;Housley&rsquo;s five assists Jan. 18 against Hartford at Saskatoon set a team record for the most assists by defenseman in one game.<h2>WINNIPEG</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 18: Stu Barnes. C, recalled from Moncton (AHL). Jan. 20: Andy Brickley, LW. assigned to Moncton. Jan. 21: Alain Roy, G, recalled from Canadian national team. Jan. 22: Anatoli Fedotov. D, recalled from Moncton. Jan. 23: Roy assigned to Canadian national team Jan. 25: Mike O&rsquo;Neill, G. recalled from Moncton.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Alexei Zhamnov. Thomas Steen, Luciano Borsato, Mike Eagles. Stu Barnes.LW-Oarrin Shannon. Keith Tkachuk, Evgeny Davydov. Kris King, Russ Rom-aniuk.RW-Teemu Selanne. John Druce, Bryan Erickson, Tie Domi.LD-Sergel Bautin, Igor Ulanov, Anatoli Fedotov.RD-Phll Housley, Teppo Nummlnen. Mike Lalor, Dean Kennedy.G-Bob Essensa, Mike O&rsquo;Neill.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Troy Murray, C, broken left foot, Feb. 1. Fredrik Otausson, D, sprained left knee ligaments. Feb. 14. Rick Tabaraccl, G. back strain, Feb. 3. &#9632;

Centers create success

<div class="byline">By Rick Sadowski</div>As much as Barry Melrose despises losing, the Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; coach can accept a defeat if he believes his team is putting out a full effort.But Melrose blew a gasket and accused his team of quitting Jan. 23 following an 8-3 loss to the New York Rangers. It knocked the Kings into fourth in the Smythe Division.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to do some deals,&rdquo; Melrose said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get different players in here&hellip;or a different coach, one or the other.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a case of a team with not enough courage to play. These men are being paid an awful lot of money to play hard and they&rsquo;re not doing it.&ldquo;Heck, our best players are Dave Taylor, Pat Conacher and Darryl Sydor-two 35-year-olds and a 20-year-old, so you figure it out.&rdquo;Actually, Taylor is 37 and Conacher is 33. but you get Melrose&rsquo;s drift.The stench emanating from the ice during a 3-12-2 nosedive from first in the Smythe sickened Melrose.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011277/6166453-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="574" height="838"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kelly Hrudey&rsquo;s lackluster play has the Kinas concerned.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Barry has been more than fair. He has been very fair,&rdquo; defenseman Paul Coffey said. &ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t seen him this upset in a long time. He has a right to be upset. We&rsquo;re embarrassed.&rdquo;The loss to New York stretched the Kings&rsquo; winless streak at home to eight games (0-7-1) since a 6-3 win over St. Louis Dec. 12.Poor goaltending by rookie Robb Stauber and Kelly Hrudey contributed to the fall to fourth. Both struggled to regain the form that made them a solid 1-2 combination during the first two months of the season.Hrudey had a 1-6-3 record and 4.98 goals-against average since Dec. 8, while Stauber was 2-6-0 and had a 5.50 GAA since Dec. 15.Speculation had general manager Nick Beverley making a pitch for a goalie, perhaps Ranger Mike Richter, who was assigned to Binghamton of the American League in mid-January.While Melrose has voiced his dissatisfaction with Hrudey and Stauber, he said it wouldn&rsquo;t be fair to lay the blame completely on them.But during the 3-12-2 skid, Hrudey and Stauber allowed 92 goals and gave up more than five goals in a game 12 times.The Kings allowed 202 goals in 48 games. Only Hartford, Ottawa and San Jose allowed more than 200.PINS AND NEEDLES: Center Corey Millen, sidelined since Dec. 19 with a groin strain, underwent a series of acupuncture procedures to relieve pain.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying everything,&rdquo; team physician Dr. Ronald Kvitne said. &ldquo;Corey is doing very well strengthwise. but he still has some pain.&rdquo;Millen was scheduled to have between four and six acupuncture treatments.Beverley, while wincing at the idea, called the acupuncture a case of &ldquo;pain management&rdquo; and said Millen, who had been doing some light skating, did not suffer a setback.&ldquo;As much as we would like to have him in the lineup, we are not going to rush him back,&rdquo; Beverley said.NOTEBOOK: Tomas Sandstrom, playing his first full game in two months, scored three goals Jan. 21 in a 5-4 loss to Vancouver. Sandstrom wore a plastic cast as a precaution on his left arm. which was broken Nov. 21 when he was slashed by Toronto&rsquo;s Doug Gilmour. In his next game Jan. 23, Sandstrom cut New York Ranger Phil Bourque with a high stick and was given a major penalty and game misconduct in the second period of an 8-3 loss.Jari Kurri broke a 15-game goalscoring slump Jan. 19 in Edmonton with two goals in a 5-4 win. Kurri scored two more goals against the Rangers, giving him 21 goals and 63 points in 47 games. He had 23 goals and 60 points in 73 games last season.<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 21: Sean Whyte. RW. assigned to Phoenix (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Wayne Gretzky. Jah Kurri, Pat Conacher, John McIntyre.LW-Tony Granato, Luc Robitaille, Mike Donnelly, Warren Rychel.RW-Tomas Sandstrom, Lonnie Loach, Dave Taylor, Marty McSorley. Jim Hiller, Jim Thomson.LD-Paul Coffey, Darryl Sydor, Alexei Zhltnik.RD-Rob Blake, Charlie Huddy, Brent Thompson, Jeff Chychrun.G-Kelly Hrudey. Robb Stauber.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Corey Millen C. strained groin, indefinite. &#9632;

f0016-01

Inconsistent goaltending contributes to ugly slide

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011128/6166484-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="380" height="533"></div>Boston Bruins&rsquo; general manager Harry Sinden is in my media Hall of Fame.It&rsquo;s not for anything he wrote (with the possible exception of a kind note to the now retired and still legendary Boston Globe reporter Fran Rosa) and it&rsquo;s not for anything he did (the Hockey Hall of Fame recognized that when it inducted him in 1983).It&rsquo;s for what he said.Sinden recently was in the middle of a tirade that was directed at goaltender Andy Moog when he let go with the following:&ldquo;They (players) look at getting a chance to score as being a good play, whereas I see it as if you get a chance to score and don&rsquo;t, is that any different than them scoring because we gave the puck away?&ldquo;Forwards get off the hook by the fans and the press and the coaches and even ourselves, because we say they&rsquo;re getting the chances. But if they&rsquo;re getting the chances and screwing them up, what good is that? You&rsquo;ve got to hit the goal&hellip;you&rsquo;ve got to finish it off.&rdquo;Wait. It gets better.&ldquo;We have people shooting the puck over the net. That&rsquo;s not something you say, &lsquo;I shot it too high.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s a (expletive deleted) mistake, but they get away with it because it&rsquo;s a goal-scoring chance. Well, they get away with it with everyone but me. If somebody went down in our end and passed it back to one of their players and they scored, you&rsquo;d say, &lsquo;What a stupid play.&rsquo; You get away with it at the other end, but it still costs you a goal.&ldquo;The worst thing they can do is feel sorry for themselves. Just to say you took 40 or 50 shots, and how bad we feel the puck won&rsquo;t go in, it&rsquo;s your fault it won&rsquo;t go in. I don&rsquo;t care if you take 100 shots, if you don&rsquo;t score there&rsquo;s something wrong with you. They like to get off the hook by saying &lsquo;We&rsquo;re getting our chances.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s not good enough.&rdquo;This is history in the making folks, and you&rsquo;re in on the ground floor. This is the official end of one of the most famous lines in hockey: &ldquo;We had our chances.&rdquo; It was delivered by no less an authority than one of the most highly respected general managers in the game. In one fell swoop, a 76-year-old excuse, the No. 1 excuse, an excuse employed at one time or another by virtually every coach, general manager and player ever associated with the game, was determined to be just that: an excuse.Thank you Harry.The ramifications of this are extraordinary and potentially devastating.Right off the top, Sinden made players and teams responsible for their results. The Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks will have to call a news conference and admit to the fact that they are bouncing along in the basement of the NHL, not because they&rsquo;re working hard and just not able to convert their chances, but because they don&rsquo;t have enough talent to be competitive.There is no truth to the rumor the Sharks have already begun marketing a toothless great white shark on a T-shirt that says &ldquo;I had my chances.&rdquo;The Hartford Whalers will have to admit their single reason for being is to beat you in the alley because they don&rsquo;t have the talent to win on the ice.Slumping players, long accustomed to not having to worry because &ldquo;I&rsquo;m getting my chances,&rdquo; will now have something to worry about when the puck isn&rsquo;t going in. Each team&rsquo;s secret chance counters (was that a Class-A chance, a Class-B chance or a no-chance chance?) will be lining up at the unemployment office. Goal posts will no longer be counted among goaltenders&rsquo; best friends.Coaches could lose their jobs over this-&rdquo;We outchanced them&rdquo; is now officially banned in Boston-general managers too. On the plus side, goalies should love it. Now when the little guy in the crease is knocked down, fallen upon and has ice shavings kicked into his face and misses one of Brett Hull&rsquo;s 100 mile-per-hour rockets coming through a screen, it will be no less a mistake than when Igor Cantshoot hits the popcorn vendor in the upper deck with a backhand from directly in front of the net.Think of it. The Toronto Maple Leafs will actually have to make the playoffs or take a chance that fans will no longer buy their explanation why. The Buffalo Sabres might have to actually get out of the first round before they hike ticket prices another 20 per cent.Harry Sinden is responsible for all of that. And I thank him.Now if we could just get Don Cherry to say fighting isn&rsquo;t part of the game; Peter Pocklington to say he sold Wayne Gretzky for the money and the rest of the GMs to admit they secretly changed the rules this season, it would be a revelation.And the induction ceremony would be a party for the ages. &#9632;

f0017-01

The jig is up: You’ve had your last chance

<div class="byline">By Frank Brown</div>Joshua and Natalie Gartner baked a cake with &ldquo;Congratulations, Dad&rdquo; on it. They bought him a mug with &rsquo;30&rsquo; on it, which is a great number for a birthday but still appropriate, in view of their father&rsquo;s achievement.Mike Gartner drove to the net and converted the rebound of a SergeiNemchinov shot at 12:51 of the third period in a game against Los Angeles Jan. 23. It was the eighth New York Rangers&rsquo; goal in an 8-3 triumph. It came against goalie Robb Stauber, who had a very unpleasant evening.And it set an NHL Tecord. While it was generous and loving for Gartner&rsquo;s children to buy him a mug with &rsquo;30&rsquo; on it, they might have wanted to give him 13 more. Because this is the 14th consecutive season the right winger has reached the 30-goal plateau.Of the tens of thousands of players who have played in NHL history-of the hundreds who have been exceptional scor-ers-nobody has ever matched that level of consistency in production.&ldquo;A milestone is something a lot of people have done before,&rdquo; said the 33-year-old Gartner. &ldquo;A record is something no one has done before.&rdquo;This one is uniquely Gartner&rsquo;s. Phil Bourque forechecked the puck away from Kings&rsquo; defenseman Brent Thompson and Gartner collected it in the left-wing circle. He centered it for a one-timer by Nemchinov, then buried the rebound after Stauber made a skate save. Gartner pumped his arms once, then again.Bourque went to the net and grabbed the puck.When Gartner got to the bench, he disappeared in a huddle of hugs and smacks on his helmet. It was his 568th career goal, which put him five behind Mike Bossy, who stands sixth on the all-time list.Gartner&rsquo;s incredible streak started when he scored 36 goals as a rookie for the Washington Capitals in the 1979-80 season. He has never scored fewer than 33 in a season and reached the 40-goal plateau eight times. Incredibly, he was on pace to score 53 goals this season, which would be a career high for the NHL&rsquo;s most consistent goal-scorer ever.&ldquo;If somebody would have told me I&rsquo;d do this when I first started playing, I would have told them I thought they were crazy,&rdquo; Gartner said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m certainly thrilled and very thankful for my faith in God, that He has given me the strength to play as long as I have.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-02855/6166515-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="962" height="1903"><figcaption class="caption-body">New York Ranger sniper Mike Gartner is on pace to score a career-high 53 goals in his 14th NHL season.</figcaption></div>Will Gartner&rsquo;s record ever be broken? It&rsquo;s impossible to say with any certainty, especially since Gartner may have a few more 30-goal seasons in him, but consider a few facts; Wayne Gretzky could tie Gartner this season but he would need 28 goals in his final 34 games after scoring two in his first nine; Mario Lemieux had his streak of six 30-goal seasons stopped two years ago; Luc Robitaille would have to get at least 30 for another eight seasons and Brett Hull another nine to tie Gartner; and, the best Gordie Howe-the league&rsquo;s all-time goal scoring leader-could do was string together five 30-goal campaigns.When the game ended, Gartner was escorted to a TV studio for an interview with the MSG Network. In that studio, Brian Leetch, Mark Hardy and Randy Gilhen gave Gartner a rose-a peculiar&rsquo; gift from macho hockey guys, but a rather telling expression of the team&rsquo;s respect for the veteran.&ldquo;All those years of playing against him, his name has always popped up as a guy to key on. to pay attention to,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; defenseman Kevin Lowe, an Edmonton Oiler for 13 seasons. &ldquo;He has always been a gritty player who plays hard at both ends of the ice. Hopefully, he can win a Stanley Cup and that would put the icing on what has been a wonderful career.&rdquo;That would give Gartner quite a different kind of mug.&ldquo;Every night, he has just been working, working. working and setting a real example,&rdquo; said Rangers&rsquo; coach Ron Smith. &ldquo;I like to see guys score, but I don&rsquo;t really care if they don&rsquo;t score as long as they&rsquo;re reasonably active out there. And he has been that way every night since I&rsquo;ve been here.&rdquo;Gartner has been that way nearly every night since before Smith got here, too-especially this season. And since it appeared neither Brian Leetch (damaged left shoulder) nor Mark Messier (sprained right wrist) will be healthy for the All-Star Game Feb. 6 in Montreal, Gartner may end up representing the Rangers in the game.He will be in town, anyway, for the sprint race at the skills competition. His time of 12.829 seconds for one lap was by far the fastest in the league. Not too shabby for a guy who should have gotten a 30th birthday mug three years ago. &#9632;

f0017-02

Thirtysomething

<div class="byline">By Frank Brown</div>Goalie Corey Hirsch got 10 days of NHL experience, his first tie in Detroit and his first win in Los Angeles.It was worth every penny of the $900 it cost him.People have to pay a price to play in the NHL and Hirsch paid his at a team meal during a stay in the Los Angeles area. Rookies are given the honor of buying the veterans dinner during long road trips and Hirsch was called up in time to split an $1,800 tab with defenseman Sergei Zubov.&ldquo;It could have been a lot worse,&rdquo; Hirsch said. &ldquo;The guys took it pretty easy on us.&rdquo;Hirsch, at least, had a credit card. It had a $500 spending limit so he didn&rsquo;t have to pay it all in cash. Zubov doesn&rsquo;t have a credit card yet, so he had to scramble for money.&ldquo;At first, I wasn&rsquo;t going to eat. I was going to have the garden salad and a glass of water,&rdquo; Hirsch said. &ldquo;Then I figured another $40 wasn&rsquo;t going to make much of a difference.&rdquo;So Hirsch put a steak-and-lobster in his belly and two nights later put an 8-3 win on his record. The win over L.A. saw the Rangers end a seven-game road wmless streak and also saw Mike Gartner reach the 30-goal plateau for an NHL-record 14th consecutive season.The win in Los Angeles came four nights after Hirsch debuted making 30 stops in a 2-2 tie in Detroit.Hirsch was recalled from Binghamton of the American League when Mike Richter was assigned there to iron out some wrinkles in his game. But when Richter went 4-0-1 in five games, with a.964 save percentage, it was time for Hirsch to return to Binghamton.ROGER WHO?: One interested spectator among the 16,005 fans at the Great Western Forum Jan. 23 was former coach Roger Neilson, who sat behind the net the Rangers attacked for two second-period goals.Neilson stopped in Los Angeles on his way to a two-week holiday in Australia, where he plans to golf and watch Australian Open tennis.&ldquo;I haven&rsquo;t had a chance to be bored yet,&rdquo; said Neilson, who also helped Peterborough coach Dick Todd with the Ontario League team.NOTEBOOK: Kevin Lowe hit Wayne Gretzky with a jarring bodycheck Jan. 23. Gretzky rarely gets caught facing the glass-his back is almost always to the boards-but Lowe nailed his Edmonton buddy three minutes into the match&hellip;The struggle continues for Brian Leetch, who has been unable to regain strength in his left shoulder since being injured in St. Louis Dec. 17. Leetch&rsquo;s earliest possible return is mid-Februarv.<h2>N.Y. RANGERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 21: Steven King, RW, recalled from Binghamton (AHL). Jan. 25: Corey Hirsch, G, and Alexei Kovalev, RW. assigned to Binghamton. Mike Richter, G, and Mike Hurlbut, D. recalled from Binghamton.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Sergei Nemchinov, Doug Weight. Darren Turcotte, Ed Olczyk. Randy Gllhen.LW-Adam Graves. Phil Bourque, Jan Erixon. Joe Kocur.RW-Mike Gartner, Tony Amonte. Steven King, Paul Broten.LD-Kevin Lowe. Sergei Zubov. Jay Weds, Mark Hardy, Mike Hurlbut.RD-James Patrick, Jeff Beukeboom, Per Dioos. Joe Cireila.G-John Vanbtesbrouck. Mike Richter.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Brian Leetch, D. nerve compression in neck/lett shoulder, indefinite. Mark Messier, C. sprained right wrist, Feb. 8. &#9632;

