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

November 5, 1993

The Hockey News November 5, 1993

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>The author of a new book on the NHL hopes his work will result in a investigation into Bruce McNall&rsquo;s role in getting the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim into the league.&ldquo;I absolutely believe what happened warrants the same kind of investigation the NHL conducted over the Ottawa Senators&rsquo; affair,&rdquo; said Ottawa Citizen hockey columnist Roy MacGregor, the author of Road Games: A Year in the Life of the NHL.MacGregor writes that by discouraging Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; owner Norm Green from locating in Anaheim, the NHL put $25 million in the pocket of McNall, the board of governors chair and owner of the Los Angeles Kings.Green was allowed to move his team to Dallas and Disney paid McNall $25 million of its $50-million expansion fee as indemnification.McNall maintains indemnification wasn&rsquo;t an issue.&ldquo;Green was going to have the same indemnification if not more than Disney (in Anaheim),&rdquo; McNall said.NHL vice-president Arthur Pincus said the league would not comment until it had a chance to read the book, scheduled for release Oct. 30.MacGregor makes several other claims in Road Games, including:&#9633; Disney entered the NHL primarily to gain favor with the city of Anaheim. Anaheim had a new, vacant arena and Disney wanted the city&rsquo;s financial support for its $3-billion Westcot Center project.Disney&rsquo;s John Dreyer said Westcot and the Ducks were never linked.&ldquo;(Regardless of) whether or not Westcot was going to happen, the hockey team made sense to Disney,&rdquo; Dreyer said.&#9633; The Ottawa Senators resolved to sue the NHL for breach of contract when it appeared the inclusion of new teams in Miami and Anaheim would deprive them of the No. 1 pick in the 1993 draft. The Senators were eventually allowed to keep their first overall draft position after finishing last overall.Sexton labeled the story &ldquo;ridiculous. There&rsquo;s not a bit of truth to it.&rdquo;&#9633; Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry is in a perceived conflict of interest. Cherry endorses fighting and rough play over the public airwaves and also markets a line of violent hockey videos. Cherry also appears in advertisements for ProLine, a Canadian gambling lottery while the NHL, like all major sports, postures against gambling.Cherry was unrepentant.&ldquo;Yes, I admit, I do like the odd fight,&rdquo; Cherry said. &ldquo;I do play cards, I do make the occasional bet and I have the odd beer. To me, I sound like a pretty good guy.&rdquo; &#9632;

IN THIS ISSUE

Book questions awarding of franchise in Anaheim

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0053-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01129/6147002-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01129/6146995-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg" title="f0054-01" width="3103" height="3484"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01121/6146988-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="1264" height="3707"></div> &#9632;

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CLASSIFIED

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01326/6146648-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg"></div><h2>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS</h2>Statistics provided by National Hockey League; NO.-uniform number; GP-games played; G-goals; A-assists; P-points; +/-plus/minus; PIM-penalties in minutes; PP-power-play goals; SH-short-hand goals; GW-game-winning goals; GT-game-tying goals; S-shots on goal; PCT-shooting percentage. Players indicated by an asterisk (*) are eligible for the Calder Trophy.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01338/6146641-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="3100" height="3535"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01243/6146634-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="3088" height="3526"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01201/6146627-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="3082" height="1294"></div> &#9632;

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LOUISVILLE…THE SCORING LEADER!