Hirsch brilliant in NHL debut, but winds up back in minors

<div class="byline">By Jeff Williams</div>New York Islanders&rsquo; defenseman Gary Nylund faces an uncertain future after sustaining a serious knee injury against the Calgary Flames.Nylund tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee Jan. 12 after Flames&rsquo; right winger Sergei Makarov crashed into him.To save his career, Nylund has rejected surgery in favor of rehabilitation.Nylund, 29, is in his 11th professional season and in the option year of his contract. If he were to have surgery, he would be out the remainder of this season and the start of the next.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just too long for Gary Nylund,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If I have a chance for the Islanders to sign me, or trade me, or catch on with an expansion team for next season, I have to be able to demonstrate I can play. I certainly would have to be able to report to a training camp next season. If I can&rsquo;t, I&rsquo;m through.&rdquo;Nylund&rsquo;s career has been plagued by injury. He had two anterior cruciate operations on his left knee while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team that made him its first-round pick in the 1982 entry draft.He fought back from those injuries and continued his career in Chicago with the Blackhawks before coming to the Islanders in a trade on Nov. 25, 1988.Nylund sustained a potentially career ending injury in March of 1991, when he shattered his left heel crashing into the boards at Madison Square Garden. The pain was so great he thought he was finished and doctors told him there was little chance he would make it back.&ldquo;The heal was just mush,&rdquo; Nylund said,&rdquo;and nobody was optimistic I could recover from it. I worked my tail off for months to come back. That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m going to have to do now.&rdquo;Nylund will attempt to build up his hamstrings and quadriceps, the muscles that support the knee.&ldquo;They will have to be the strongest they have ever been to hold my knee in place,&rdquo; he said.Nylund was limited to 22 games this season (one goal, one assist and 43 penalty minutes) because of various groin injuries.He was also scratched for a number of games in favor of highly touted rookies Darius Kasparaitis, Vladimir Malakhov and Scott Lachance.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Daniel Marois, obtained from Toronto last season, was assigned to Capital District of the American League Jan. 22. Marois had two goals in 26 games and missed several games with an injured ankle and strained back.Goalie Glenn Healy looked like he was ready to grab the No. 1 job in early December, but it didn&rsquo;t work out that way. Healy sustained a bone spur in his right wrist and Mark Fitzpatrick filled in nicely, going 41-1 through Jan. 23.<h2>N.Y. ISLANDERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 20: lain Fraser. C. assigned to Capital District (AHL). Jan. 22: Daniel Marois. RW, assigned to Capital District.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Pierre Turgeon, Tom Fitzgerald. Claude Loiselle. Marty McInnis. Travis.LW-Benoit Hogue. Derek King. David Vdek, Steve Thomas.RW-Pat Flatley, Brian Mullen. Mick Vukota, Brad Dalgarno.LD-Darius Kasparaitis. Scott Lachance. Jeff Norton.RD-Uwe Krupp. Tom Kurvers, Dennis Vaske.G-Mark Fitzpatrick. Glenn Heafy.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Ray Ferraro, C, broken right leg. indefinite. Vladimir Malakhov, D. separated shoulder. Indefinite. Gary Nylund. D, tom ligaments in right knee, Indefinite. Rich Pilon, D, strained back, day-to-day. &#9632;

Nylund’s future in limbo

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div>Stephane Richer knew there would be controversy when he failed to accompany the New Jersey Devils on their only trip to Montreal this season.The fact that Richer&rsquo;s chronic left knee had acted up once again didn&rsquo;t seem to matter. When it comes to Richer and the Montreal media, there is always another controversial chapter waiting to be written.The suggestions, of course, were Richer wanted to avoid the Montreal media spotlight and comparisons to Kirk Muller, the player the Canadiens got in exchange for Richer.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not surprised by anything that is said in Montreal. It just makes me laugh now,&rdquo; Richer said after missing the Jan. 20 game at the Forum and a rematch two nights later at Meadowlands Arena. &ldquo;I know it was funny timing. I was playing well and all of a sudden my knee started bothering me. But I didn&rsquo;t practise for two days before that game.&rdquo;Even more distressing to Richer than the pain in his knee was the fact some critics do not believe in his knee problem, which was triggered by growing too quickly as a child.After falling down twice against Ottawa Jan. 8 and re-aggravating the tender knee. Richer was slashed the following night in Boston. The knee required x-rays and therapy.Although Richer claimed he laughed off media jabs, he did not laugh off comments from Canadiens&rsquo; managing director Serge Savard, who said the Sept. 20, 1991 trade of Richer andTom Chorske for Muller and Rollie Melanson may have been his best ever.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011094/6166594-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="743" height="1243"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stephane Richer maintains Montreal GM Serge Savard has made some bad trades, too.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Was it my best trade?&rdquo; Savard asked. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s put it this way: I liked it then and I really like it now. The contribution I&rsquo;m getting (from Muller) is like day and night. Muller brought leadership to the team. He&rsquo;ll probably get 100 points. He hardly ever misses a game. How many has he missed?&rdquo;Richer responded: &ldquo;I saw Mr. Savard said the best trade he ever made was trading me to New Jersey. I&rsquo;m very happy for him. But he never talks about the worst trades he makes. Why knock me? I knew it could be a good trade for Montreal. I said at the time I wish the best for Kirk and that he is a good player.&rdquo;Before getting hurt, Richer had points in six of seven games as the Devils went unbeaten (50-2) between Jan. 2-14. He played well at center and as a point-man on the power play unit.For the season Richer had 16 goals and 32 points in 41 games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m still very happy with Stephane Richer,&rdquo; said Devils&rsquo; general manager Lou Lamoriello. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the type of player we thought he was. He&rsquo;s explosive and he can break a game open. I have no regrets.&rdquo;KEY LOSS: It took an old nemesis to knock Randy McKay out of the lineup after playing 124 consecutive games for the Devils.New York Islander defenseman Darius Kas-paraitis first introduced himself to McKay on Oct. 31 at Nassau Coliseum.The rookie blindsided McKay, causing him to sustain a separated left shoulder and gash above his eye.McKay did not miss a game with those injuries, but he was put out of action Jan. 16 with a second-degree tear of the medial collater al ligament in his right knee. Again, Kasparaitis delivered the check.&ldquo;He got me good,&rdquo; McKay said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s part of his game. He saw his opportunity and he gave me a big hit.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Newly acquired center Bernie Nicholls missed two games when he returned home to Los Angeles, where his three-month-old son was very ill.The Devils and Canadiens totalled 164 penalty minutes in the Devils&rsquo; 6-2 win Jan. 22. It was a Meadowlands Arena regular-season record for penalty minutes by both teams in one game.<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 19: Jarrod Skalde, C, recalled from Utica (AHL). Jan. 21: Skalde assigned to Utica. Jan, 23: Skalde recalled from Utica. Claude Vilgrain, LW, recalled from Cincinnati (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Alexander Semak, Bernie Nicholls. Janna Oja-nen. Dave Barr, Jarrod Skalde.LW-Bobby Houk, Scott Pellerin. Troy Maltette, Claude Vilgrain.RW-Claude Lemieux, John MacLean, Bill Guerin, Tom Chorske.LD-Bruce Driver, Scott Stevens, Viacheslav Fetisov, Tommy Albelin.RD-Ken Daneyko, Scott Niedermayer, Alexei Kasatonov, Myles O&rsquo;Connor.G-Cralg Billington, Chris Terror!.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Randy McKay, LW, tom right knee ligament, indefinite. Stephane Richer, C. strained left knee, day-to-day. Peter Stastny. C, flu, day-to-day. Valeri Zelepukin. LW, bruised left shoulder, day-to-day. &#9632;

f0019-01

Richer’s absence in Montreal creates havoc

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div>It&rsquo;s ironic that the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup-clinching game away from home the last two seasons.If the team has had one blemish, it was its sub.-500 record on the road. In fact, the Penguins have never won more games than they&rsquo;ve lost away from the Civic Arena in franchise history.But that&rsquo;s another bit of negative data the Penguins seem prepared to make obsolete.In late January, the Penguins had a 14-10-1 road record for a.580 winning percentage, second only to Quebec. The most impressive of those victories came Jan. 19, when the Penguins broke Vancouver&rsquo;s 16-0-2 streak at Pacific Coliseum with a 5-2 win.The Penguins have always paid lip service to the importance of playing well on the road, but being the first team in franchise history to go over.500 away from home was not one of their stated objectives this year.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s more that we have something to prove to ourselves,&rdquo; left winger Troy Loney said.One key to the Penguins&rsquo; success has been their attitude. They are rarely rattled by hostile crowds, perhaps because Pittsburgh has been so proficient at silencing those fans early in the game, and do not alter their mind-set or preparation just because they&rsquo;re playing out of town.WREGGET RESPONDS: An unfortunate by-product of Tom Barrasso&rsquo;s brilliant play was it pushed Ken Wregget to the distant end of the Pittsburgh bench.Barrasso played in 36 of Pittsburgh&rsquo;s first 43 games and compiled a 25-8-3 record.That meant Wregget had no assurance he would see more than sporadic action, although he knew it was possible Barrasso might be forced from the lineup at some point.That&rsquo;s precisely what happened when Barrasso contracted chicken pox Jan. 14, allowing Wregget to stake a temporary claim to the No. 1 spot.Wregget responded to his extra work by winning three of five games, during which time he allowed more than three goals only once.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Bryan Fogarty, who was assigned to Pittsburgh&rsquo;s farm team in Cleveland of the International League Jan. 8, was suspended indefinitely by the Penguins Jan. 22 after he left the Lumberjacks in Kansas City. Penguins&rsquo; general manager Craig Patrick said Fogarty&rsquo;s departure was alcohol-related, making it the latest in a series of such incidents that have imperiled Fogarty&rsquo;s once-promising career. Patrick, however, did not rule out the possibility of reinstating the 23-year-old Fogarty.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Ron Francis, Dave Tippett, Martin Strake. Mike Stapleton.LW-KevIn Stevens, Shawn McEachern, Bob Errey, Troy Loney, Jeff Daniels.RW-Rick Tocchet, Jaromir Jagr, Joe Mullen, Mike Needham, Jay Caufiekf.LD-Ulf Samueteson. Jim Paek. Grant Jennings, Peter Ahola.RD-Larry Murphy, Kjell Samuelsson, Paul Stanton.G-Ken Wregget. Bruce Racine.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tom Barrasso G, chicken pox, indefinite Mario Lemieux C. Hodgkin&rsquo;s disease, indefinite. &#9632;

Team’s commitment to winning brings new success on road

<div class="byline">By Dave Sell</div>The Washington Capitals re-acquired Bobby Carpenter in the off-season to provide offense.Instead, Carpenter is centering the fourth line, not what management anticipated when it signed him as a free agent for $500,000.Carpenter had six goals and 17 points as of Jan. 24. After coach Terry Murray left Carpenter out of the lineup Nov. 23 in Montreal, Carpenter scored goals in three of the next four games. The third goal in that run came in a 4-1 win in Detroit, after which Carpenter declined to speak to reporter. He also didn&rsquo;t want to chat for this story.In the 22 games since, Carpenter scored just two goals and five assists. And with the season more than half over, coach Terry Murray is settling into the idea Carpenter is not going to produce points at the rate he did last season with Boston, when he had 25 goals and 48 points in 60 games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to be surprised,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;I know the talent is there. It&rsquo;s going after it and showing to himself and to us that he&rsquo;s going to do it.That&rsquo;s what I keep waiting for.&rdquo;Players often say if they had more ice time, they would be able to score more. Murray has heard that, but like most coaches, sees ice time as the reward for production, not the cause of it.&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t want to accept it,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;He has higher expectations. I have higher expectations and not accepting it is fine. He did say, &lsquo;I understand this is the way it is and I&rsquo;ll do the best I can to get myself out of the rut I&rsquo;m in and show you I deserve to be on a higher line.&rsquo; Those are the words you want to hear.&rdquo;DECISION DAY: Calle Johansson&rsquo;s sore ribs delayed a decision on whether to put Shawn Anderson through waivers with the intent of sending him to Baltimore of the American League.Jason Woolley has been playing since returning from an injury, leaving Anderson in the press box most games.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think I&rsquo;m a high-risk player,&rdquo; said Anderson, who had two goals and eight points in 34 games. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m on a termination contract. I don&rsquo;t make a lot of money ($170,000). I haven&rsquo;t had the numbers because I haven&rsquo;t had the ice time. If another team is hurting, I believe I can help somebody out. All I&rsquo;m hoping for is an opportunity.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Reggie Savage was recalled from Baltimore for his third stint this season. Savage scored his 30th goal of the AHL season that night and played with the Capitals the Jan. 22 against the Ottawa Senators. Savage-who scored his first NHL goal on a penalty shot Nov. 18-had two breakaways on one first-period shift, but was stopped on both of them by Senators&rsquo; goalie Peter Sidorkiewicz.Center Steve Konowalchuk was pulled out of the Baltimore Skipjacks&rsquo; lineup Jan. 23 because the Capitals recalled him, expecting Michal Pivonka would not be able to play that evening because of flu. It turned out Pivonka was able to play after all and Konowalchuk was returned to Baltimore later that evening.<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 22: Reggie Savage, RW. recalled from Baltimore (AHL). Jan. 23: Steve Konowalchuk. C. recalled from Baltimore. Konowalchuk assigned to Baltimore.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mike Ridley. Michal Pivonka, Dale Hunter, Bobby Carpenter.LW-Kelly Miller, Dimitri Khristich, Keith Jones, Todd Krygler.RW-Pat Elynuik, Peter Bondra, Paul MacDermid, Alan May. Reggie Savage.LD-AI lafrate, Paul Cavallini, Rod Langway. Shawn Anderson.RD-Sylvain Cote, Kevin Hatcher, Jason Woolley.G-Don Beaupre, Jim Hrivnak.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Randy Burridge, LW. left knee surgery, indefinite. Calle Johansson. D, sore ribs, day-to-day. &#9632;

Carpenter slides to fourth line

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div>The Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; power play was no good, so they went out and got themselves a Hawgood.Defenseman Greg Hawgood, formerly of the Edmonton Oilers, was acquired by the Flyers along with center Josef Beranek in a Jan. 16 trade for defenseman Brian Benning.Picking up Hawgood paid instant dividends. Before he arrived, the Flyers were struggling with the man advantage. But with Hawgood running the power play, the Flyers scored seven times in 19 tries over three games, a 37 percent success rate. That mark was well ahead of their 19 per cent season average.The 24-year-old capped off his first three games in Philadelphia with an important power-play goal. He tied the score with just 2:10 to play in a Jan. 24 game against Hartford. The Flyers went on to win 5-4 in overtime, ending a three-game losing streak.Coach Bill Dineen noticed a marked improvement in the power play after Hawgood arrived.&ldquo;He moves the puck quickly and he&rsquo;s getting some motion in the power play,&rdquo; Dineen said. &ldquo;He seems to always hit the right people.&rdquo;There were a number of factors behind Hawgood&rsquo;s trade to Philadelphia. The Oilers have a surplus of defensemen, they aren&rsquo;t winning and they were looking to change their chemistry. Hawgood is also one of several dozen players in the NHL going to salary arbitration.&ldquo;I was sixth on the team in scoring and I had missed 17 games,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And I was tied for the team lead in plus/minus. It was getting frustrating to me. I know stats aren&rsquo;t everything but we couldn&rsquo;t score any goals and here I am, an offensive player and I wasn&rsquo;t in the lineup.&rdquo;Hawgood said his reason for going to arbitration wasn&rsquo;t because he was dissatisfied with his salary (he&rsquo;s making $250,000 Cdn., this year).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-01733/6166673-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="560" height="1018"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rearguard Ric Nattress has suddenly turned into a goalscorer.</figcaption></div>The Edmonton native said the Oilers wanted him to sign a two-way contract, an arrangement he considered unfair to a veteran with nearly 200 NHL games experience.He had seven goals and 22 points in 37 games.POOL SHOOT: Defenseman Ric Nattress, an 11-year veteran who will never be mistaken for Paul Coffey, is scoring at a torrid pace, at least by his standards.What&rsquo;s his secret? Well, Nattress has been spotted around a billiards table lately and apparently has all the angles worked out.Nattress banked a shot off one or two Hartford Whaler defensemen and into the comer pocket to give the Flyers a 5-4 win Jan. 24.&ldquo;I just sort of pushed it,&rdquo; he said of the overtime winner. &ldquo;It was a pass, more or less, you wouldn&rsquo;t even call it a wrist shot. I&rsquo;ve been playing pool lately and it ended up going in&hellip;that&rsquo;s all.&rdquo;The goal was Nattress&rsquo; fifth in just 22 games. His career single-season high is six, established with St. Louis in 1986-87.NOTEBOOK: Goalie Tommy Soderstrom, who is suffering from an abnormal heartbeat condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, will be sidelined indefinitely after tests revealed a recurrence of the condition. Dominic Roussel was recalled from Hershey of the American League Jan. 25&hellip;Rod Brind&rsquo;-Amour&rsquo;s two goals in a 5-4 win over Hartford Jan. 24 gave him 100 for his career. Brent Fedyk scored his 100th career point in the same game.General manager Russ Farwell-signed a new contract Jan. 19. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. He was in the final year of a three-year deal. &#9632;

f0021-01

Hawgood is power play? A lot better than before

One of the biggest adjustments a hockey player makes is moving up to the pro level from the amateur ranks.That also holds true for minor players moving up the ladder. Benton Ricci can attest to that after making the big jump from mighty mite level to mite.The eight-year-old resident of Richland, Wash., has played well as a versatile forward for the Family Eye Care Flying Eyes. He was the leading scorer on the Boise Cascade Timberwolves last season.Benton is 4-foot-3, 55 pounds and is a Grade 2 student at Badger Mt. elementary school. His favorite team is Vancouver and his top player is Trevor Linden.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02396/6166704-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="532" height="888"><figcaption class="caption-body">Benton Ricci</figcaption></div>You or someone you know can be a part of The Hockey News Minor Hockey Showcase. Send a photograph (non-returnable), along with biographical information (age, height, weight, team, statistics, coach&rsquo;s name, school and grade, favorite NHL team and player) to The Hockey News, attention: Player of the Week, 85 Scarsdale Rd., Suite 100, Don Mills, Ont., M3B 2R2. All entries submitted will be eligible for selection as The Hockey News Minor Hockey Player of the Year.<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 28: Dominic Roussel, G, recalled from Hershey (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mark Recchi. Rod Brintf Amour. Keith Acton. Dave Snuggerud.LW-Brent Fedyk, Josef Beranek, PelleEWund, Doug Evans.RW-Kevin Dineen, Greg Paslawskl, Dave Brown. Andrei Lomakin.LD-Terry Carkner, Garry Galley, Shawn Cronin. Greg Hawgood.RD-Ric Nattress. Dimitri Yushkevich, Gord Hynes, Ryan McGill.G-Dominic Roussel, Stephane Beauregard.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Claude Boivin. LW, tom ligaments to left knee, indefinite. Eric Lindros. C, sprained left knee, indefinite. Tommy Soderstrom. G, abnormal heartbeat, indefinite. &#9632;

f0021-02

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0022-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-01863/6166735-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; winger Rick Tocchet would love to see how his team would stack up against the best of the NHL.</figcaption></div>You don&rsquo;t have to be a goalie to realize that the AllStar Game is far from perfect.The NHL&rsquo;s masked men would probably be the first ones to suggest the game has to change. The winning team has reached double figures in the last three games and goalies have been victimized for a total of 65 goals in the last five.Let&rsquo;s face it, the league&rsquo;s mid-season classic has turned into a tedious game of glorified shinny that features too many goals and not enough hits. The only excitement it seems to generate is in the controversy surrounding the player selections.So for the sanity of the goalies-and enjoyment of the fans-the NHL should consider some of the following changes:&#9633; Discard the rule that guarantees representation for each team.Technically, it isn&rsquo;t really an All-Star Game unless the 44 best players compete. Something&rsquo;s wrong with a format that can send two members of Ottawa Senators to the game but only one Vancouver Canuck.And it won&rsquo;t get any better when as many as 26 teams could be in the league next season. Selectors are restricted by the fact that the first six choices come from the fan balloting. When you add in the fact that each team must be represented by at least one player, you have a very narrow range with which to make additions.The current format succeeds on one level: It provides fan interest to every city in the league. But you can get around that by making sure every team is represented in the skills competition, if not in the game itself. The only team that should be guaranteed a player is the host city.&ldquo;I really believe there have been some inequities this year,&rdquo; said Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; coach Scott Bowman. &ldquo;There have been inequities every year, but when you have a game and (Kirk) McLean. (Tom) Barrasso and (Ron) Hextali aren&rsquo;t in it.&#9633; Pit the Stanley Cup champion against an allstar team.The NHL did just that until 1968, but there were only six teams then. This would force selectors to squeeze a full league roster of all-stars onto a 22-man roster, so only the real stars would be involved.&ldquo;I would enjoy it.&rdquo; said Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Rick Tocchet. &ldquo;To play against the best in the league would be a helluva challenge. We&rsquo;d be playing against (Wayne) Gretzky, (Brett) Hull. Every one of our lines would be a checking line, except Mario&rsquo;s line.&rdquo;&#9633; Play for the Lord Cherry Cup.A game between North American all-stars against a team of Europe&rsquo;s best would have worldwide appeal.This season, three of the four top goalscorers in the NHL are Europeans-two Russians (Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny) plus Finland&rsquo;s Teemu Selanne. And don&rsquo;t forget Mats Sundin had the NHL&rsquo;s longest point-scoring streak of the season.It would also provoke some debate on the relative merits of the two styles, NHL versus international. But perhaps the most important part would be the game&rsquo;s marketing potential.The NHL sees the European television market as a possible gold mine. What better way to make inroads in this important venue than to televise the game and sell it as the best of Europe against the top North Americans? Eventually, you could even play the game in Europe.&#9633; Make Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky actually work for their six-point games.Some styles of player-defensive forwards or defensive defensemen-cannot get into the All-Star Game because they do not have flashy stats.Ask any coach and they would tell you that Eric Desjardins, Mark Tinordi or Derian Hatcher would be more welcome on his defense corps than some of the one-way defensemen who will compete in the All-Star Game.The same applies to defensive forwards.&ldquo;If you added Joel Otto or Paul Ranheim off our team, they would bring something different to the table,&rdquo; said Calgary Flames&rsquo; coach Dave King. &ldquo;Now it isn&rsquo;t quite the same game of shinny.&rdquo;If you designated two defensive forwards and two defensive defensemen per conference, you&rsquo;d get a more complete All-Star Game. &#9632;

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ALL-STAR GAZING

It&rsquo;s one of the only elections in the world where people can vote as many times as they want.The NHL all-star ballot gives fans the chance to select their own Campbell and Wales Conference starting lineups by allowing them to vote for players whom they think should be in the game.A panel of four NHL general managers-one from each division regular-season champion-selects the remainder of the team. Each of the league&rsquo;s 24 teams must be represented by at least one player in the game.Critics maintain the biggest problem with fan voting is they often vote for the most popular, not necessarily the best players.Proponents argue the process is democratic and is the only time the paying customer has the opportunity to decide the starting lineup for a game that is supposed to be for them.Tracy McCloskey, the NHL&rsquo;s special events assistant, said one of the primary reasons the league opted for fan voting was to make sure fans have more of a say in determining the league&rsquo;s best players.Since the first all-star affair in 1947, hockey writers picked the composition of the all-star teams and the winners of the vast majority of postseason awards.The NHL enfranchised the fans&rsquo; viewpoint in 1986, making it a relative newcomer to fan all-star voting. Although the National Football League restricts voting for its all-star game-the Pro Bowl-to players and coaches, both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball have long histories of fan balloting.The NBA has given fans the opportunity to pick its all-star starting line ups since 1975. Major League Baseball began fan balloting in 1947, abandoned it between 1958 and 1969-when players, coaches and managers held the right to vote-and restored it in 1970.The NHL&rsquo;s process for selecting its All-Star Game participants has also undergone radical change. From the inaugural 1947 game through 1968, the previous season&rsquo;s Stanley Cup champion played a collection of allstars from the rest of the league.The teams consisted of players who were named first-and second-team all-stars at the end of the previous season by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, along with other top players.Players who were on the Stanley Cup champion and were also selected as all-stars at the end of the season played for the Stanley Cup champion side in the All-Star Game.Beginning in 1969, the all-star format was changed to pit the best from the East Division against the best from the West. The PHWA picked six players from both divisions to start the game.In 1975, the PHWA began choosing the best from the Campbell and Wales conferences. The coach of the Stanley Cup winner and the Stanley Cup runner-up selected the remaining players.Now fans vote for the starting players for each conference by punching out players&rsquo; names on a ballot. Ballots are distributed to fans at games in each NHL arena from Oct. 15 to Dec. 15.Last season&rsquo;s All-Star Game saw the introduction of a new category-a senior selection for career achievement.&ldquo;The seniors&rsquo; category recognizes current senior players who have dis tinguished themselves by their play and the longevity of their careers,&rdquo; said NHL spokesman Greg Inglis.Brad Marsh of the Ottawa Senators and Randy Carlyle of the Winnipeg Jets are this year&rsquo;s senior selections. &#9632;

All-star format has undergone major change

<div class="byline">By Brent Hurst</div>It seems fitting the NHL All-Star Game can trace its roots back to Valentine&rsquo;s Day.The match, usually the friendliest, least penalized game of the season, began as an act of goodwill almost 60 years ago.On Feb. 14, 1934, the first collection of NHL all-stars played the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto to raise money for Irvine (Ace) Bailey.The talented left winger&rsquo;s career was cut short two months earlier when he sustained a severe skull injury after being hit by Boston defenseman Eddie Shore.The game boasted a total of 18 future Hall of Famers and raised $23,000 for Bailey&rsquo;s family.Two more benefit games were played before the league instituted the All-Star Game as a regular part of the NHL season.The sudden death of Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; center Howie Morenz from a heart attack in 1937, prompted the second benefit game in Montreal to help raise money for his family.Two years later, a third benefit match was organized for the family of future Hall of Famer Albert (Babe) Siebert, who drowned.The first official NHL All-Star Game was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on Oct. 13, 1947. The Stanley Cup champion Maple Leafs played a team comprised mostly of the league&rsquo;s first-and second all-star team selections.Maple Leaf Syl Apps was the hero of the game, scoring a goal and adding an assist, but the Leafs lost 4-3.Since the first official game, there have been many magical moments in all-star competition. Here&rsquo;s a look at some of the highlights of All-Star Game play:&#9633; Chicago, 1948. The league&rsquo;s second official game between the NHL all-stars and Toronto was notable not so much for its scoring but for a fight. Gordie Howe and Toronto&rsquo;s Gus Mortson received fighting majors in the second period of the NHL allstars&rsquo; 3-1 win. It was the only time fighting majors were assessed in AllStar Game competition.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-01839/6166797-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="567" height="918"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gordie Howe scored with his fists in the 1948 All-Star Game.</figcaption></div>&#9633; Detroit, 1950. The host Detroit Red Wings became the first Stanley Cup champion to win an All-Star Game when they beat the league allstars 7-1. The Wings&rsquo; top line of Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel and Howe combined for seven points.&#9633; Montreal, 1957. Lindsay made his 11th and final appearance. He didn&rsquo;t score, but the NHL all-stars rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-3. Lindsay finished his all-star career with five goals and 10 points.&#9633; Montreal, 1965. Howe had four points-tying an All-Star Game record-as the NHL all-stars rebounded from a 2-0 deficit to beat Montreal 5-2. Along with setting a new record for career all-star goals with eight, Howe was also named the game&rsquo;s most valuable player. Glenn Hall played the entire game in net for the all-stars, the last time a goalie played an entire game.&#9633; Montreal, 1967. The All-Star Game was played in February instead of October. Montreal goaltenders Charlie Hodge and Gary Bauman turned aside 35 shots as the Canadiens beat the all-stars 3-0 for the only shutout in all-star competition.&#9633; Montreal, 1969. The All-Star Game format was revamped, pitting the East Division all-star team against the West Division. The West, comprised solely of expansion teams, got a goal from Claude Larose with three minutes left to tie the favored East Division all-stars 3-3.<h2>Montreal shut out stars in &rsquo;67</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-01744/6166790-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="567" height="983"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Mahovlich played his last All-Star Game in 1974.</figcaption></div>&#9633; Chicago, 1974. The West allstars beat the East 6-4 to break the record for highest scoring game. Stan Mikita scored three points for the West, including an assist on Garry Unger&rsquo;s shorthanded, game-winning goal in the third period. The game marked Frank Mahovlich&rsquo;s 15th straight appearance in the All-Star Game. It was also his last.&#9633; Montreal, 1975. The league&rsquo;s realignment changed the All-Star Game format from East vs. West to Campbell vs. Wales. Coach Bep Guidolin&rsquo;s Wales Conference team won the game 7-1.&#9633; Buffalo, 1978. The first overtime game in all-star history took place, thanks largely in part to two Buffalo Sabres. Rick Martin tied the game 2-2 in the third period. Gilbert Perreault scored the winning goal for the Wales Conference in overtime.&#9633; Detroit, 1980. Howe received a five-minute standing ovation before his final all-star appearance. The legendary right winger picked up an assist in the Wales Conference&rsquo;s 6-2 win. giving him a career all-star mark of 10 goals and nine assists. The game also marked the final appearances for Phil and Tony Esposito.&#9633; Long Island, 1983. Wayne Gretzky showcased his brilliance in a 9-3 Campbell Conference win. Gretzky scored four goals in the third period. while Edmonton Oiler teammatesMark Messier and Jari Kurri picked up three assists each.&#9633; St. Louis, 1988. Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; center Mario Lemieux put on a dazzling display in leading the Wales Conference to a 6-5 overtime win. Lemieux scored three goals and added three assists to capture his second All-Star Game MVP award.&#9633; Pittsburgh, 1990. Lemieux didn&rsquo;t disappoint the hometown fans. The Penguins&rsquo; captain tied Gretzky&rsquo;s All-Star Game record with four goals in a 12-7 Wales Conference win over the Campbells. He just missed tying Gretzky&rsquo;s record for the most goals in a period (four). He scored three in the first frame.&#9633; Chicago, 1991. Toronto left winger Vincent Damphousse emerged as the suiprise hero in an 11-5 win for the Campbells. Damphousse scored four goals and took home MVP honors.&#9633; Philadelphia, 1992. Brian Bellows, Jeremy Roenick, Theoren Fleury and Brett Hull combined to score the four fastest goals in All-Star Game history (4:19) in an 11-5 Campbell Conference win. &#9632;

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Astounding individual feats grace game’s history

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-01805/6166842-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="384" height="312"></div>Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; center Mario Lemieux will miss the 1992-93 AllStar Game in Montreal Feb. 6, but Campbell Conference goalies Ed Belfour, Jon Casey and Mike Vernon shouldn&rsquo;t breathe too easy.The top four scorers in the league will suit up for the Wales Conference.The top votegetters for the Wales include: Center-Lemieux (280,536); Winger-Jaromir Jagr, Pittsburgh (276, 535); Defenseman-Ray Bourque, Boston (301.161); Goaltend-er-Patrick Roy, Montreal (227. 605).The top votegetters for the Campbell Conference were: Center-Steve Yzerman, Detroit (199.122); Winger-Brett Hull. St. Louis (303, 953); Defenseman-Paul Coffey, Los Angeles (291,482); Goalie-Ed Belfour (224.161).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02531/6166835-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="578" height="920"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Sakic</figcaption></div><h2>WALES ROSTER</h2><h3>CENTERS</h3>Pat LaFontaine (Buffalo)Mark Messier (Rangers)Adam Oates (Boston)Joe Sakic (Quebec)Pierre Turgeon (Islanders)<h3>WINGERS</h3>Peter Bondra (Washington)Jaromir Jagr (Pittsburgh)Alexander Mogilny (Buffalo)Kirk Muller (Montreal)Mark Recchi (Philadelphia)Kevin Stevens (Pittsburgh)Rick Tocchet (Pittsburgh)<h3>DEFENSEMEN</h3>Ray Bourque (Boston)Steve Duchesne (Quebec)Al lafrate (Washington)Brian Leetch (Rangers)Brad Marsh (Ottawa)Scott Stevens (New Jersey)Zarley Zalapski (Hartford)<h3>GOALIES</h3>Craig Billington (New Jersey)Patrick Roy (Montreal)Peter Sidorkiewicz (Ottawa)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03422/6166828-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="576" height="918"><figcaption class="caption-body">Patrick Roy</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Lemieux-less Wales still pack punch