<div class="byline">By Chris Stevenson</div>After his first couple of shifts as a professional hockey player. Alexandre Daigle returned to the Ottawa Senators&rsquo; bench, his eyes wide.&ldquo;He came off the ice and said to (coach) Rick Bowness, I can&rsquo;t see anything. I can&rsquo;t see anything,&rsquo;&rdquo; said general manager Randy Sexton, remembering Daigle&rsquo;s debut in Ottawa&rsquo;s first pre-season game. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s typical of somebody who&rsquo;s nervous. They don&rsquo;t look around.&rdquo;Daigle, 18, the NHL&rsquo;s first pick overall last June, saw just fine in the first six regular-season games. He had four goals and 12 points and opened the eyes of many people.Bowness wasn&rsquo;t one of them.The man entrusted with polishing the crown jewel in the Senators&rsquo; plan for future success was pleased, not surprised, by Daigle&rsquo;s sizzling start.Bowness is no stranger to coaching green rookies. He had 13 of them one year when he coached the Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; American League farm team in Moncton.But none was as gifted as Alexandre Daigle, a teenager to whom a franchise has tied its future.Bowness has drawn on conversations he had with two masters of his craft, Glen Sather of the Edmonton Oilers and the New York Islanders&rsquo; Al Arbour, to help him bring Daigle along.&ldquo;They both said the same thing,&rdquo; Bowness said. &ldquo;The better players they had, the better coaches they became.&rdquo;All kidding aside, Bowness has drawn some wisdom from the two. The main piece of advice: If you&rsquo;ve got a player with hands, take a hands-off approach.&ldquo;I was a player in Winnipeg when (Wayne) Gretzky broke in and I watched that unfold,&rdquo; Bowness said. &ldquo;The key to coaching great players is letting them play to their strengths. Let them do what they do best. Don&rsquo;t make them change.&rdquo;TV WAR: The broadcast of the first game on the Senators&rsquo; local television schedule was threatened by a dispute between the club and Baton Broadcasting over on-air personnel.It&rsquo;s believed the Senators want to dump play-by-play man Don Chevrier and analyst Greg Millen, the Senators&rsquo; local broadcasters last season, after complaints from fans.&ldquo;We have received a significant number of calls and letters concerning our on-air personnel,&rdquo; GM Randy Sexton said. &ldquo;We owe it to our fans to raise the issue with Baton.&rdquo;During the off-season, Baton sold the Senators local broadcast rights to Molson Breweries. The Senators maintain that under the conditions of that new deal, they still have the right to approve on-air personnel.Baton disagrees.What the Senators would like to see happen, it is believed, is to have the radio play-by-play from CFRA simulcast on the televised games. Dean Brown is the play-by-play man and Gord Wilson handles the color on the radio broadcasts.NOTEBOOK: The Senators opted not to sign winger Herb Raglan to a contract, releasing the 26-year-old Oct. 21 after he attended the Ottawa training camp on a pro tryout. &ldquo;I feel a little bit lost,&rdquo; Raglan said. &ldquo;They told me they don&rsquo;t have the budget to sign me. Why did they extend my tryout when they didn&rsquo;t have the budget to follow through?&rdquo; Randy Sexton said if he could have moved another winger out of the organization he would have signed Raglan.<h2>OTTAWA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 18: Gord Dineen, D, and Hank Lammens, D. assigned to P.E.I. (AHL). Oct 20: Chad Penney, LW. recalled from P.E.I.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Alexandre Daigle, Alexei Yashin, Mark Lamb, Dave McLIwain.LW-Chad Penney, Vladimir Ruzicka, Sylvain Turgeon, Troy Mallette, Darcy Loewen.RW-Dave Archibald, Robed Burakowsky, Bob Kudelski, Bill Huard.LD-Dmitn Filimonov, Norm Maciver, Darren Rumble, Francois Leroux.RD-Brad Shaw, Brian Glynn, Dennis Vial.G-Craig Billington, Darrin Madeley.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Pavol Oemitra, RW, broken right ankle, indefinite. &#9632;

Bowness handling Daigle with tender loving care

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01899/6147284-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Don Koharski</figcaption></div>1994 DRAFT Introducing year&rsquo;s best prospectsSTRIKE?Officials&rsquo; plans black and whiteChristmas gift and novelty guideFelix Potvin leads Maple Leafs? to best start in NHL history &#9632;

Cover-01

9-AND OH SO FINE

1994 DRAFT preview&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;P.2OFFICIALS&rsquo; STRIKE?&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;P.3FELIX POTVIN&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;&hellip;P.7CHRISTMAS GIFT BUYER&rsquo;S GUIDE&hellip;&hellip;P.29<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-011363/6145053-1-eng-US/f0002-012.jpg" title="f0002-01" width="515" height="609"><figcaption class="caption-body">Calgary&rsquo;s Joe Nieuwendyk is off to a great start. Page 22</figcaption><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-021105/6145046-1-eng-US/f0002-022.jpg" title="f0002-02" width="514" height="609"><figcaption class="caption-body">Sophomore jinx won&rsquo;t get Jet Keith Tkachuk. Page 26</figcaption></div><h2>QUOTABLE</h2>&ldquo;Don and I have a specific dream-to make it to the NHL We knew there would be an initial financial sacrifice. At the same time, I wouldn &lsquo;t mind buying new living room furniture.&rdquo;-Chris Van Massenhoven, whose husband Don left his $52,000-a-year job to enter the NHL officials&rsquo; training program at less than half the pay. Page 4. &#9632;