Escalating ticket prices have made it impossible for many fans to enjoy live NHL games, but for one weekend fans can see some of the best players in the league for a reasonable price.That&rsquo;s the philosophy behind Hockey Fest &rsquo;93, a four-day exhibi tion of hockey during the NHL allstar weekend, designed especially for the fan.Hockey Fest &rsquo;93 will bring together every conceivable element of hockey under one roof at the Montreal Convention Centre. Fans will be able to meet NHL players such as Eric Lindros and Luc Robitaille, take part in hockey card and memorabilia exhibits and watch the Quebec League&rsquo;s skills competition on a makeshift rink.The 44-by-84-foot temporary rink will be one of the event&rsquo;s most interesting venues. Louise Forgues, public relations director for Hockey Fest &rsquo;93, said the smaller rink is a massive undertaking, but it will be worth the effort.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a bit crazy, but we know for a fact it will work,&rdquo; Forgues said. &ldquo;I: will be the center of attraction.&rdquo;The rink will host an improvisa tional game on skates, a non-contac hockey game for children and several hockey clinics. The QMJHL&rsquo;s train ers and players will also put on a training session and the Quebec Ice Hockey Federation is planning a ref eree clinic. There are also plans for a speed skating clinic.If fans want something more, they can always watch the Heroes of Hockey, the All-Star Weekend Super Skills Challenge and the All-Star Game on several giant-screen televi sions.Hockey Fest &rsquo;93 president Pierre Mouton said there was a definite need for an event where fans and players could interact and celebrate the game.NHL games are too expensive for the average family to attend on a reg-ular basis and when families are able to go to games, they&rsquo;re usually forced to sit far from the action because sea-son ticket holders and corporations have the best seats.Mouton wanted to address these problems by creating an environment that allows fans to meet players and leant more about the game at an affordable price.&ldquo;We want to put the fans as close to the players as possible,&rdquo; Mouton said. &ldquo;The real hockey fans never get to participate. They never get to meet the players. I think every team should pay tribute to their fans once a year.&rdquo;Legendary Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; stars Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt will be in attendance along with future stars such as Alexandre Daigle of the QMJHL&rsquo;s Victoriaville Tigres, who is expected to be the first overall pick in the 1993 entry draft.Hockey Fest will also feature autograph sessions, a hardest-shot compe-| tition, a chance to be a sports commentator, table hockey games and an auction of hockey memorabil-ia.The memorabilia will include the autographed sweaters and sticks of famous Canadiens&rsquo; players and some of the first Sherwood hockey sticks ever used. The proceeds of the acution will go to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association.There will also be exhibits showing the evolution of hockey equipment and the history of the game.The price of admission for the event reflects Mouton&rsquo;s philosophy of accessibility. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children.Mouton is convinced the event will be a success. He expects between 50,000 and 70,000 people will be in attendance. He has received many inquiries about the event from fans all I over North America.&ldquo;Hockey is like a religion in Que-bee and in Canada,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;These hockey fans are going to have a real treat for four days.&rdquo; &#9632;

Interaction with stars highlight of Hockey Fest ’93

Players aren&rsquo;t the only people honored by their selection to the All-Star Game. NHL officials take a great deal of pride in participating in the midseason classic.&ldquo;I was extremely honored when they asked me,&rdquo; said Dan Marouelli, the referee for this year&rsquo;s All-Star Game in Montreal. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a big highlight in anyone&rsquo;s career.&rdquo;Unlike the playoffs, where a merit system determines which referees are called upon, the NHL uses a rotation system to choose the All-Star Game referees.Wally Harris, the assistant director of officiating, said referees become eligible for the rotation system after they&rsquo;ve worked 10 years in the league.Kerry Fraser, Terry Gregson, Ron Hoggarth, Don Koharski, Bill McCreary, Denis Morel and Andy van Hellemond are the other NHL referees with at least 10 years experience.McCreary is the only one in the group other than Marouelli to have never worked an All-Star Game. Marouelli and McCreary are both in their 10th year.Harris said he knows his peers take a lot of pride in getting the All-Star Game assignment.&ldquo;I know when Marouelli was announced as the referee he was a very happy individual,&rdquo; Harris said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s special. It&rsquo;s like the player who is chosen for his first game.&rdquo;Although there&rsquo;s some monetary benefit for the officials involved, Marouelli said the money isn&rsquo;t important.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even know what it is,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You more or less work the game for the pride and the achievement.&rdquo;Marouelli will be working his first All-Star Game with linesmen Kevin Collins and Ryan Bozak. Collins worked the 1988 All-Star Game in St. Louis. Bozak saw action in the 1983 game on Long Island. Hoggarth will back-up at this year&rsquo;s game.The All-Star Game is a pretty easy game to referee. There have been just two penalties in the last two All-Star Games.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an easy game to officiate,&rdquo; said Harris, who was the All-Star Game referee in 1975 and 1982. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not going to get any bitching from anyone.&rdquo;Because players today concentrate solely on offense and ignore defense, there is little contact and therefore few penalties, Harris said.&ldquo;We probably had more hits in the oldtimers&rsquo; game,&rdquo; he said.Former official Bill Chadwick holds the NHL record for appearing in the most All-Star Games. Chadwick appeared in five games in the late 1940s and early &rsquo;50s. Bruce Hood worked in four games during the 1970s and early &rsquo;80s.While working an All-Star Game is an achievement, Harris says it isn&rsquo;t as great an honor as being named a referee for the Stanley Cup final.&ldquo;When you get the nod to work one of those games, you know you&rsquo;re one of the top three officials in the league,&rdquo; he said. &#9632;

Working mid-season classic an honor for officials

Some of the greatest hockey players in history will be on hand for this year&rsquo;s Heroes of Hockey game.The match, to be played the night before the All-Star Game, will pit former Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; all-stars against a selection of NHL all-stars.The Heroes of Hockey game, along with the all-star skills competition, were introduced as part of the first allstar weekend in Pittsburgh in 1990.Darryl Sittier, a four-time All-Star Game participant who is helping organize this year&rsquo;s event, said leg ends such as 64-year-old Gordie Howe, Phil Esposito, Lanny McDonald, Gilbert Perreault, Paul Henderson and Bobby Clarke will suit up.Sittler is looking forward to playing in his first oldtimers&rsquo; game and seeing some former players.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a great time,&rdquo; the former Toronto captain said. &ldquo;The mood is very good with the all-star festivities going on. We&rsquo;ll have a weekend of fun and relaxation.&rdquo;It may sound strange coming from a former Leaf, but Sittler said he&rsquo;s looking forward to playing in front of the Montreal crowd.&ldquo;Montreal has always been one of the best arenas to play in.&rdquo;Former Canadiens Rejean Houle, Frank Mahovlich, Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire and Steve Shutt will play for Montreal.The Heroes of Hockey game has matched the host alumni against an NHL all-star team each year except in 1990, when the Wales Conference alumni played the Campbell Conference alumni.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01789/6166966-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="566" height="625"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Shutt leads the Hab all-stars in the Heroes of Hockey game.</figcaption></div>Houle, who helped put together the Canadiens&rsquo; roster, says the NHL has done a great job in ensuring the event goes off smoothly.The Heroes of Hockey is sold as part of the all-star weekend package which includes tickets to the All-Star Game, Heroes of Hockey and Skills Competitions.In its three previous seasons, slapstick has been as much a part of the game as slapshots. Former New York Ranger Rod Gilbert took a slapshot with an exploding puck one year and Eddie Shack once tried to score on a penalty shot using an oversized stick that looked more like a canoe paddle than a hockey stick.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re looking forward to having a heck of a time,&rdquo; Houle said.The NHL picks up the tab for the players&rsquo; expenses and donates at least $1,000 to teams&rsquo; alumni organizations. &#9632;

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Flying Frenchmen return for oldtimers’ match

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0031-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01724/6166997-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg"></div>The cyclical feast or famine factor in major junior hockey finally caught up with perennial doormats the Victoriaville Tigres and Brandon Wheat Kings.After years of finishing last in the Quebec and Western Leagues last season, the Tigres and Wheat Kings have seen the cycle take an upswing. Both teams have made the move from worst to first this season.The Tigres have relied on the explosiveness of potential No. 1 draft pick Alexandre Daigle and a maturing supporting cast to put memories of a 26-111-3 record the past two seasons well behind them.The Wheat Kings&rsquo; are using strong goal tending and a balanced scoring attack to end a famine which lasted a few years longer. Brandon finished among the bottom three teams in the WHL&rsquo;s East Division in each of the past eight seasons.At the Canadian Hockey League all-star break Jan. 17, the Tigres were the No. 2 rated team overall behind the Ontario League&rsquo;s Peterborough Petes, while the Wheat Kings were ranked fourth behind the WHL&rsquo;s Swift Current Broncos. Both the Tigres and Wheat Kings improved their all-star break (Jan. 17) point totals by 42 compared to last year. (See story on page 32).<h2>ALL-STAR TEAMS</h2>OHL: C-Pat Peake, Detroit; RW-Derek Armstrong, Sudbury; LW-Andrew Brunette, Owen Sound; D-C Pronger, Peterborough Nick Stajduhar, Lond, G-Chad Lang, Peterbc ough.WHL: C-Rob Niedei mayer, Medicine Hat LW-Dean McAmmond, Prince Albert; RW-Valeri Bure, Spokane; D-Michal Sykora, Tacoma and Jason Smith, Regina; G-Trevor Robins, Brandon.QMJHL: C-Alexandre Daigle, Victoriaville; LW-Rene Corbet, Drummondville; RW-Claude Savoie, Victoriaville; D-Joel Bouchard, College Francais and Dean Melanson, St-Hyacinthe; G-Jocelyn Thibault, Sherbrooke.<h2>TOP ROOKIES</h2>OHL: Seventeen-year-old Kingston goalie Tyler Moss has helped the Frontenacs battle the Oshawa Generals and Sudbury Wolves for second place in the Leyden Division. He has been flip-flopping with Chad Lang of the mighty Petes for best goals-against average. Moss had a 12-4-4 record in 26 games. With an.897 save percentage, he&rsquo;s the best fourth-round pick out of the 1992 OHL draft. Watch for him in the 1993 NHL draft.WHL: Although not as highly-touted as some other 16-year-olds coming into the league, Regina Pats&rsquo; center Jeff Friesen was clearly a notch above the rookie pack at the all-star break. He had 30 goals and 53 points in 46 games. NHL scouts are high on the professional prospects of this 6-foot, 180-pound product of Meadow Lake, Sask.QMJHL: Steve Brule is a big reason why the St-Jean Lynx could go from worst to first in the Lebel Division. Brule, 18, had 22 goals and 57 points in 45 games. The 5-foot-11, 176-pound forward was the second player taken in last year&rsquo;s midget draft. Victoriaville&rsquo;s Cosmo Dupaul, the first overall pick, has also enjoyed success with 16 goals and 42 points in 44 games.<h2>SURPRISES</h2>OHL: Right winger Brad Smyth of the London Knights had 37 goals in 42 games after only 19 goals his first two seasons. His production put him third in league scoring, behind Pat Peake of the Detroit Jr. Red Wings and Andrew Brunette of the Owen Sound Platers. The Nepean, Ont., native was a 20th-round pick in 1990. Smyth was talking about 30 goals and 300 penalty minutes at the start of the season &ldquo;to get some cheap press.&rdquo;From a team standpoint, the Knights started rebuilding this season but are actually doing better than at the same point last season.WHL: The second-year Tacoma Rockets have to be considered the biggest revelation. Everybody knew the Rockets would improve from 1991-92 when they were 24-43-5, but not to this degree. Tacoma, which had a 30-13-0 record at the all-star break, led second-place Portland by five points in the West Division. The Rockets were also within just two wins of the WHL record of 22 consecutive home victories.QMJHL: There was a four-letter word being used to forecast the season for College Francais: ugly. The defending league champions started the season without their top four scorers from last year, along with their best defenseman, starting goaltender and coach. To make matters worse, they traded away their first-, third-, and fourth-round picks in the midget draft when they went for it all last season. However, rookie coach Alain Rajotte and his young team have responded with a 23-21-1 record.Claude Savoie of Victoriaville led the league with 55 goals in 45 games. He had 39 goals in 69 games last season.<h2>DISAPPOINTMENTS</h2>OHL: The Windsor Spitfires, with the likes of Todd Warriner, Cory Stillman (both first-round NHL picks), Steve Gibson, Denny Purdie and last season&rsquo;s rookie scoring champion Bill Bowler, were pre-season favorites to challenge Sault Ste. Marie and Detroit for first place in the Emms Division. Windsor management was even talking about booking Joe Louis Arena, across the river in Detroit, for their Memorial Cup final. Warriner and Stillman both demanded trades and coach-general manager Wayne Maxner was forced to resign after a last-place 13-23-2 record.WHL: Duane Sutter couldn&rsquo;t pull the cat out of the Hat. The former NHLer was fired as coach Jan. 3 by the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Tigers should be fighting for top spot with talented players such as center Rob Niedermayer, defensemen Mike Rathje and David Cooper and goalie Sonny Mignacca. Instead, Medicine Hat was floundering at the bottom of the East Division with a 15-29-3 mark.QMJHL: The Beauport Harfangs were entering the third year of a three-year building plan and expectations were high. But after a 14-31-2 start, it&rsquo;s time to go back to the drawing board. Coach Alain Chainey was fired after a 3-8-0 start but things haven&rsquo;t improved under Joe Hardy. The Harfangs will fail to make the playoffs for the third year since joining the league.&ndash;With files from Stuart Cowan, Jim Cressman and Vance Oliver. &#9632;

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HALVES AND HALF NOTS

Victoriaville&rsquo;s Alexandre Daigle is far and away the best pro prospect and most valuable player in the Quebec League. With Daigle in the lineup, the Tigres fly.But the Tigres also showed they&rsquo;re an excellent team going 11-4-1 when Daigle missed 16 games due to suspensions and a trip to the World Junior Championships.Perhaps more valuable to their teams, though, are Pat Peake of the OHL&rsquo;s Detroit Jr. Red Wings and Trevor Robins of the WHL&rsquo;s Brandon Wheat Kings. Here&rsquo;s why.Detroit with Peake in the lineup was 1810-3. Detroit without Peake in the lineup-34-3. He returned from playing for the U.S. at the WJC and the next night his nose was broken by a high stick. He missed some shifts, then went out and scored a hat trick to lead his team to a 4-2 win over Guelph. Peake was on pace to score 89 goals, which would break the OHL&rsquo;s scorine mark of 87, set by Ernie Godden with Windsor in 1980-81,before separating his shoulder at the skills competition of the OHL-WHL-QMJHL all-star game.Robins&rsquo; numbers speak for themselves. The Brandon goalie had a 2.91 average, 26-11-2 record and.911 save percentage and was the main reason why the Wheat Kings were battling Swift Current and Saskatoon for first place. The outstanding perfonnances from the undrafted overage Robins prompted the San Jose Sharks to offer him a free-agent contractDespite missing 16 games. Alexandre The Great is still in a position to win the league scoring title averaging more than three points per game and trailing leader Rene Corbet of Drummondville by seven at the break. The pre-season pick as the top North American prospect for this year&rsquo;s NHL entry draft, Daigle has been spectacular, accumulating 93 points (30 goals, 63 assists) in 31 games. &#9632;

MVP’s reaching a Peake

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div>Matthew Barnaby of College Francais is an impact player, but the rugged left winger is proving he can make his mark with a scoring touch as well as his fists.For the second consecutive season, Barnaby is the Quebec League&rsquo;s bad boy with 278 penalty minutes in 41 games. Last season he led the league with 476 minutes in 63 games. In his three seasons, he has 1.016 penalty minutes in 156 games, an average of 6.5 minutes per game.But penalty minutes isn&rsquo;t the only statistical category Barnaby leads in. He was College Francais&rsquo; leading scorer with 31 goals and 80 points, sixth in the league. Last season he had 29-37-66 totals in 63 games with the Beauport Harfangs.It&rsquo;s that combination of toughness and scoring which led the Buffalo Sabres to take Barnaby in the fourth round of last year&rsquo;s NHL draft.When Barnaby entered the QMJHL in 1990 he didn&rsquo;t expect to become a scoring threat. Neither did anyone else expect him to. He was Beauport&rsquo;s 20th-round pick (240th overall) in 1990.&ldquo;I started dropping the gloves for the first time at my first (junior) camp because I felt it was the only way I could make the team,&rdquo; Barnaby said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have the size to be a heavyweight, but I won&rsquo;t back down from anyone.&rdquo;The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder grew up in Ottawa and his family moved to Hull prior to his final year of midget hockey. He spoke no French when he arrived in Beauport, a city that is almost exclusively francophone. But Barnaby now considers himself bilingual.&ldquo;I never took French lessons,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I learned to speak it in the dressing room and my girlfriend is French.&rdquo;Verdun-based College Francais obtained Barnaby from Beauport in November for Martin Tanguay. At the time, College Francais coach Alain Rajotte felt his team lacked toughness.Barnaby is a big reason why College Francais is battling for a playoff spot in the Lebel Division after losing the nucleus of last year&rsquo;s championship team.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not the most talented team,&rdquo; Barnaby said,&rdquo;but we have a lot of emotion and heart.&rdquo;SHINING STAR: Victoriaville&rsquo;s Alexandre Daigle picked up four assists at the Canadian Hockey League All-Star Game held at the Montreal Forum Jan. 19, but it wasn&rsquo;t enough as the Ontario League/Westem League all-stars beat the QMJHL team 7-5. Daigle was named Quebec&rsquo;s most valuable player.Victoriaville&rsquo;s Claude Savoie and St-Hyacinthe&rsquo;s Martin Gendron each had two goals for Quebec and Victoriaville&rsquo;s Daniel Guerard had a single. The QMJHL team outshot the visitors 53-32. The OHL/WHL team received strong goaltending from Brandon&rsquo;s Trevor Robins and Niagara Falls&rsquo; Manny Legace.Portland&rsquo;s Adam Deadmarsh scored the winning goal for OHL/WHL with just over three minutes remaining. Also scoring were Regina&rsquo;s Jeff Shantz, Sault Ste. Marie&rsquo;s Ralph Intranuovo, Oshawa&rsquo;s Scott Hollis. Spokane&rsquo;s Valeri Bure. Guelph&rsquo;s Jeff Bes and Kingston&rsquo;s Chris Gratton. Shantz was the MVP.A disappointing crowd of 4,355 watched the game, which was nationally televised on TSN.WHO&rsquo;S HOT: The Beauport Harfangs ended an 11-game losing streak Jan. 15 with a 3-2 victory over the Shawinigan Cataractes. Two nights later, the Harfangs bombed the league-leading Victoriaville Tigres 11-6. It marked only the second time this season Beauport (14-31-2) had won two games in a row&hellip;The St-Jean Lynx won its fifth consecutive game Jan. 12, beating Hull 5-3. &#9632;

Barnaby racking up big numbers

<div class="byline">By Vance Oliver</div>As if they didn&rsquo;t have enough offense.The front-running Swift Current Broncos, already loaded with offensive stars, acquired Prince Albert Raider Dean McAmmond prior to the Western League trading deadline Jan. 22.The Broncos picked up McAmmond, 19, and defenseman Darren Perkins, 19, from Prince Albert for defenseman Shane Hnidy, 17, and three listed players-Dauphin Junior A left winger Brad Church, 16, Red Deer bantam right winger Shane Willis, 15, and Red Deer bantam defenseman Rob Hegberg, 15.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if you want to call us kingmaker or not.&rdquo; Prince Albert general manager Dale Engel said. &ldquo;The other GMs had the same opportunity. Swift Current wanted to pay a bigger price to be king. I don&rsquo;t think anybody can criticize. They all had my phone number.&rdquo;The Broncos have three players who will likely hit 100 points-Rick Girard had 93 points, Jason Krywulak 92 and Todd Holt 76. If that wasn&rsquo;t enough, the Broncos got centers Tyler Wright and Andrew Schneider back from the pro ranks before Christmas.DEADLINE DEALS: The Broncos solidified their defense by acquiring rearguard Heeth Weenk, 19, from Regina for winger Steve Dowhy, 18. Swift Cunent also sent center Russ West. 18, to Regina for future considerations.Brandon acquired right winger Chris Schmidt, 20, from Moose Jaw for overage right winger Mark Franks, left winger Derek Shuel, 16, and future considerations.The Warriors sent winger David Jesiolow-ski, 18, to Spokane for winger Lance Burns, 18. Victoria sent goalie Steve Passmore, 19, to Kamloops for goalie Dale Masson, 19, and future considerations.Saskatoon completed a three-way deal with Victoria and Seattle. Saskatoon dealt forward Rhett Trombley, 18, to Victoria, which sqfl center Shea Esselmont, 19, to Seattle which passed on defenseman Andrew Kemper, 18, to Saskatoon.A SAFE BETS: Spokane was expecting Russian import Maxim Bets back Jan. 24. The second-leading rookie scorer in the WHL with 26 goals and 57 points in 33 games, didn&rsquo;t return from Russia after Christmas.He was expected to return to Spokane Jan. 4, but encountered visa problems in his homeland.&ldquo;Before Maxim came (to the Chiefs in September) he would be allowed to go home at Christmas,&rdquo; said Chiefs&rsquo; GM Tim Speltz. &ldquo;We knew he wasn&rsquo;t going to be back until the fourth, but on Jan. 1, 1993, they had immigration procedures that changed and Max&rsquo;s agent wasn&rsquo;t aware of that.&rdquo;MONO BRAND: Seattle lost two of its top three scorers to mononucleosis.Left winger Chris Wells and right winger Scott Lindsay went down with the illness Jan. 16. Wells was second in team scoring with 18 goals and 47 points in 45 games, while Lindsay was third at 23 goals and 40 points in 40 games. Both are sidelined until early March.INNOCENT PLEA: Red Deer winger Keg Richardson pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault causing bodily harm Jan. 12.Richardson, 19, was charged after a Dec. 19 game between the Rebels in Prince Albert. He allegedly tossed a water bottle and helmet into the stands after being taunted by fans. Two spectators were injured. Richardson, who also received a four-game suspension from the WHL, will appear in Prince Albert Provincial Court for a preliminary hearing March 12. &#9632;

Broncos add firepower in form of McAmmond

The Victoriaville Tigres and Brandon Wheat Kings have completely turned around their fortunes in one year, improving by 42 points compared to their point totals at the all-star break last season. Here&rsquo;s the progress of all Canadian Hockey League teams and their point increase or decrease at the three-day Jan. 17-19 break.Complete makeover: Victoriaville. Biandon (+42), Portland (+24), Detroit, Tacoma (+22), Guelph (+21).Making headway: Kingston (+17), Drum-mondville (+14), Peterborough, S. Current (+12), St-Jean (+11), Owen Sound (+10), Victoria (+7).Spinning wheels: Saskatoon (+4), London (+2), Lethbridge. Sudbury, Hull (+1), Chicoutimi, Oshawa (even), Seattle (-1), Regina (-3), Kitchener, Laval, Beauport (-4).One forward, two back: S.S. Marie, Niagara Falls (-5). Sherbrooke, Moose Jaw (-6), St-Hyacinthe (-7), Windsor (-8), Newmarket, Ottawa (-9), Kamloops (-10), Tri-City (-12).Rebuilding phase: Belleville (-16), College Francis (-17), Shawinigan (-18), Spokane, Granbv (-20). Medicine Hat (-23), North Bay (-29), Prince Albert (-30). &#9632;

Making strides, slipping back

<div class="byline">By Bill Montague</div>After a season of controversy and turmoil, Wayne Maxner resigned as coach-general manager of the Windsor Spitfires.Maxner had been under fire all season because of a 14-25-2 record and an inability to get along with his players. He blamed Windsor Star columnist Lloyd McLaughlan for his demise, which came Jan. 18, three days after club owners told him not to make a road trip.McLaughlan had written two columns in which he compared Maxner&rsquo;s three-year tenure in Windsor to that of a three-ring circus.&ldquo;I think Lloyd McLaughlan put a gun to the owners&rsquo; heads to make a decision,&rdquo; Maxner said. &ldquo;Mr. McLaughlan has done enough to Wayne Maxner for a lifetime. I felt enough was enough. I don&rsquo;t need all that crap. I have a fami ly to think of. He has put a lot of pressure on my family, my kids. I don&rsquo;t need that.&rdquo;Controversy has followed Maxner since arriving for his fourth tour of duty in Windsor as general manager in 1990. He was critical of then-coach Brad Smith, whom he fired 10 games into the 1991-92 season. Later that season, the owners stripped Maxner of his coaching duties after he left several players in Guelph following a game. He was replaced by Dave Pr-pich but later Maxner convinced the owners he should be behind the bench and both Prpich and assistant coach Kevin Hamlin were let go.Maxner dismantled the team by trading first-round NHL draft picks Todd Warriner and Cory Stillman. Then defenseman David Benn briefly quit the team and when captain Dennis Purdie as well as Derek Crane quit Jan. 15, the owners felt it was time to discuss Maxner&rsquo;s future.Maxner, 50, had a record of 168-205-27 in four terms with the Spitfires. He previously coached in London, Sudbury, Adirondack of the American League and Detroit of the NHL. He said he&rsquo;s in no hurry to look for another job.Assistant coach Kevin McIntosh was named interim coach and club president Steve Riolo said a search for a replacement will begin immediately.REID CHARGED: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds&rsquo; center Jarret Reid was charged with sexual assault following an incident involving a 20-year-old woman Jan. 13.Reid, the team&rsquo;s leading scorer with 19 goals and 57 points in 36 games, turned himself in to police Jan. 14. He was released by a Justice of the Peace and will appear in provincial court Feb. 8 to answer to enter his plea.The woman alleges she was assaulted at her home. According to police reports, the suspec&rdquo; did not break into the home and the incident did not include intercourse.Reid, 19, was the Hartford Whalers&rsquo; sixthround draft choice in 1992. He&rsquo;s the second Greyhound facing criminal charges. Defenseman Drew Bannister faces assault charges following an incident last summer.SETS RECORD: Peterborough sniper Jason Dawe set a team scoring record Jan. 14 in a 6-5 win over Sudbury. Dawe scored a hat trick for career goals 142, 143 and 144, breaking Scott Tottle&rsquo;s record of 143 which was set in the early 1980s&hellip;Detroit center Pat Peake separated his left shoulder during a skills competition prior to the CHL Challenge Cup All-Star Game Jan. 19. He was second in league scoring, with 50 goals and 98 points in 33 games. He&rsquo;s! expected to be sidelined until mid-February. &#9632;

Stormy term comes to end for Spitfires’ Maxner

<div class="byline">By Dave Eminian</div>The San Diego Gulls&rsquo; domination on home ice was interrupted Jan. 15 when the Peoria Rivermen stunned the Gulls 7-2 in front of a franchise-record crowd of 11,192 at the San Diego Sports Arena.That marked the first regulation loss on home ice this season for the Gulls. They were 19-0-2 before the loss to Peoria.&ldquo;We played lousy,&rdquo; San Diego coach Rick Dudley said. &ldquo;We collapsed.&rdquo;San Diego was without injured player/coach John Anderson and point-scoring leader Hubie McDonough, who was recalled by the San Jose Sharks. And goalie Rick Knickle injured his right shoulder in the second period but took painkillers and played in the third. The Gulls&rsquo; backup goalie that night was a local tennis pro named Scooter Henson.Peoria coach Rick Meagher confronted Dudley for what he said was inappropriate tactics.&ldquo;I was upset because of the guys he sent out at the end,&rdquo; Meagher said. &ldquo;He sent out Perry Anderson. Max Middendorf, Daniel Shank. Denny Lambert-big guys, tough guys. You know what&rsquo;s going to happen.&rdquo;Meagher was more incensed about a play earlier in the game in which San Diego&rsquo;s Mitch Lamoureaux was ejected for checking Peoria&rsquo;s Derek Frenette from behind and sending him face-first into the boards.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the scariest play in hockey,&rdquo; Meagher&hellip;said. &ldquo;The NHL wouldn&rsquo;t let you get away with that. That&rsquo;s minor-league hockey.&rdquo;The Rivermen sent a tape of the play to the IHL and are seeking discipline against Lamoureaux. The league is reviewing the incident.Frenette was hospitalized with head and neck injuries and sustained nerve damage in his neck.NO HANDY MAN: Reigning playoff MVP Ron Handy has asked Peoria to trade him.Handy, 30, was in a horrible slump. He played in 18 of Peoria&rsquo;s 44 games and hadn&rsquo;t scored a goal this season. He had 384 career minor-league goals entering this season.Handy missed 19 games recovering from preseason surgery for hernia and surgery in December to correct a broken nose. He also had run-ins with general manager Denis Cyr, who couldn&rsquo;t find the player for several days after his nose surgery.The last straw may have come on the team&rsquo;s return flight from San Diego Jan. 16, when Handy failed to re-board the plane during a stop-over in Denver.&ldquo;I had to go to a part of the airport where smoking was allowed,&rdquo; Handy said. &ldquo;If I was trying to miss the plane. I would have stayed in bed in San Diego, not got stuck in Denver.&rdquo;NO CHALLENGE: The San Diego Gulls said they did not back down from an offer to play American League powerhouse Binghamton Rangers in a two-game exhibition series as reported in the Jan. 22 issue of The Hockey News.There never was a serious offer.San Diego GM Don Waddell and New York Rangers&rsquo; assistant GM Larry Pleau once joked the 34-4-4 Gulls and the Rangers&rsquo; 31-5-5 Binghamton farm team should play each other.&ldquo;But it was all said in fun,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;Nothing came of it because it wasn&rsquo;t a challenge. It was just a joke.&rdquo;ING SIGNS: San Diego signed Edmonton Oiler holdout goalie Peter Ing to a 25-game trial contract Jan. 20. Ing has been in a season-long contract dispute with the Oilers. He can leave the Gulls at any time during the period of the contract. &#9632;

Gulls’ near-perfect home streak comes to end

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>It would be easy for Peter Ciavaglia to become cynical, pout, and start asking,&rdquo;What&rsquo;s a guy gotta do to prove himself?&rdquo;After all, it would seem there&rsquo;s not much more the second-year Rochester Americans&rsquo; center can do.He has certainly proven he can score at the American League level. As a rookie in 199192, he was fourth in the AHL with 37 goals and 98 points in 77games.This season, he ranked third with 27-36-63 totals in only 33 games. That&rsquo;s the highest points-per-game average (1.91) in the AHL among players who played at least 25 games.Yet Ciavaglia, a 23-year-old Harvard graduate, conducts himself as though he&rsquo;s still a raw rookie trying to learn the pro game.He played two games with the parent Buffalo Sabres last season but realizes that unless Pat LaFontaine or Dale Hawerchuk are injured, he&rsquo;s probably stuck in Rochester. Ciavaglia was an eighth-round choice of the Calgary Flames in 1987 and signed with Buffalo as a free agent before last season.&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve pretty much given me the idea that they&rsquo;re going with those two guys,&rdquo; said Ciavaglia, who had a 17-game scoring streak (19-16-35) through Jan. 22. &ldquo;Right now it doesn&rsquo;t look like I&rsquo;m needed or wanted. But I don&rsquo;t hold any bitter feelings. I could call them every four-letter word I know but patience is the key. Something good has usually happened when I&rsquo;ve waited it out.&rdquo;The biggest concern NHL scouts have concerning Ciavaglia is his size. He is only 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds.Don Lever, his former coach in Rochester and now a Buffalo assistant, doesn&rsquo;t think Ciavaglia is too small. He believes Ciavaglia can play in the NHL because of his great hands, hockey sense and shiftiness.But it may take the expansion draft before Ciavaglia gets a chance. He is playing out his option and will become a free agent with compensation after the season.&ldquo;This is an important year so if I get frustrated and it affects my game, then I&rsquo;m blowing it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;No one&rsquo;s going to want a selfish player, a quitter, a guy who gives up when things don&rsquo;t go his way.&rdquo;STRIKING OIL: Cape Breton has been hit hard by recalls all season, but heading into the second half of the season the Oilers had a two-point lead on St. John&rsquo;s in the Atlantic Division.Two-time team leading scorer Shaun Van Allen is in Edmonton, as are Scott Thornton and Shjon Podein. Wingers Dan Currie and Steven Rice had brief callups.The Oilers&rsquo; lineup has also been disrupted because of injuries to defensemen Brian Curran and Guy Lehoux.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had some key ingredients out and some guys who hadn&rsquo;t been getting the ice time they would have liked are now getting their chance, and they&rsquo;re coming through,&rdquo; said first-year coach George Burnett. &ldquo;Plus, both goaltenders, Andrew Verner and Wayne Cowley, have been outstanding.&rdquo;The biggest factor for the Oilers&rsquo; success was fourth-year center Bill McDougall. The 26-year-old had 27 goals and 55 points in 42 games, including 13 goals in a 15-game stretch.HAPPY RETURN: Jean-Yves Roy, playing his first game since a 45-day loan to the Canadian national team, scored a breakaway goal against Adirondack to snap a 1-1 tie in Binghamton&rsquo;s 2-1 victory Jan. 17.Roy scored two goals and eight points in his first 17 games before being loaned out. &#9632;

Ciavaglia dreaming of big time

<div class="byline">By Nick Gates</div>The Greensboro Monarchs have good reason to be optimistic in their quest for an East Coast League Eastern Division championship.Since adding goaltender Bill Horn from the Detroit Falcons of the Colonial League, the Monarchs have made a belated run at the title.Hom. a 25-year-old native of Regina, Sask., had a 14-4-0 record with two shutouts in 18 starts. He had a league-leading 2.87 goals-against average and.913 save percentage.With Hom in goal, the Monarchs crept to within eight points of the Raleigh IceCaps in the race for the division crown.Hom doesn&rsquo;t mind handling the bulk of the load in goal. He did the same thing in college with Western Michigan and played 51 games for the Roanoke Valley Rampage in 1990-91 before going to Detroit last year.But he wasn&rsquo;t happy in Detroit because he didn&rsquo;t get enough playing time.&ldquo;I was 5-2-1 but felt I had to make a change,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was going to call my old coach Claude Noel (of the Dayton Bombers) and begin looking around. But it never got to that. I knew what kind of program the Monarchs had. David (teammate Burke) was heading down there and he mentioned they were making changes and looking for a goaltender.&rdquo;The Monarchs started poorly this season, mainly because they were forced to play their first 19 games on the road with renovations being done on their home arena. A worst-to-first charge is a possibility because they play 17 of their last 26 games at home.NEWEST KNIGHT: Former Quebec goalie Scott Gordon was assigned by the Nordiques to the Nashville Knights Jan. 12.Gordon, who turns 30 Feb. 6&bdquo; played 23 games for the Nordiques from 1989-1991. He signed as a free agent with Quebec in 1986.&ldquo;Obviously, when you have a chance to pick up a goalie with NHL experience, you have to go for it,&rdquo; said Knights&rsquo; coach Nick Fotiu.Gordon was happy to be playing again-even though it is in the ECHL.&ldquo;I was in the final year of my contract with Quebec and it was obvious they didn&rsquo;t have any plans for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That was no problem but I had to look around and see what was the best situation for me.&rdquo;To make room for Gordon on the roster, the Knights traded backup goalie Olie Sundstrom to the Toledo Storm for forward Brent Saper-gia.Sundstrom&rsquo;s stay in Toledo was short-lived. He was released and picked up by the Erie Panthers as a replacement for No. 1 goaltender Mike Gilmore.The Panthers&rsquo; all-star goalie underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage in his knee. The injury could force him to miss the All-Star Game Feb. 2 in Wheeling, Va.ON THE SKIDS: Roanoke Valley&rsquo;s 14-game losing streak through Jan. 20 set a league record. The Louisville IceHawks lost 10 games in a row in 1990-91.The Rampage has been skating short-handed for most of the season because of injuries. On some nights, the team has had only nine or 10 skaters.To help deal with the player shortage, the Rampage signed defenseman Bill Wagner and right winger Vaclav Nedomansky. But Wagner played three games and quit. The Rampage tried to make three more trades, but the deals all fell through. &#9632;