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ON THE COVER

<div class="byline">By Steve Dryden</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-03797/6145084-1-eng-US/f0002-032.jpg" title="f0002-03" width="379" height="493"></div>The Rochester Rocket&rsquo;s rise to stardom has stalled, but he insists it&rsquo;s way too early to abort mission.Jason Bonsignore, a native of Rochester, N.Y., entered this season as one of several players expected to challenge for No. 1 overall in the 1994 entry draft.But one month into the Ontario League schedule, the center has inspired few NHL scouts-collecting five goals and 17 points in 12 games with the dreadful Newmarket Royals.&ldquo;Obviously, I haven&rsquo;t been the dominating force everybody expected me to be,&rdquo; Bonsignore admitted.He does not belong among the top dozen draft-eligible players on performance this season. But Bonsignore remains among them because of tantalizing potential-a glimpse of which was seen Oct. 22 when he earned four assists in a victory over the Peterborough Petes.&ldquo;Right now, a lot of things I&rsquo;m not doing to the best of my ability and I&rsquo;ll have to change them if I expect to challenge for No. 1,&rdquo; Bonsignore said.Bonsignore is 6-foot-4, 208 pounds and one of the better skaters available. But he has to be more assertive and teams will be watching closely to see how willing he is to &ldquo;compete.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s NHL code for grit.He has been all over the map the past few months, playing for the U.S. national under-18 team, the Olympic team and the Royals. It&rsquo;s evident the schedule has worn on him.Still, Bonsignore hopes to play for the Olympic team Nov. 5 when it meets the Florida Panthers in his hometown. The Panthers have first pick in the June 28-29 entry draft-expansion cousins Anaheim hold second pick-and Bonsignore would be under close scrutiny if he played.Panthers&rsquo; GM Bob Clarke said it&rsquo;s too early to say anybody-including Bonsignore-has been a disappointment this season. Clarke, who also drafted for the Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars, said he will take a more hands-on role in this decision-making process than any before because the pick is crucial to the team&rsquo;s future.He said Bonsignore belongs in the top group.Bonsignore has substantial time to rejoin Radek Bonk. Jeff O&rsquo;Neill, Brett Lindros and Jeff Friesen as holdover top-shelf prospects. A newcomer to the elite is Windsor Spitfires&rsquo; defenseman Ed Jovanovski, a two-way threat who is this year&rsquo;s biggest surprise.Few people had him ranked as a top prospect last year. But that&rsquo;s only because few people saw him earn rookie-of-the-year honors and a berth on the first all-star team in the Western Ontario Jr. B League last season.Jovanovski is a strong skater who plays a solid game and dishes out solid checks. He knocked out an opposition forward with a clean hit early this season. &ldquo;He goes into comers to punish the opposition, not just rub them out,&rdquo; one scout said.The 6-foot-2,205-pounder has drawn comparisons to New Jersey Devils&rsquo; defenseman Scott Stevens.Jovanoski appears second on the accompanying THN list of 20 top prospects. Bonk, the most popular choice as most promising teen, heads the group.He is only 17, but excelling in the International League with three goals and five points in six games. Bonk has extraordinary balance and a mean streak that appeals to scouts. He also has, in the words of one scout, &ldquo;big-time, top-end&rdquo; potential.Players are listed in order of prominence, but not labeled first, second, third, etc., because it&rsquo;s too early to assign rankings or achieve consensus among NHL scouts.Consider this first list an introduction to some of the best draft-eligible prospects, not a definitive look at likely first-round picks. &#9632;

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Bonsignore drops while Jovanovski’s stock rises

One month into the season, 17-year-old Radek Bonk of the Las Vegas Thunder is considered the best prospect for the entry draft. Players are listed in order of prominence. Stats are from this season.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0002-04574/6145115-1-eng-US/f0002-042.jpg" title="f0002-04" width="564" height="2159"></div> &#9632;

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THE DRAFT CLASS OF JUNE, 1994