Horn helps Monarchs fly by blowing foes away

Oh, the joys of independence. Non-affiliated IHL clubs San Diego and Milwaukee are two of the three most improved teams in the minors this season. Here&rsquo;s the point increase or decrease for teams in the American, International and East Coast Leagues as of Jan. 17 compared to the same date last season.Complete makeover: San Diego (+23), Binghamton (+21). Milwaukee (+20), Raleigh (+18). Nashville (+15).Making headway: Dayton (+13), Providence (+12). Salt Lake (+12), Cape Breton (+11), Erie (+9), Louisville (+8).Small gains: Adirondack. Rochester. Wheeling (+6), Phoenix (+5), Indianapolis (+4).Spinning wheels: Capital District (+2), Peoria (+1), Knoxville (even). Columbus. Moncton, St. John&rsquo;s (-1). Fredericton (-3), Halifax (-3).One forward, two back: Hampton Roads, Fort Wayne, Richmond, Toledo (-4), Baltimore, Hershey (-5), Roanoke Valley (-6). Cleveland, Utica (-8), Johnstown (-9).Rebuilding phase: Kalamazoo (-11), New Haven, Springfield (-14). Greensboro (15), Kansas City (-33). &#9632;

Highs and lows in minor pro

<div class="byline">By Brendan Savage</div>It took 15 months for the first coaching change in the Colonial League, but it didn&rsquo;t take long for the second.The Brantford Smoke dismissed Ken Mann Dec. 31, making him the first coach in CHL history to get fired.Then the Chatham Wheels fired coach-general manager Ron Caron Jan. 11 after several players left the team. The Wheels, who were in last place with a 16-23-0 record, replaced Caron with Mike Zruna.Caron reportedly alienated several of the team&rsquo;s players. Only six remain from the team that opened the Wheels&rsquo; first season with a 10-3 loss to Flint.&ldquo;I felt it coming,&rdquo; said Caron, who is no relation to the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; GM with the same name. &ldquo;We had a lot of young players who left us. The bottom line is I had a hard time keeping players around at 400 to 450 Canadian dollars a week.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m bitter but I know in this business you&rsquo;re here today and gone tomorrow. I don&rsquo;t think I deserved what I got, but they can only point the finger at one person and that was me.&rdquo;Caron was a jack-of-all-trades for the Wheels. He had a hand in virtually every part of the team&rsquo;s operation, from the on-ice activities to selling board advertising.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t have any help at all,&rdquo; Caron said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to spread myself so thin, but nobody else took any initiative. I worked extremely hard. I gave it my best shot. I put my guts on the line for the people and city of Chatham.&rdquo;TALKS GOOD GAME: Enforcer Darren Miciak of Flint might be the most outspoken player in the CHL.Miciak was in rare form after scoring twice against Chatham Jan. 12 to break a dry spell that saw him go 47 games without a goal.&ldquo;The two most important things were us getting the two points and me taking over the penalty-minutes lead,&rdquo; joked Miciak, who passed Chatham&rsquo;s now-departed Sasha Lakovic for the P1M lead. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t feel sorry for those guys (the Wheels) because they hammered us a couple of times early in the season and then mouthed off to the papers.&ldquo;They wear the Ottawa Senators uniforms for a good reason: They&rsquo;re just as bad.&rdquo;Miciak had just nine shots on goal-along with 228 PIM-in 31 games before breaking loose against Chatham. He passed Lakovic in penalty minutes with a slashing minor and misconduct.WHEELS FLAT: If there&rsquo;s a shutout in the CHL, it&rsquo;s a good bet Chatham will be on the wrong end.There have been three CHL shutouts this season and the Wheels have been the victims each time. Brantford&rsquo;s Mark LaForest blanked Chatham 5-0 Dec. 5, Muskegon&rsquo;s George Maneluk shut out the Wheels later that month and Detroit&rsquo;s Jamie Stewart posted an 8-0 triumph Jan. 17. &#9632;

Caron gets caught in Wheels

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div>The Boston University Terriers are serving notice there&rsquo;s more than one powerhouse in Hockey East.While the Maine Black Bears have garnered much of the attention this season, the Terriers quietly put together a 12-game unbeaten string following a 3-2 loss at Princeton Nov. 28.So how has Terrier coach Jack Parker kept his team within striking distance of the frontrunning Bears?&ldquo;The key has been putting David Sacco back up front,&rdquo; said Parker, who used the senior center on defense after injuries hurt the defense corps earlier in the season. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s one of the premier forwards in college hockey. We&rsquo;re undefeated (13-0-2) when he plays up front and 1-4-0 with him on defense. So much for that experiment.&rdquo;The 22-year-old native of Medford, Mass., led the Terriers in scoring with 12 goals and 31 points in 20 games. He was among the nation&rsquo;s leaders in game-winning goals (five) and had three shorthanded goals.Sacco is centering one of the team&rsquo;s most productive lines with freshman left winger Jay Pandolfo (7-15-22) and junior right winger Doug Friedman (10-10-20).&ldquo;But our best line lately has been (Steve) Thornton between the Bavis twins (left winger Mark and right winger Mike),&rdquo; Parker said.The Terriers had the second-best defense 12 league games. BU allowed just 38 goals, second only to Maine (26 in 10 games). The team&rsquo;s goaltending triumvirate of senior Scott Cashman, sophomore Derek Herlofsky and sophomore J.P. McKersie combined for a 3.17 goals-against averageBoston College coach Steve Cedorchuk was impressed with the Terriers after BU swept the Eagles 5-1 and 7-2 Jan. 15-16.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure they can play even better than they&rsquo;re playing now,&rdquo; Cedorchuk said. &ldquo;The^| have three very capable goalies, their defense is big and they&rsquo;re getting strong leadership from Sacco and the Bavis twins.&rdquo;Parker faces a major challenge down the stretch in finding a replacement for Chris O&rsquo;Sullivan. The freshman defenseman sustained a season-ending neck injury in a 5-5 tie with Providence Jan. 8. O&rsquo;Sullivan broke two vertebrae in his neck, but the injury is not career threatening.EAGLE GROUNDED: Boston College will be without sophomore goaltender Josh Singe-wald until mid-February.Singewald pulled a ligament in his knee in the first period of the 5-1 loss to BU. Sophomore Mike Sparrow takes over in goal.WILD THING: New Hampshire Wildcats^ sophomore left winger Eric Flinton scored th&rdquo; first hat trick of his career in an 8-5 win over Northeastern Jan. 15. &#9632;

Terriers show more bite with Sacco in middle

<div class="byline">By Andy Baggot</div>In a blatant show of defiance toward a Western Collegiate Hockey Association ban on publicly criticizing officials, North Dakota coach Gino Gasparini lashed out twice at the crew that worked the UND-Wisconsin series Jan. 15-16.Gasparini went so far as to allege that referees in the WCHA have developed a personal vendetta against him and his program.&ldquo;Yes, I&rsquo;m beginning to believe that,&rdquo; Gasparini said after the eighth-place Fighting Sioux were swept 3-2 and 5-2.The primary basis for that claim, he said, were results of four games against Wisconsin this season. Specifically, a 24-19 disparity in power plays, including a 5-2 victory for the Badgers Dec. 5 in which they had 12 to only four for North Dakota.Jim Burlew and K.C. Chermak worked the series in Madison Dec. 5-6. Buzzy Christensen and Mark Thomas were the officials in Grand Forks.After the loss Jan. 15, Gasparini called the officiating &ldquo;horrendous.&ldquo;Where do they get these guys anyway?&rdquo; he said.Gasparini was more animated and agitated the following night. With UND athletic director Terry Wanless by his side, the coach said: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll give you a good quote. I&rsquo;m upset and shouldn&rsquo;t be saying this (because) I&rsquo;ll get reprimanded. This is my athletic director, but I don&rsquo;t care because I&rsquo;m embarrassed for the quality of officiating for our fans and it&rsquo;s not fair to the players.&ldquo;I think we ought to put names on their jerseys so we can pick them as one of the three stars of the game. They&rsquo;ve become that much of a determining factor.&rdquo;Reprimands, verbal and/or written, have been the norm in previous cases of this kind. It remains to be seen whether this latest outburst will prompt a more serious punishment from WCHA commissioner Otto Breitenbach, who must have the consent of the league&rsquo;s executive committee before doing so.Breitenbach underwent hip replacement surgery at a Madison, Wise., hospital Jan. 18 and was unavailable for comment on the matter.HOME SWEET HOME: The Bradley Center in Milwaukee has been selected to host the 1994 WCHA Final Four playoff tournament.The event had been staged at the Civic Center in St. Paul, Minn., every year since the format was established in 1988.League officials met during the annual National Collegiate Athletic Association convention in Dallas last month and gave approval to the relocation plan.Prior to the NCAA meetings, Otto Breitenbach said declines in attendance and revenue had been seen in St. Paul over the last two years. Coupled with the fact the Civic Center will host the 1994 NCAA Final Four, league officials were concerned the two factors would create an attention void.The move will be on a one-year trial basis. League officials left the door open to the possibility St. Paul and Milwaukee would eventually be used as alternating sites for the event.ROLE REVERSAL: Colorado College was 0-11-0 on the road this season before knocking off St. Cloud State 7-5 Jan. 15.R.J. Enga led the way with three goals and two assists for the last-place Tigers.Meanwhile, Minnesota-Duluth was 9-0-0 at home before absorbing a 2-1 overtime loss to Denver Jan. 16.Angelo Ricci, the No. 5 scorer in the league, scored the game-winner for Denver. Ricci had 13 goals and 29 points in 20 games. &#9632;

Gasparini lambastes referees

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggie</div>At Colgate University, Craig deBlois is known simply as The Garbageman.The nickname stems from the senior left winger&rsquo;s habit of scoring what Red Raider rookie coach Don Vaughan calls ugly goals.&ldquo;During the summer, I called all the players, to talk to them about what kind of equipment they used, what kind of sticks they wanted, just to get to know everyone a little bit,&rdquo; said Vaughan, the third coach at Colgate in the last 12 months. &ldquo;When I talked to Craig, he said, &lsquo;Coach, don&rsquo;t worry about my sticks. I scored 13 goals last year and most of them went in off my head.&rsquo;&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t get me wrong, he has scored some pretty goals, but when we need an ugly goal, we send Debs over the boards.&rdquo;Scoring goals has become deBlois&rsquo; strong suit in his college career. In three years at Colgate, his 27 goals outnumber his assists by a three-to-one margin.He didn&rsquo;t even make the Red Raiders&rsquo; varsity roster as a freshman and scored just two goals in 24 games as a sophomore. But his production improved to 13 last year and he was voted the team&rsquo;s best defensive player, just the third forward to earn that distinction in the past 15 years.deBlois scored a team-high 12 goals in 17 games (overall) this season.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great kid with a tremendous work ethic,&rdquo; said Vaughan, who succeeded interim coach Brian Durocher at Colgate following Terry Slater&rsquo;s death last year. &ldquo;He works hard on every shift and if he scores a goal, it&rsquo;s a bonus. He has really worked himself into the position he has today and he&rsquo;s playing with a lot of confidence because of it.&rdquo;The Red Raiders lost their first seven Eastern College Athletic Conference games, but the undrafted winger has helped the team turn its fortunes around. He scored the game-winning goal in a 6-5 win over Vermont Jan. 9 and got the game-tying goal in a 3-2 win over Cornell Jan. 13.deBlois isn&rsquo;t Colgate&rsquo;s only scoring threat. Senior center Andrew Dickson, who had a 15-goal, 46-point season last year, was Colgate&rsquo;s top scorer with nine goals and 26 points. If Colgate makes the playoffs, Dickson has a chance to break Steve Poapst&rsquo;s record for career games (132).&ldquo;We try to rationalize our 2-7-0 (ECAC) record,&rdquo; Vaughan said. &ldquo;We played seven of our first nine league games on the road and lost four by one goal against good teams. If we were 2-7-0 with nine road games coming up, I&rsquo;d have some serious concerns. But we have nine home games (of the final 14), so I think we can get it turned around.&rdquo;TOUGH BREAK: RP1 junior goalie Tim Carvel got his first career start Jan. 16 in a nonconference game against Alabama-Huntsville. Unfortunately, he wasn&rsquo;t around to finish the game.Carvel strained his right knee in a goalmouth collision early in the second period and was replaced by freshman Mike Tamburro. The injury prevented Carvel from earning his first career decision, as Alabama-Huntsville rallied from a 5-2 deficit to earn a 5-5 tie with the Engineers.CLOSE SHAVE: The ability to win one-goal games has thrust Dartmouth into the playoff picture. The Big Green won five one-goal games from Dec. 29 to Jan. 17. improving its ECAC record to 4-6-0-tied for sixth place with the Vermont Catamounts. &#9632;

Colgate’s ‘Garbageman’ picking opponents apart

The Maine Black Bears were undefeated in 24 games (22-0-2), but they won&rsquo;t finish with the best single-season record of all-time. The Cornell Big Red had a perfect record in 29 games in 1969-70. Here are the best college teams of all-time. All captured NCAA titles.1. Cornell Big Red, 29-0-0, 1969-70. Coach Ned Harkness&rsquo; NCAA champions were led by Dick Bertrand, Dan Lodboa and Brian Cropper. Team averaged six goals-per-game while allowing just under two.2. Boston College, 20-1-0, 1948-49. Coach John (Snooks) Kelley&rsquo;s team lost just once to arch-rival Dartmouth. Jack Mulhern led Eagles with 34 goals and 65 points, while Bernie Burke was league&rsquo;s top goalie.3. Denver Pioneers, 30-1-1, 1960-61. Future NHLer Bill Masterton led Pioneers to first-place finish in WCHA (17-1-0). Coach Murray Armstrong&rsquo;s team beat St. Lawrence 12-2 in NCAA championship.4. Boston University. 30-2-0, 1977-78. BU&rsquo;s third national champion of 1970s featured three future U.S. Olympians of 1980 Miracle on Ice team: Jack O&rsquo;Callahan, Jim Craig and David Silk. &#9632;

Bears can’t match Big Red

<div class="byline">By Matt Carlson</div>The numbers don&rsquo;t support his case, but Illinois-Chicago sophomore goaltender Jon Hillebrandt is one of the top goalies in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.At least that&rsquo;s what former NHL goalie Darren Pang thinks.Pang, a member of the Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; radio broadcast team, works with the UIC goaltenders once a week as a consultant.Pang said Hillebrandt, a lOth-round pick of the New York Rangers in 1990, has the best big-league potential of any goalie in the league.&ldquo;I think he has a style that he could easily adapt to pro hockey,&rdquo; said Pang, who also does color commentary on UIC cable TV broadcasts. &ldquo;He has all the tools. He stays on his feet, stays on top of his crease and has great mechanics, which you need to make it to the pros. He also has quick feet and a glove hand that is already above average by NHL standards.&rdquo;Hillebrandt has come under heavy fire this season. The Flames stumbled to a 5-10-1 record after 16 games, allowing 68 goals and scoring just 55. The Cottage Grove, Wisc., native has been called upon to make tough saves on numerous occasions and has allowed very few soft goals.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like I have any room to complain,&rdquo; said Hillebrandt, who appeared in 19 of UIC&rsquo;s first 21 games and faced 600 shots. &ldquo;We just happen to give up a lot of chances.&rdquo;Hillebrandt, 21, was named to the league&rsquo;s all-rookie team and second all-star team last season.MARSHALL PLAN: The Miami Redskins not only led the CCHA through 18 games, but they also had the top scorer in center Brian Savage and top-scoring defenseman in Bobby Marshall.Marshall, a 20-year-old junior, had 23 assists in 18 games but had yet to score a goal.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll be very disappointed if he isn&rsquo;t on the all-CCHA team,&rdquo; said Miami coach George Gwozdecky. &ldquo;He keeps our defense strong, runs our power play and controls our penalty killing. I think he&rsquo;s the best defenseman in the league.&rdquo;Marshall was a standout for the Wexford Raiders of the Metro Toronto Junior League before arriving at Miami. The Calgary Eames&rsquo; 1991 draft pick has improved steadily after scoring three goals and 18 points as a freshman. He had five goals and points as a sophomoreMUNN-DERFUL: CCHA affiliate Alaska-Fairbanks showed it could beat one the league&rsquo;s best teams on a small ice surface Jan. 15. The Nanooks beat Michigan State 6-5 in overtime at Munn Arena.&ldquo;It was a historic moment for our program,&rdquo; said coach Don Lucia. &ldquo;To beat a team with the stature of Michigan State in their own building is a great accomplishment.&rdquo;The Nanooks lost 3-1 the next night, dropping their record against CCHA foes to 7-4-0. Before the Michigan State series, UAF had met CCHA teams only on its Olympic-sized rink at Fairbanks. Lucia prefers to play on the larger rink.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a better game on Olympic-sized rinks,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The game was designed for 200-by-85-foot rinks when players were 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-8. Now they&rsquo;re over six feet tall and 50 pounds heavier.&rdquo; &#9632;