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy and Steve Dryden</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011523/6145177-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The NHL is better equipped to deal with a work stoppage than it was in New Jersey in 1988. (THN FILES)</figcaption></div>Nov. 15 could be a mellow, yellow Monday for the NHL.Members of the NHL Officials&rsquo; Association have vowed to strike that day if a new collective bargaining agreement is not reached by then.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think they&rsquo;ve given us any reason for optimism,&rdquo; said NHLOA president Terry Gregson. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure they want us to be discouraged. We knew we were in for a long fight.&rdquo;Negotiations have not gone smoothly, although the latest in a series of meetings between the two sides yielded positive results. Don Meehan, the Toronto-based agent and lawyer representing the NHLOA, said an Oct. 21 bargaining session was productive.&ldquo;More so than the previous meetings,&rdquo; Meehan said cautiously.Jeffrey Pash, the NHL&rsquo;s senior vice-president and general counsel, sounded a more optimistic note. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been encouraged all along we&rsquo;ll come to an agreement and a strike will be averted,&rdquo; he said.Still, there is a huge gulf between the only two formal offers on the table. A source close to negotiations said the league has offered a 37 per-cent raise in base salary over four years, while the officials have asked for a 100-plus per-cent increase over two years.Both the league and officials have indicated there is room for movement.It&rsquo;s not uncommon for labor-management negotiations to remain unresolved until the 11th hour. The NHL was within hours of cancelling the 1991-92 season when an accord was reached between the players and owners.&ldquo;Collective bargaining is a process, not an event,&rdquo; Pash said. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t happen overnight. I think deadlines can be very productive. I don&rsquo;t assume by saying that, that we&rsquo;re going to be working until midnight on Nov. 14.&rdquo;Three games are scheduled for Nov. 15 and the NHL has promised it will be business as usual-with or without experienced referees and linesmen.One thing is certain, the league will certainly be better prepared than the last time it faced a walkout by officials. A tryout camp for replacement officials is reportedly set for Nov. 5-7 in Toronto.There is no word on whether Paul McInnis will be invited.McInnis, a rink manager from Yonkers, N.Y., earned a place in NHL history by heading a replacement crew of officials May 7, 1988, the night regular officials staged a wildcat strike to protest unsafe working conditions.The previous night, referee Don Koharski was accosted by New Jersey Devils&rsquo; coach Jim Schoenfeld following a playoff game with the Boston Bruins.Schoenfeld was suspended by the NHL, but when the Devils obtained a court injunction to block the suspension, he appeared behind the bench for Game 4 of the series.Referee Dave Newell and linesmen Gord Broseker and Ray Scapinello refused to officiate and three amateur officials were called in to handle the game at Brendan Byrne Arena.The day has lived on in infamy as &ldquo;Yellow Sunday&rdquo; because the three officials-all 50 or older-started the game with yellow practice jerseys.Referee Kerry Fraser, executive vice-president of the NHLOA, said it could be the players who face unsafe working conditions this time if replacement officials end up overseeing games.He said it could be &ldquo;disastrous&rdquo; for the league if it were to &ldquo;dip so low in the level of people it recruits, it could be dangerous to the players and dangerous to the owners who have so much invested in the players.&rdquo;The NHL will not say how it plans to find competent backups for first-string officials already stung by criticism of incompetence.&ldquo;Are these guys going on strike?&rdquo; Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; star Jeremy Roenick asked in mid-October. &ldquo;Maybe we should let them. We need new refs.&rdquo;The search for potential replacements is well under way. How successful the league has been in its recruitment drive is hard to say. (See &ldquo;On the Line&rdquo; on page 4.)It&rsquo;s believed those who attend the Toronto camp will receive $1,000-$250 to sign with the league, another $250 for showing up at the camp and $500 more after working their first NHL games.Replacement referees are to be paid $800 per game and linesmen $500, according to one official offered a replacement job.The 58-member NHLOA has been working without a contract since its five-year agreement expired Aug. 31. It is in a legal position to strike, as is the league to lock out officials.&ldquo;There will be no work stoppage at the initiation of the NHL,&rdquo; said Brian Burke, NHL senior vice-president and director of hockey operations. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no lockout here. Let&rsquo;s not confuse who&rsquo;s causing the work stoppage.&rdquo;Negotiations center on the salary scale, but also at issue are concerns related to pension benefits, severance packages and the system of referee evaluation.There is agreement the NHL pay grid is in need of an overhaul. There is debate, however, over what is fair compensation for those who perform what may be the toughest job in sports officiating. (See &ldquo;Pucks, Bases&rdquo; on page 4.)Under the expired agreement, the base salary range for referees is $50,000-$90,000. (They can earn as much as $35,000 more in bonus and playoff monies.) The NHL has proposed increasing the base range to $60,0000-$155,000 over four years. The NHLOA proposes a base range of approximately $100,000-$225,000 in a two-year deal.Linesmen currently earning between $33,000 and $63,000 are on a separate pay grid.By comparison, first-year National Basketball Association referees are paid $60,000 base salaries with top referees earning about $177,000. (Meehan said NBA refs also cash in on an option that allows them to downgrade on airline flights and pocket the difference in ticket price.) First-year Major League Baseball Umpires&rsquo; Association umpires earn $65,000-$70,000 and the most experienced collect $200,000.Basketball and baseball officials are both deeper into their agreements, so it&rsquo;s difficult to say what salary levels their next deals will reach.NHL referees have shorter career spans than basketball and baseball counterparts because their work is more physically demanding. Hockey referees and linesmen, then, have fewer high-level earning years.Meehan said another factor is an expected increase in hockey revenues.The officials, meanwhile, say they are firm in their resolve.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no panic among our members,&rdquo; Fraser said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s disappointment the NHL thinks so little of us, but that hasn&rsquo;t shaken our confidence. We are united.&rdquo;That sense of solidarity extends to non-NHLOA members in the league trainee program. A source said 10 of them were asked to be replacement officials, but none agreed to serve.They were later sent memos dated Oct. 19 and labeled &ldquo;Impending Labor Problems.&rdquo; Vice-president, hockey operations Jim Gregory informed the trainees they would no longer be assigned games in the NHL or minor leagues as of Nov. 14.&ldquo;The trainee program will be suspended until further notice,&rdquo; Gregory said in the letter. A member of the NHLOA executive, who requested anonymity, called the league move an &ldquo;intimidation tactic.&rdquo;Officials have not said whether they will erect picket lines should a work stoppage occur.NHLOA members have been advised to curb discretionary spending in preparation for a strike. A strike fund has been established, mostly for the benefit of lower-paid members who will have first dibs on reserves.While negotiations continue, so do public relations battles for officials, who have suffered their usual number of slings and arrows this season.Bryan Lewis, the NHL&rsquo;s director of officiating, is accustomed to criticism.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve had some high-profile problems, slash concerns, slash errors,&rdquo; Lewis said. &ldquo;But they aren&rsquo;t any worse than any other season.&rdquo;NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said he believes the referees and linesmen do a good job, but there is room for improvement, perhaps in the way games are officiated.The league experimented with two referees during the exhibition season. An experiment of a different sort may be conducted Nov. 15.For more stories, see page 4. &#9632;

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Redline, blueline…or picket line?

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>Some referees and linesmen are going to feel the pinch, more than others should the NHL Officials Association call a strike Nov. 15.Don Van Massenhoven is one of the elite prospects in the league&rsquo;s development program. He took a pay cut of more than 50 per cent to pursue his dream of refereeing in the NHL. Now he faces a strike that would amount to a 100 per-cent pay cut.Van Massenhoven was earning $52,000 a year as a constable with the Ontario Provincial Police before taking a leave of absence to enter the NHL program at $25,000 per year last season.Making ends meets is a challenge.&ldquo;I still want to make this happen (a career in the NHL), but I don&rsquo;t know if the NHL is going to let me,&rdquo; Van Massenhoven said. &ldquo;I simply can&rsquo;t afford to be out on strike too long. I can&rsquo;t put my family in financial hardship when it&rsquo;s not necessary&hellip;when I have the other job to fall back on.&rdquo;One of the issues in negotiations between the NHLOA and league on a new collective bargaining agreement is low entry-level wages.&ldquo;All the salaries need revision, not just the starting wage,&rdquo; said NHL senior vice-president and general counsel Jeffrey Pash. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve indicated all along we&rsquo;re prepared to address that.&rdquo;Van Massenhoven, 33, is scheduled to work fewer than 10 NHL games this season-he has a full slate in the American League-but is paid by the senior league as part of its development program and is a member of the NHLOA. Van Massenhoven was rated the AHL&rsquo;s No. 1 in 1992-93.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen a guy so well accepted by the players, coaches and managers,&rdquo; said AHL vice-president and secretary Gord Anziano. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s obviously going to be a great NHL referee.&rdquo;Van Massenhoven, who lives in Strathroy, Ont., said he has borrowed money from relatives to pay household bills. And Chris, his wife, has made loan arrangements with the bank to cover mortgage payments in the event of a strike. Chris works full-time at an area furniture store.&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t pul it in writing, but a few years ago when this started, we figured we&rsquo;d give it five years to make it or break it,&rdquo; she said.&ldquo;Don and I have a specific dream-for him to make it to the NHL. We knew there would be an initial financial sacrifice. At the same time, I wouldn&rsquo;t mind buying new living room furniture.&rdquo; &#9632;

Off-ice cop took pay cut to join NHL

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy</div>The temptation was overwhelming. But in the end, Mike Smith decided against agreeing to serve as an NHL replacement official.The 41-year-old Kirkland Lake, Ont., native now living in Syracuse, N.Y., was offered work as a replacement official in the event of a strike by the NHL Officials&rsquo; Association. Smith, a linesman working his 15th season in the American League, accepted the offer from Will Norris, the NHL&rsquo;s assistant director of officiating.&ldquo;This could be the only chance I&rsquo;ll ever have to get to the NHL,&rdquo; Smith told THN Oct. 21. &ldquo;Even if it has to be this way, I&rsquo;ve decided to give it a shot. I&rsquo;ve made many decisions over the years with my heart-some I&rsquo;ve come to regret. I made this decision with my head and I&rsquo;m sticking to it.&rdquo;One day later, Smith phoned to say he changed his mind.&ldquo;I talked to my dad and he helped me get my heart and my head out of my rear end,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;Even though I&rsquo;m retiring at the end of this season, my dad said it would be best if I went out on my terms, not somebody else&rsquo;s terms.&rdquo;Smith, a full-time employee of the Carrier Corporation in Syracuse, said he contemplated retiring from officiating last season. He decided to stay an extra year because he felt NHL officials might strike and he would get an opportunity to fill in. Although he&rsquo;s an AHL linesman, Smith was told by the NHL he could be needed as a referee.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011528/6145232-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg" title="f0004-01" width="709" height="671"></div>A number of minor-league officials, some dropped from the NHL&rsquo;s trainee program, have been approached by the NHL to work as replacements.Veteran NHL referee Kerry Fraser said he hoped all officials would refuse the league&rsquo;s invitation. Fraser prepared a letter explaining the NHLOA&rsquo;s position and 500 copies were sent to prospective replacement officials.&ldquo;The official, at all levels of the game, has been the forgotten soldier for too long,&rdquo; Fraser wrote. &ldquo;We are determined and unified to fight for necessary change which will make this occupation more attractive to people such as yourself. As a member of the officiating fraternity, we ask for your support and assistance.&ldquo;The NHL has already started contacting prospective replacements (&lsquo;scabs&rsquo;) in the event that a deal is not reached by midnight, Nov. 14, 1993. The entire membership of the NHL Officials&rsquo; Association requests that, in good conscience, you will respectfully decline any offer made by the League to yourself in working NHL games.&rdquo;THN interviewed many officials to determine what level of success the NHL was having in its recruitment drive. None said they had agreed to act as replacement officials, but the fact nobody had yet spoken up should not come as a surprise. It wouldn&rsquo;t be sensible for an official to announce his intention to break ranks.A league source said they have received &ldquo;favorable responses from more people than we need&rdquo; from all levels of play-including minor pro, major junior and college.Some of those contacted by THN may have agreed to act as replacement officials, but would not acknowledge they are prepared to fill in for striking officials. One characterized the NHL officials&rsquo; demands as too high, but said he would have no further comment until Nov. 15.Luke Galvin, a former NHL trainee dropped from the program, considered a league offer, but turned it down and will continue to work as a linesman in the AHL.&ldquo;Partly out of respect for the guys who were in the program with me and were hired and partly because I knew it just wasn&rsquo;t right, I said no,&rdquo; said the Boston resident. &ldquo;I phoned the NHL last summer to see if I could get back in the trainee&rsquo;s program. I was told no, I wasn&rsquo;t good enough. Twice the NHL has indicated to me I wasn&rsquo;t good enough and then when they run into trouble, suddenly they want me to work their games.&rdquo; &#9632;

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ON THE LINE Would-be NHLers face dilemma