UIC’s Hillebrandt has pro potential, Pang proclaims

<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, JAN. 18</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01375/6167587-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="580" height="2444"></div><h2>TUESDAY, JAN. 19</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02246/6167580-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="587" height="600"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03177/6167573-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="584" height="3524"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04143/6167566-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="577" height="3516"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05120/6167559-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="586" height="2603"></div><h2>WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-06105/6167552-1-eng-US/f0040-062.jpg" title="f0040-06" width="590" height="839"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0796/6167545-1-eng-US/f0040-072.jpg" title="f0040-07" width="586" height="256"></div><h2>THURSDAY, JAN. 21</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-0887/6167538-1-eng-US/f0040-082.jpg" title="f0040-08" width="582" height="3190"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01317/6167531-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="592" height="3540"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02205/6167524-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="586" height="1990"></div><h2>FRIDAY, JAN. 22</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03149/6167517-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="583" height="1464"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04124/6167510-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="594" height="3538"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05111/6167503-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="586" height="95"></div><h2>SATURDAY, JAN. 23</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-06102/6167496-1-eng-US/f0041-062.jpg" title="f0041-06" width="589" height="3366"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-0790/6167489-1-eng-US/f0041-072.jpg" title="f0041-07" width="591" height="3542"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01327/6167482-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="598" height="3489"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02232/6167475-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="598" height="3483"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03176/6167468-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="586" height="1203"></div><h2>SUNDAY, JAN. 24</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04136/6167461-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="583" height="2189"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05119/6167454-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="588" height="1631"></div><h2>NHL SCHEDULE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-06107/6167447-1-eng-US/f0042-062.jpg" title="f0042-06" width="578" height="1732"></div><h2>CSB RANKINGS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-0798/6167440-1-eng-US/f0042-072.jpg" title="f0042-07" width="622" height="3510"></div> &#9632;

f0040-01

NHL SUMMARIES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01341/6167639-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01246/6167632-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="3064" height="3500"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01203/6167625-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="3096" height="3006"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01206/6167618-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="3068" height="3002"></div> &#9632;

f0043-01

SCOREBOARD

You probably won&rsquo;t recognize his name, but John Pothios is trying to make it in the NHL.Pothios isn&rsquo;t a rookie player or a coach, he&rsquo;s a North Vancouver-based maker of individually crafted goalie masks.Pothios spends between 30 to 40 hours delicately making customized masks to snugly fit goaltenders.He&rsquo;s hoping that kind of effort and attention to detail will have NHL goalies calling for his services.He already has some junior hockey goalies among his clients, including the Portland Winter Hawks&rsquo; Joaquin Gage. He had a brief introduction to the NHL when Vancouver&rsquo;s Kay Whitmore asked him to repair his cage.Pothios has permission from the Canucks to visit the Pacific Coliseum and show NHL goaltenders his creations.He has made masks for players from all over North America and Europe.&ldquo;When a person comes to me for a mask they get my full attention no matter where they&rsquo;re rom,&rdquo; Pothios said.He gets people to make a mold of their faces under the supervision of doctors or art students specializing in fine castings.Once he is sent the mold, the complex process of making the mask begins. He shapes the mask, cuts the fiberglass shelf, wet and dry-sands the surface, adds a primer coat, draws the requested design on the mask, clear coats the mask and then gives it a final polish.Pothios, who also makes masks for lacrosse goaltenders, has made about 70 masks since he began in December, 1989.Not bad for a guy who got his inspiration from delivering houses for cats.Pothios worked for an entrepreneur who built miniature houses and apartments for cats. The entrepreneur started by building one as a hobby.But after a few peoplesaw what he could do, his hobby became a full-time business.&ldquo;It just started going like crazy. It had a snowball effect,&rdquo; Pothios said.When Pothios saw the kind of success his friend was experiencing, he began to think he could enjoy the same kind of prosperity by making facemasks for goaltenders.Pothios&rsquo; business took off in the same snowball manner as the cat entrepreneur&rsquo;s.He learned the technique when he made a rough mask with a friend whose company does special effects for movies. Soon after that, a person requested a mask for himself, then a local sports store asked for a couple and gradually more and more people wanted his masks. His artistic talents helped make the masks stand out. &#9632;

Innovator faces up to NHL

Most NHLers are remembered for the talents they showed handling the puck.Craig Ramsey is remembered for what he could do without it.Ramsey was one of the best defensive forwards of his era. He won the Selke Trophy as the league&rsquo;s best defensive forward in 1984-85 and was the runner-up three times.But Ramsey prefers to remember his scoring ability instead.&ldquo;I was thought of as a checker but we had a team that liked to score a lot of goals,&rdquo; said the 14year Buffalo Sabre, who is now the team&rsquo;s assistant general manager.&ldquo;When I think back to my days in Buffalo I think of a lot goals going into the net.&ldquo;One of the greatest things was we had a checking line of Danny Gare, Don Luce and myself that had over a 90-goal season.&rdquo;Gare (50 goals), Luce (21), and Ramsey (22) combined for 93 goals in 1975-76.Ramsey finished his career with 252 goals and 420 assists in 1,070 games. Numbers that are certainly nothing to sneeze at, but Ramsey will always be remembered for his defensive skillsHe was one of the most consistent and dependable players in franchise history, playing in 776 consecutive games. Ramsey was always reliable and provided a solid work ethic and a sound, intelligent defensive game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01233/6167694-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="572" height="808"><figcaption class="caption-body">Craig Ramsey was a Selke Trophy runner-up three times.</figcaption></div>Ramsey never had the fortune of drinking out of the Stanley Cup, but he still holds many fond memories of Buffalo.&ldquo;It really was a great place to live and the city really got caught up with the Sabres,&rdquo; Ramsey said. &ldquo;Buffalo was sort of a big city but it had a small-town feel about it. Everybody&rsquo;s very friendly and knows each other. It&rsquo;s a very close knit community,&rdquo;He was a major factor in Buffalo&rsquo;s only Stanley Cup final appearance in 1975, scoring 12 points in 17 games.One of his favorite memories doesn&rsquo;t even involve an NHL game. It was an exhibition contest between the Sabres and the Soviet Wings in Buffalo in 1976.The game took place only four days after Montreal and the Red Army, backstopped by Vladislav Tretiak, played to a memorable 33 tie on New Year&rsquo;s Eve.&ldquo;We beat the Soviets 12-6 in Buffalo and the fans went crazy,&rdquo; Ramsey said. &ldquo;We went down to Montreal the next night and we got a standing ovation from the fans in the Forum. Then we went out and beat them too.&rdquo;Buffalo picked the left winger 19th overall in the second round of the 1971 entry draft. He played his junior hockey with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Peterborough Petes.The three times he finished as the runner up to the Selke Trophy winner, he lost out to another former Pete, Bob Gainey.When Ramsey retired after he won the Selke Trophy, he never left the Buffalo Sabres.He moved into the front office and has been a part of the organization ever since.Ramsey, 41, had a brief stint as the team&rsquo;s head coach in 1986-87.Among his duties as assistant GM, are overseeing the American League&rsquo;s Rochester Americans and helping the Sabres&rsquo; handle their travel and immigration work. &#9632;

f0047-01

Ramsey was a goal stopper on team full of goal scorers

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01142/6167725-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="381" height="531"></div>After a 17-year absence, the NHL will hold its annual All-Star Game in Montreal this year. It will be the 13th time the All-Star Game is held at the flowed Montreal Forum. It will presumably be the final one at the Forum, which will soon be replaced by a more modem and glitzy building.Naturally, the reason so many games have been played there is because of the old format in which the Stanley Cup champions played a collection of all-stars from the other teams. Nonetheless, it is the Forum and the city of Montreal which have the richest tradition and most expertise at hosting the event.More importantly, the people of Montreal will also truly appreciate the event and the players will be more likely to look upon the game as mething more than an interruption of their mid-season vacation.When that doomsday finally does arrive and the Montreal Canadiens play their final game at the Forum, there will be a river of tears cried over memories of the place. So this 1993 All-Star Game will be one to away, if for nothing else than the fact that it will be the last time the NHL&rsquo;s stars will gather on the historic ice surface.However, the presence of the AllStar game in Montreal should be cherished for much more than just the history of the Forum. In fact, if first-year NHL commissioner Gary Bettman should use the game to announce that every other All-Star game will be played in Montreal.Just to make it fair-and for the obvious marketing reasons-you could move the game away every second year. Realistically, that is just a dream sequence, but the game belongs in Montreal, where the sport seven more adored than in any other city in the world.You can say what you want about the passion for hockey in Toronto; the storied history of the Chicago Blackhawks. Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers; and even the box office successes of many other franchises.But when it comes to the bare soul of loving the game, there is no place like Montreal.Yes. the Forum has something to do with it. It is virtually impossible to avoid getting chills when you look up at the pennants for the Stanley Cup championships no cheap division tles here, A game at the Forum is ore of a spectacle than an athletic event.But it goes well beyond one particular building.Just for a little insight into how the sport is so ingrained into the community. consider a normal night at the media lounge in the Montreal Forum, as opposed to other arenas in the NHL.In virtually every other arena, the talk in the press room ranges from the local restaurants, to the small talk and gossip, to the latest standings in the National Football League, National Basketball Association or Major League Baseball. It might be hard for some to believe, but in recent years, the media lounge at Maple Leaf Gardens has turned into nothing more than a Hot Stove setting to discuss the Toronto Blue Jays.The situation in the United States is downright disgusting, as most pregame conversation surrounds whatever basketball game or football war happens to be on television at that time. And if the game is particularly enthralling, the chances of most people even seeing the beginning of the hockey game is slim.The Montreal media room is much different. The talk is all hockey, with the French version of a pre-game show on one TV screen and the English version on the other.No matter what the Montreal Expos are doing, the fate of the Canadiens and news of the NHL is of primary importance. All right, a few misguided sports editors might try to show off their global view with screaming headlines about some other sport, but just look over the shoulders of most readers and you will see that they are reading the stories about hockey.It is a sport which bridges the language gap. Jump in a cab at Dor-val Airport and all you have to do to strike up a conversation with most drivers is start to rant and rave about some injustice in the NHL, or maybe just suggest that the Canadiens won&rsquo;t fare as well under Jacques Demers as they did under Pat Burns.Usually, I do not look forward to All-Star Games. I am like so many of the cynics in the media, who anticipates nothing more than a wide-open show of individual skills; a shooting gallery for the goalies; and a wasted weekend.But the 1993 All-Star Game will not be business as usual. It will be in Montreal and it will be the final allstar stop at the Forum. I wouldn&rsquo;t miss it for the world. &#9632;

f0049-01

This year’s classic will be one for the ages

<div class="byline">By Gary Olson</div>Mark Tinordi has stitches across the bridge of his nose. There are scrapes, scratches and a bruise next to his right eye. A cut is healing on his chin.Aside from a sprained knee, he looks wonderful.The Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; captain has been sticking his nose where it doesn&rsquo;t belong. Again. He&rsquo;s becoming a pain in the butt for opponents. Again.It&rsquo;s about time.Tinordi, 26, is beginning to play like the player he thought he&rsquo;d be; dam near as good as he used to be.Late in the Stars&rsquo; fourth game of last season, Tinordi rushed to the sideboards, trying to keep an Al MacInnis shot from fleeing the Calgary zone. MacInnis&rsquo; shots don&rsquo;t generally include option time so Tinordi crashed into the boards just as the puck crashed into the back of his left knee. He fell in front of the Stars&rsquo; bench, tried to get up but his foot wouldn&rsquo;t support him. Later, he thought he&rsquo;d broken his ankle.He should have been so lucky. Doctors know breaks.Instead, MacInnis&rsquo; clearing shot crushed the nerve that controls the lifting and lowering of the foot. Tinordi was back on ice before Halloween, but not before a week when he thought his career might be over.The first time Tinordi and his doctors did tests on his injury, they didn&rsquo;t know whether the nerve was crushed or severed. If it was severed, his career was probably over. Normally, you&rsquo;re supposed to wait three weeks to take the test. Tinordi couldn&rsquo;t stand to wait and took it right away.&ldquo;For a week, I worried about how I was going to take care of my family,&rdquo; Tinordi said. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t trained for anything except playing hockey. I thought about the lousy timing. I was just beginning to become a good player. What a waste to get where you want to go and have it taken away by a freak injury.&rdquo;Tinordi took the test again a week later and messages got through to his foot, although somewhat garbled and slower than required for membership in the NHL.He only missed 17 games but he wasn&rsquo;t close to the player he had been the spring before in the Stanley Cup finals, or that summer in the Canada Cup. It took time to learn to play within the limits of his injury and it left him frustrated. It took the off-season to bring him back to the Stars, perhaps as close to 100 per cent as he&rsquo;ll ever be.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gotten slashed on the knee this season and my foot has gone numb for 30 seconds or so,&rdquo; Tinordi said. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t seem like something that will ever go away totally.&rdquo;Tinordi had been enjoying a successful comeback with 11 goals and 27 points with 94 penalty minutes in 46 games before injuring his knee in a game against Tampa Bay Jan. 19.The injury was listed as day-to-day.Although he was the top-scoring North Star defenseman and the undisputed leader on the blueline, the consistency that he showed before last season still eludes him. He seems to play well in stretches.North Star coaches rated Tinordi&rsquo;s play above average in 27 of the North Stars&rsquo; first 30 games, but since then his play has been all over the map.&ldquo;I used to be confident on every shift.&rdquo; Tinordi said. &ldquo;I had the feeling that no matter who was on the ice for the other team, I could go out and do what I wanted to do. I haven&rsquo;t found that level of confidence yet.&rdquo;The days of Tinordi throwing his 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame around for the sake of stirring the emotions of his teammates and the fans are gone. Probably for good. He used to be able to choose who he&rsquo;d tangle with; now the other team tries to lure him into fights, but they haven&rsquo;t been successful. Tinordi doesn have a single fighting major this season.&ldquo;Being the North Stars&rsquo; captain keeps me from going out of my way to fight someone and take the kinds of penalties I used to take,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The coaches have told me I can&rsquo;t help the team by getting into a fight with some guy who only plays three or four shifts a game and I&rsquo;ve tried to avoid that.&rdquo;Tinordi is an intense competitor and hates the fact that his play has been so unpredictable.&ldquo;One of my goals before the start of the season was to be consistent,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not where I want to be and I&rsquo;m not where I was before I got hurt. One of the things I set out to do this season was to prove that I&rsquo;m the defenseman everyone thought I was the year before last.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02100/6167756-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="934" height="1506"></div><h2>IN SEARCH OF PERFECT</h2>The perfect defenseman is a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder who can skate well, is tough and plays a two-way game. And there&rsquo;s a good reason why they are in such high demand.&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t find too many of them around,&rdquo; said Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; director of scouting Pierre Dorion. &ldquo;When you find a guy like that, you keep him.&rdquo;But that doesn&rsquo;t mean there isn&rsquo;t room for a smaller man on the blueline, provided he compensates with other talents.&ldquo;Phil Housley isn&rsquo;t 6-feet, Ray Bourque isn&rsquo;t 6-feet,&rdquo; Dorion said. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t think anybody would pass on those guys.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0049-02