<div class="byline">By Brian Costello</div>National Basketball Association referee Darell Garretson has a tough job calling a game amidst 10 giants.What could be more challenging?&ldquo;Doing it on skates, dodging pucks and avoiding hits in the comers,&rdquo; said the NBA officials&rsquo; chief of staff.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t envy the hockey officials one bit. They&rsquo;ve got the hardest job in the business.&rdquo;Garretson is not alone in his thinking.The consensus is that hockey is more challenging to officiate than basketball and baseball, the other two major North American team sports that employ full-time officials.NHL referee Kerry Fraser said hockey places both physical and cerebral demands on its officials.&ldquo;Running in a pair of athletic shoes is a function most healthy males can perform,&rdquo; Fraser said. &ldquo;Put a pair of skates on and try to perform with the speed of our game, dodging pucks in a confined area with the judgment aspect and the decisions we&rsquo;re required to make.&rdquo;There are those in baseball who disagree.Pat Campbell, associate general counsel for the Major League Baseball Umpires&rsquo; Association, said his sport requires the most precision from its officials, but hockey is the most physically demanding.&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re watching up to 500 pitches a game and your decision on each comes down to an inch or two, you have to be there,&rdquo; Campbell said. &ldquo;However. I can&rsquo;t underestimate the conditioning officials need in hockey.&rdquo;Because of physical demands placed on hockey officials, their careers are generally shorter than counterparts in basketball and baseball. Only five NHL officials-Ron Asselstine, Ryan Bozak, Ron Finn, Bob Hodges and Ray Scapinello-are older than 45. All are linesmen.Garretson is 61 and entering his 27th season in the NBA. He said the addition of a third official five seasons ago extended his career. A crew chief, referee and umpire call the shots in basketball, four umpires are equals in baseball. One referee, with restricted help from linesmen, is in charge in hockey.NHL director of officiating Bryan Lewis, a former referee, said hockey is the most challenging to officiate.&ldquo;There are so many things to consider,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If you were to take all officiating factors-conditioning, positioning, judgement, consistency, you name it, I would have no problem saying hockey is the toughest game to call.&rdquo; &#9632;

Pucks, bases or buckets toughest?

<div class="byline">By THN staff</div>The one-day marathon known as the NHL draft has been broken up for the benefit of television.This year&rsquo;s draft, to be convened at die Hartford Civic Center, will be stretched over two days-Tuesday, June 28 and Wednesday, June 29. The first two rounds go on Day 1, with the concluding rounds going the next day.The event was originally set for the previous weekend, but the staging of the Greater Hartford Open golf tournament meant the league couldn&rsquo;t book enough hotel space. The draft requires at least 1,400 available rooms for team officials, management, media and potential draftees.While no announcement has been made, the league expects the event will be broadcast on ESPN or the network&rsquo;s alternate station, ESPN2 in the United States. ESPN2 reaches 11 million homes as opposed to more than 60 million for ESPN, but the main network is considering broadcasting a World Cup soccer game instead.The Sports Network is expected to televise the event in Canada as it has the last several years, but no firm plans have been made.A two-day format makes the event far more attractive for television, said NHL spokesman Arthur Pincus.&ldquo;We wanted to get our opening rounds on live television in prime time,&rdquo; Pincus said. &ldquo;Plus under the old format, it became an endurance contest.&rdquo;The move to a two-day draft is supported by Florida Panthers&rsquo; general manager Bob Clarke, whose team holds the first overall pick. Clarke likes the fact he&rsquo;ll be able to come back refreshed on Day 2 after making his high-profile picks the night before.CANADIAN CONTENT: The percentage of Canadian content in the NHL is at an all-time low.A league study shows Canadians make up 64.2 per cent (421 players) of the NHL&rsquo;s population this season. That compares to 66.2 per cent in 1992-93, the previous all-time low. In 1967, Canadians comprised 96.72 per cent of the league.The Montreal Canadiens lead the NHL in Canadian-born players with 21. The Boston Bruins have the fewest with 12.The percentage of American-born players in the NHL, meanwhile, continues to climb. A record 112 players, or 17.1 per cent, were born in the the U.S.A. Four teams-the Bruins, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks-are tied for the league lead with eight Americans.The Commonwealth of Independent States remains the biggest source of off-shore talent, contributing 52 players (17.1 per cent). That&rsquo;s followed by the Czech and Slovak Republics with 28 (4.2 per cent): Sweden with 23 (3.5 per cent); and Finland with (1.4 per cent).TEEMU&rsquo;S BACK: Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; right winger Teemu Selanne was named NHL player of the week for the period ending Oct. 24.Selanne, who started the season slowly by his standards, collected three goals and eight points in three games.The eight-point week boosted Selanne&rsquo;s season total to 13 points.PLAYER DIES: A former University of Maine star who was rendered a quadriplegic in an on-ice accident has died.Andre Aubut succumbed Oct. 13 to complications stemming from his paralysis. He was 33.The Laval. Que., native was paralyzed from the neck down in a recreational game in St-Jerome, Que., April 17. The accident occurred when he stepped on the puck and fell into the boards.Aubut was named the Black Bears&rsquo; first all-America in 1980 and was the top vote-getter on the school&rsquo;s all-Decade Team in 1987. He is the highest scoring defenseman in school history with 135 points.He is survived by his wife, Manon, and two children.&ldquo;For some, he was a great athlete. But for those of us who knew Andre best he was a great person,&rdquo; said Jack Sender, who coached Aubut for his four seasons at Maine.&ldquo;He is the main reason we have the fan following we have,&rdquo; said Maine coach Shawn Walsh. &ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t just a great player, he was a great ambassador for the team and the program.&rdquo;-with a file from Larry Mahoney &#9632;

Do not adjust your sets: draft now over two days

<div class="byline">By Brian Burke</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011440/6145335-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="382" height="534"></div>The NHL&rsquo;s philosophy on supplementary discipline can be summed up succinctly: conduct not permitted under the league&rsquo;s playing rules will be severely punished.The philosophy will be implemented with speed, fairness and consistency. My mandate from commissioner Gary Bettman is to render supplementary discipline with the maximum possible degree of efficiency without sacrificing fairness to the players and teams involved.There is no intention of curtailing physical play. When you buy a ticket for an NHL game, you will not witness a tea dance. The physical style of play is a central feature of North American hockey in general and the NHL in particular. That won&rsquo;t change. Count on it.Discipline falls into three categories.The first is conduct that triggers automatic suspension. Such offenses may be punished by automatic &lsquo;rulebook&rsquo; discipline, rules 54 (g) and 67 for example, or may call for league review, rule 49 (a) for example.The second category is conduct which calls for discretionary league review. Discipline is not automatic, but may be imposed.The third category is conduct which leads to league-initiated review, or review requested by another team.Supplementary discipline, the second and third categories, as opposed to rulebook discipline is imposed through league rule 34 (A) which reads as follows:In addition to the automatic fines and suspensions imposed under these rules, the commissioner may, at his discretion, investigate any incident that occurs in connection with any exhibition, league or playoff game and may assess additional fines and/or suspensions for any offense committed during the course of a game or any aftermath thereof by a player, trainer, manager, coach or club executive, whether or not such offense has been penalized by the referee.The league is responsible for reviewing each of these situations, so that the length of any such suspensions can be determined. There may be a large number of incidents at any given time, but we hope the number of cases will decline as players and clubs get the message and know what&rsquo;s physical play and what&rsquo;s unwarranted action.In the event of an incident that may warrant disciplinary action, a senior league official is contacted by telephone following the game in question.An officials&rsquo; report is also filed each night following every game. These are transcribed early in the morning and may trigger league review. The NHL has a system that automatically tapes every televised game. Games in which incidents occur are copied on video cassette and delivered to the league the following morning.If further inquiry beyond the officials&rsquo; report and the game tape is necessary, the club is instructed to have the player call me at once. The player is always afforded an opportunity to be heard. Discipline is handled in a preliminary hearing to ease the burden on players, clubs and officials.The preliminary investigation may include suspensions of up to four games. If the league believes a suspension may exceed four games, a formal hearing is called.This involves bringing in the player and possibly the referee, as well as other eyewitnesses. The NHL Players&rsquo; Association is invited to sit in on the hearings, too. A decision is rendered with all the evidence in mind.The factors involved in evaluating an incident include intent, severity of the offense, injury, record of the offender with the league, time of the game (or period), and situation in the game.The conduct which is punished may on occasion include accidental or careless conduct resulting in injury. However, the typical offense that will lead to discipline is excessive force or conduct altogether outside the rules.Clubs will also be fined in situations where the conduct of their nonplaying personnel contribute to or instigate an incident.The system promotes an atmosphere that allows players to perform without fear of dangerous and unjustified conduct.For our game to move forward, we must preserve what makes it so special: it combines finesse with hard hits, individual brilliance with team play. But the game cannot permit senseless acts.We have the world&rsquo;s greatest game and the world&rsquo;s best athletes. We have to package the game to showcase its speed, grace, skill, finesse and exciting physical play.Count on it.Brian Burke is NHL senior vice-president and director of hockey operations. &#9632;

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League promises swift, just discipline