The comeback kid

<div class="byline">By Viv Bernstein</div>Hartford Whalers&rsquo; coach Paul Holmgren dreaded the meeting he had scheduled with right winger Tim Kerr, but he knew what was coming.In 13 seasons and after seven left shoulder operations, two right shoulder operations, hernia surgery, a broken leg and three right knee operations, Kerr&rsquo;s body was worn out. He didn&rsquo;t need Holmgren to say it.&ldquo;In the last part of my career the big thing was being able to stay healthy,&rdquo; Kerr said. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t producing. After a while, it&rsquo;s telling you something, it&rsquo;s time to hang &lsquo;em up.&rdquo;So that&rsquo;s what he did. After a 4-2 win over San Jose Jan. 21, Kerr announced his retirement. He was named an assistant coach of the Whalers&rsquo; affiliate, the Springfield Indians of the American League.Kerr, 33, finishes his career with 370 goals and 674 points in 655 games, most of which came in 11 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers. He had four 50-goal seasons there in the mid-80s and remains the-league record holder for power-play goals in a season with 34.But Kerr, acquired from the New York Rangers in July, had no goals and six assists in 22 games for the Whalers this season.&ldquo;I felt it was a good experiment,&rdquo; said general manager Brian Burke. &ldquo;I felt Tim Kerr would help us a lot. It hasn&rsquo;t worked out. There&rsquo;s just too many miles on the odometer.&rdquo;Kerr missed 18 games following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Nov. 23. He still had some pain in the knee when he returned.&ldquo;The last game he played in Vancouver, he really wanted to play against [former coach] Pat Quinn,&rdquo; said Holmgren, a longtime friend who played with Kerr in Philadelphia and later coached him there before the two came to Hartford. &ldquo;He couldn&rsquo;t keep up the pace.&ldquo;It was hard for me. I was looking at him with rose colored glasses&hellip;1 dreaded the conversation. I was happy the conversation went well. He handled it like a true gentleman.&rdquo;&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s a great opportunity,&rdquo; Kerr said of his coaching assignment. &ldquo;Rather than sitting here collecting my paycheck, I&rsquo;ll be able to go down there and help the kids.&rdquo;HELLO AGAIN: Left winger Yvon Corriveau&rsquo;s nickname should be boomerang.Corriveau, 25, drafted by Washington in 1985, was acquired by the Whalers in 1990 for goaltender Mike Liut. Corriveau was traded back to Washington along with right winger Mark Hunter for left winger Nick Kypreos last June. Corriveau was then picked up by San Jose in the waiver draft last October and was reacquired by the Whalers Jan. 21 to complete the deal that sent left winger Michel Picard to the Sharks.But according to the league&rsquo;s waiver rules, Corriveau could not return to the Whalers until he had played 20 games for San Jose. Wouldn&rsquo;t you know it, the 20th game just happened to be against the Whalers Jan. 21.Corriveau knew he&rsquo;d be going to Hartford before he played in that game, a 4-2 Hartford win. He showed up to the post-game news conference wearing Sharks&rsquo; socks and pants and a Whalers&rsquo; sweater.<h2>HARTFORD</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 21: Robert Petrovicky, C, recalled from Springfield (AHL). Yvon Corriveau, RW, acquired from San Jose to complete a previous trade. Tim Kerr, RW, retired.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Murray Craven, Andrew Cassels, Mark Janssens, Terry Yake, Paul GIHfs, Robert Petrovicky.LW-Patrick Poulin. Geoff Sanderson. Nick Kypreos, Randy Cunneyworth.RW-Pat Verbeek, Yvon Corriveau. Joe Day, Terry Yake, Jamie Leach.LD-Zarley Zalapski, Steve Konroyd, Randy Ladouceur.RD-AI Pedersen, Doug Houda, Eric Weinrich.G-Sean Burke, Frank Pietrangelo.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jim Agnew. D, left knee surgery, Indefinite Adam Burt, D. bruised toot, day-to-day. Jim McKenzie, LW, back spasms, day-to-day. Michael Nylander. RW, broken jaw, indefinite. &#9632;

Aging Kerr retires graciously

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div>Goaltender Peter Sidorkiewicz is pulling down an extra $1,500 a game, but his mind hasn&rsquo;t exactly been on bonuses lately. He has much more concrete things to think about.The Ottawa Senators&rsquo; No. 1 goalie, whose consistent play through the first half of the season earned him a trip to the All-Star Game in Montreal Feb. 6, was struggling since Christmas.In his last six starts through Jan. 23, Sidorkiewicz surrendered 33 goals and was pulled twice.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m struggling like hell right now,&rdquo; Sidorkiewicz said after a 7-2 loss to the Minnesota North Stars Jan. 21, the Senators&rsquo; 24th game without a win on the road this season.The game was Sidorkiewicz&rsquo;s 41st of the season, kicking in his appearance bonuses. He&rsquo;ll receive an additional $1,500 for each of his 41st through 50th games and $2,000 for games 51 through 60.&ldquo;I feel bad for the team right now because I&rsquo;m not helping,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The first period we&rsquo;re always falling behind and it&rsquo;s really tough for us to play like that.&rdquo;The timing for Sidorkiewicz&rsquo;s skid also gave more ammunition to those who thought he didn&rsquo;t deserve his selection to the All-Star Game, the first in his five-year NHL career.&ldquo;It was really bad timing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When they announced I was going to the All-Star Game, I was not playing well. It gave more fire to those people who were saying I wasn&rsquo;t playing well enough.&rdquo;Senators&rsquo; coach Rick Bowness figured the best way to get Sidorkiewicz going was to just let him play. Sidorkiewicz was splitting the goaltending chores with Daniel Berthiaume since the Bandit joined the club just before Christmas.Despite falling behind early in the Minnesota game, Bowness stuck with Sidorkiewicz and came back with him again in what turned out to be a 6-4 loss to the Washington Capitals two nights later. Bowness&rsquo; patience seemed to work as Sidorkiewicz played much better against the Capitals.Sidorkiewicz had a 3-31-3 record in 42 games and a 4.41 goals-against average.NOTEBOOK: Senators&rsquo; owner and governor Bruce Firestone wants his players to hear first-hand what it&rsquo;s like to play for the worst team of all-time. He contacted the Washington Capitals to see if a member of the club&rsquo;s 1974-75 team-the worst of the modern era with just 21 points-would talk to the Ottawa players. &ldquo;I would like the chap to say &lsquo;You wouldn&rsquo;t want to hear about that for the rest of your life,&rsquo;&rdquo; Firestone said. The Senators had 11 points in 51 games, a pace for 18 points over 84 games.When the Senators recalled defenseman Gord Dineen from the San Diego Gulls of the International League Jan. 20, he went from a team that had lost only four games to a team that had only won four.<h2>OTTAWA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 19: Kent Paynter, O. and Blair Atcheynum, RW, recalled from New Haven (AHL). Jan. 20: Ken Hammond, D, and Chris Luongo, D, assigned to New Haven. Gord Dineen, D, recalled from San Diego (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mark Lamb, Jamie Baker. Mark Freer, Neil Brady. Laurie Boschman.LW-Mike Peluso, Sylvain Turgeon, Darcy Loewen, Brad Miller.RW-Doug Smail, Bob Kudelski. Tomas Jelinek, Blair Atcheynum.LD-Norm Maciver, Brad Marsh, Darren Rumble, Kent Paynter.RD-Mark Osiecki, Brad Shaw. Gord Dineen.G-Peter Sidorkiewicz. Daniel Berthiaume.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dave Archibald, C. strained tower back, indefinite. Jody Huff. RW, sprained left ankle, day-to-day. Jeff Lazaro. LW, strained right leg muscle, day-to-day. Andrew McBain, RW, tom ligament in left knee, day-to-day. &#9632;

Sidorkiewicz feels heat for poor performances

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div>Petr Svoboda was hoping to avoid it, but it appears the Buffalo Sabres defenseman is headed for season-ending surgery.The 26-year-old defenseman tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a 3-2 overtime loss at Edmonton Jan. 17. At first the injury was thought to be less serious, but tests conducted in Buffalo confirmed the worst. Svoboda was still awaiting further tests in the hopes surgery might be avoidable, but the prospects for that appeared bleak.Estimated time for recovery and rehabilitation is at least six months, meaning Svoboda would be lost for the remainder of the season and the playoffs.&ldquo;We just got healthy and now it looks like we&rsquo;re going to have some difficult problems,&rdquo; Sabres&rsquo; coach John Muckier said. &ldquo;He will be missed.&rdquo;Svoboda was injured when Oiler forward Craig Simpson fell against his knee and it col lapsed inward. Ironically, Svoboda earlier this season was involved in a collision with Eric Lindros that has been the source of the rookie&rsquo;s knee problems.Svoboda was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens last March in a deal for defenseman Kevin Haller. It was hoped Svoboda&rsquo;s skating, playmaking and passing skills would help carry the Sabres out of the first round of the playoffs, but that didn&rsquo;t happen. Nevertheless, Svoboda was a key part of the Sabres&rsquo; attack, especially on the power play.Buffalo&rsquo;s defense has been hit with injuries since the start of the season, but injured players Mike Ramsey and Grant Ledyard have returned and Randy Moller is expected back in early February from a back sprain.It&rsquo;s likely Buffalo will reassess its status with this group and rookie Philippe Boucher before making any deals.50 IN 50 DRIVE: Alexander Mogilny scored two goals in a 3-2 win Jan. 19 at Calgary and three in two games against Quebec (two in a 6-2 win at home Jan. 22 and one in a 4-3 loss the following night at Quebec).That gave Mogilny 46 goals in 48 Sabres&rsquo; games as he aimed to become the eighth player to score 50 goals in his team&rsquo;s first 50 games. Mogilny had appeared in just 42 games.NOTEBOOK: The Sabres recalled Rochester Americans&rsquo; goaltender Bill Pye from the American League and dressed him as backup goalie to Tom Draper after an injury to Daren Puppa. Puppa had a sprained knee and is expected to be out of the lineup until early February. Details of the Puppa injury were sketchy. He reportedly injured himself during an off-day practice. There are rumors the Sabres are again in the goaltending market.Dominik Hasek continued to be bothered by a pulled stomach muscle, but was listed as day-to-day. The injuries have caused the Sabres to use Draper exclusively&hellip;Doug Bodger&rsquo;s assist on Alexander Mogilny&rsquo;s first goal Jan. 22 was his 200th point as a Sabre. Dave Andreychuk&rsquo;s two assists early in the same game moved him past Craig Ramsay and into sole possession of second place on the club&rsquo;s all-time assist list with 421.<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 22: Bill Pye, G, recalled from Rochester.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Pat LaFontaine, Dale Hawerchuk, Bob Sweeney, Bob Corkum.LW-Brad May, Dave Andreychuk, Yuri Khymlev. CoHn Patterson.RW-Alex Mogilny, Randy Wood, Wayne Presley. Rob Ray. Donald Audette.LD-Mike Ramsey, Doug Bodger, Richard Smehlik.RD-Ken Sutton, Gord Donnelly. Grant Ledyard, Philippe Boucher.G-Tom Draper, BUI Pye.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dave Hannan, C, broken toe, day-to-day. Dominik Hasek. G, pulled stomach muscle, day-to-day. Randy Moller. D. strained back, day-to-day. Daren Puppa Q, sprained knee, day-to-day. Petr Svoboda, D, tom right knee ligament. Indefinite. &#9632;

Knee surgery last resort for injured Svoboda

<div class="byline">By Kevin Johnston</div>Owen Nolan is the first to admit he&rsquo;s not impressed with the way things have worked out this season.The Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; third-year right winger set the league on fire in the first half a year ago, finishing with 42 goals and 73 points in 75 games.Things aren&rsquo;t coming as easily this son. Despite scoring at least one point in 35 of 49 games-23 goals and 52 points-Nolan wasn&rsquo;t happy with his play.&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s just say I&rsquo;m not very proud of myself,&rdquo; said Nolan, 20. &ldquo;I know I can do a lot better. I&rsquo;m having an average year at best.&rdquo;Nordiques&rsquo; general manager-coach Pierre Page has been critical of Nolan for two reasons: he feels Nolan is trying to do too much with the puck and he&rsquo;s not playing a physical game.Page said Nolan is holding onto the puck too much this season, trying to make plays instead of shooting.Another reason for Nolan&rsquo;s dip in spring can be attributed to his reduced role on the power play. Nolan was a fixture on the No. 1 unit last season, but the Nordiques have such a dearth of talent, his role has been greatly reduced.Nolan maintains he is also confused with the so-called new style in the NHL, one that favors a finesse game over a rugged one-the kind he likes to play.&ldquo;This has really put me off,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I ended up in the penalty box pretty often at the beginning of the season and that made me scared of getting bad penalties. So now I&rsquo;m hesitant when I do go into the corners. I used to like to intimidate opponents after the whistle but we can&rsquo;t do that any more.&rdquo;ADDING NEW TWIST: Pierre Page is trying his best to get the most out of left winger Tony Twist. Page has worked extensively with the 24-year-old to try to make him a better player.For the past two seasons, Twist has been nothing more than an enforcer in Quebec. He had 164 penalty minutes in 44 games a year ago and just one point, an assist.&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t trade places with anyone,&rdquo; Twist said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re trying to make me a better player. They&rsquo;re investing a lot in me and I want it to pay off for them. And for me too.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Nordique chief scout Pierre Gauthier was one of the names mentioned to fill the GM spot with the expansion franchise in Anaheim.Joe Sakic returned to the lineup Jan. 22 against the Buffalo Sabres after missing nearly three weeks with a serious eye injury. He had three goals and four points in his first two games back.<h2>QUEBEC</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Mike Ricci, Claude Lapointe.LW-Mike Hough, Martin Rucrnsky, Gino Cavallini, Scott Pearson, Bill Lindsay. Tony TwistRW-Andrei Kovalenko. Scott Young. Owen Nolan, Tun Hunter.LD-Curtrs Leschyshyn, Steven Finn, Kerry Huffman, Alexei Gusarov.RD-Adam Foote. Steve Duchesne, Mikhail Tatarinov.G-Ron Hextall. Stephane Flset.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jacques Cloutier, G, sprained right ankle, indefinite. Valeri Kamensky. LW, fractured right ankle, indefinite. Craig Wolanin. D, pulled groin, indefinite. &#9632;

Nolan anything but thrilled with disappointing first half

<div class="byline">By Stephen Harris</div>It was apparent very early in the season the play of Czech center Vladimir Ruzicka would be tantamount to the success or failure of the Boston Bruins.The Bruins&rsquo; had a very solid No. 1 scoring line, built around center Adam Oates and flashy rookie winger Joe Juneau, but the team kcked an effective second scoring unit.The Bruins had hoped that line would be centered by the highly talented Ruzicka, who scored 39 goals and 75 points in 77 games last season.But the 29-year-old was one of the most inconsistent Bruin forwards in the first half. He missed 15 games with a pulled groin muscle and scored just 10 goals in 31 games-seven of which came in a three-game stretch.Fortunately for Boston, however, Ruzicka regained his scoring touch. He broke a seven-game pointless reak with two goals in a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers Jan. 21, then scored his 13th goal two nights later in a 7-5 win over the New Jersey Devils.&ldquo;I needed this,&rdquo; he said after the Philadelphia game. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a great feeling. because I didn&rsquo;t score in a long time.&rdquo;Ruzicka was centering the second line with right winger Dmitri Kvar-talnov and Dave Reid.The line received significant icetime in its first few games as a unit, something Ruzicka appreciated.&ldquo;I need to play more than five or six shifts a game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t get warm with five or six shifts a game. I can&rsquo;t even feel the puck on my stick. I&rsquo;m not saying I should be playing 25-30 minutes a game, but I think I need to be playing 16-17.&ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m not the best defensive player on the team and I understand I haven&rsquo;t been on the ice late in games that are close. But two years ago, I never took the body. Now, I try to do it. I can still learn.&rdquo;NEELY WATCH: Right winger Cam Neely practised with the team in full equipment Jan. 23, his first such session this season.The fact Neely was back in uniform was a strong indication he could return from his extensive left knee trouble by late-February.&ldquo;It was the first time in a long while that I&rsquo;ve been able to go out there and not be thinking about my knee,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I definitely think I will play by late-February if it keeps going the way it&rsquo;s going.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Ray Bourque sustained a sprained right ankle Jan. 19 against the New York Islanders. He is listed as day-to-day. The Bruins recalled Russian defenseman Denis Chervyakov to fill the void on the blueline. Chervyakov is the third Russian on the Bruins&rsquo; roster, joining Dmitri Kvartalnov and Grigori Panteleyev.Rookie right winger Steve Heinze had 15 goals through Jan. 23. He scored all of his goals at even strength, making him the team leader in even-strength goal-scoring.<h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Jan. 20: Denis Chervyakov. D, recalled from Providence (AHL). Jan, 22: Glen Murray, RW. assigned to Providence.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Adam Oates, Vladimir Ruzicka, Dave Poulin, Ted Donato.LW-Joe Juneau, Dave Reid. Grigori Panteleyev. Darin Kimble.RW-Steve Leach, Dmitri Kvartalnov, Steve Heinze. Brent Hughes.LD-Don Sweeney, Glen Wesley. Jim Wiemer.RD-David Shaw, Glen Featherstone. Denis Chervyakov.G-Andy Moog, John Blue.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Ray Bourque. D. sprained right ankle, day-to-day. Andrew McKim, RW, broken jaw. indefinite. Gord Murphy, D, sprained left ankle, indefinite. Cam Neely, RW, left knee surgery, indefinite Gord Roberts. D, bruised left arm, Indefinite. &#9632;

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February 5, 1993

Hull’s Camobells dominated in ’91-92

NHL STATISTICAL REPORT

Top coach should not be first-year bench boss

Staying healthy Brunet’s biggest challenge