I watched the Chicago Blackhawks lose 1-0 in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets Oct. 16 and while I can cope with the loss, I can&rsquo;t accept the ending.Winnipeg&rsquo;s Nelson Emerson grabbed the puck in mid-air behind the Hawks&rsquo; goal, skated around the net and dropped it in. He was credited with the game-winning goal after a review by the replay official that lasted several minutes.First of all, why wasn&rsquo;t a penalty assessed for holding the puck? And second, what good is an instant replay when a blatant mistake such as that isn&rsquo;t caught?Two games earlier, the Hawks tied 2-2 with the Dallas Stars on a disputed goal where a Stars&rsquo; player was in the crease when a goal was scored.I feel the state of officiating in general is a more pressing issue in hockey than fighting.Klaus Mueller, Elk Grove, III.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011620/6145373-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="579" height="896"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Sakic would give the Vancouver Canucks a Stanley Cup.</figcaption></div><h2>In praise of Joe</h2>In Michael Ulmer&rsquo;s column in the Oct. 22 issue of THN, it was reported that the Vancouver Canucks turned down a chance to obtain Joe Sakic from the Quebec Nordiques even-up for Trevor Linden.I have only one question: Are both teams nuts?In my mind, the acquisition of Sakic would guarantee the Canucks the Stanley Cup. Pair Sakic with Pavel Bure and watch them shoot the lights out. Not only would Bure get the center he so desperately needs, but Sakic would immediately make Vancouver&rsquo;s power play almost unstoppable-whether he&rsquo;s used at center or on the point.Please, Pierre Page, keep joe Sakic, make Mike Ricci the captain and give Joe a rest. Give the trade rumors a rest, too.Jan Richard Gorlin, Maplewood, N.J.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021105/6145366-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="564" height="836"><figcaption class="caption-body">Doug Gilmour was suspended one game for headbutting.</figcaption></div><h2>Unfair advantage</h2>In my view, there is a double standard in the NHL with regard to the penalizing of superstar players.My specific bone of contention is with Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; center Doug Gilmour, who was involved in his second headbutting incident Sept. 23 against the Washington Capitals.A few days earlier in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Gilmour began to punch Marty McSorley who was being held and was completely defenseless.I feel Gilmour should have received a three-game suspension instead of one meaningless pre-season game. Superstars should not be allowed to get away with murder.Jason Fillion, Winnipeg, Man.<h2>Welcome back</h2>Words cannot express the utter glee I felt when your publication announced the return of cartoonist Dave Elston on a weekly basis.Elston has served as my weekly chuckle for years and it&rsquo;s great to see him back. It is the best decision your publication has made since the return of Jay Greenberg.Keith MacKenzie, White Rock, B.C.<h2>Goalie war</h2>I would like to respond to a letter from Bill Quandt in the Oct. 22 issue of THN.Mr. Quandt states in his letter that goaltenders are not as athletic as the other members of the team. Well, I have a challenge for him.I suggest he strap on 40 pounds of equipment and jump up and down for a minute. And at the end of that minute, if he can honestly say goaltenders are not athletic, I will give him a one year&rsquo;s subscription to THN.Aside from the fact you&rsquo;re jumping around with heavy equipment on, try standing in front of a hard rubber puck traveling at upwards of 70 miles per hour. Did you know as well that goalies participate in the same drills as the other skaters and then play goal?I know Mr. Quandt is not a goaltender nor has he ever attempted to play goal, because if he did, he would never have written this letter.Dennis Simone, &nbsp;New York, N. Y.<h2>Smith scammed</h2>Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; general manager Mike Smith gave St. Louis Blues&rsquo; GM Ron Caron an early Christmas present.Unfortunately for the Jets, Smith didn&rsquo;t receive much in return for superstar defenseman Phil Housley.I thought the Jets were trying to get bigger, tougher and more talented. It seems to me they haven&rsquo;t attained any of these goals by acquiring Stephane Quintal and Nelson Emerson.Adam Rodin, &nbsp;Winnipeg, Man.<h2>Goon tactics</h2>An incident in the Oct. 11 Los Angeles Kings-San Jose Sharks game prompted me to write this letter.After the Kings&rsquo; final empty-net goal with 11 seconds left, San Jose tough guy Jeff Odgers jammed his stick into Warren Rychel&rsquo;s midsection and attacked him with his fists.After a meaningless tussle, each received five minutes for fighting and the game ended moments later.Unless I failed to notice, Odgers didn&rsquo;t play in the third period until the last shift-just in time for him to mug an opponent.I&rsquo;m not saying Rychel is an angel. But a goon&rsquo;s appearance in the final seconds of an out-of-reach game-an appearance for absolutely no reason than to mug an opponent-is precisely the kind of embarrassing tactic that gives the NHL a black eye.Perhaps fighting should be eliminated from the game and perhaps not. But a last-second substitution for the sole purpose of picking a fight should be punishable by a fine and suspension.Mel Powell, &nbsp;Los Angeles, Calif.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. Include home and business phone numbers.&nbsp;THN&nbsp;reserves the right to edit submissions. &#9632;

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Officiating problem getting out of hand

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0006-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-03704/6145404-1-eng-US/f0006-032.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0006-03

THE DRAW

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>In appraising Toronto Maple Leafs&rsquo; goaltender Felix Potvin, it&rsquo;s what you don&rsquo;t see that counts.After all, he doesn&rsquo;t challenge the shooter as aggressively as Ed Belfour of the Chicago Blackhawks; he isn&rsquo;t as technically sound as Kirk McLean of the Vancouver Canucks; he doesn&rsquo;t skate as well as Kelly Hrudey of the Los Angeles Kings; and although he has worked to improve his puckhandling, most goalies are better.Potvin has quickness to match his nickname, The Cat, but Curtis Joseph of the St. Louis Blues and Patrick Roy of the Montreal Canadiens are just as quick.But consider this:&#9633; Potvin, who became an NHL regular last year at 21, is the only No. 1 goalie to boast a career goals-against average lower than 2.50 and a save percentage greater than. 900. Only two active elite goalies, Roy and Belfour, have managed career save percentages over. 900 and GAAs under 3.00.&#9633; The Leafs bolted to the best start in NHL history, winning their first nine games. Potvin was the team&rsquo;s best player in at least four of them and posted a shoutout in the record clincher. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s great to be a part of something like this where a team is going this good,&rdquo; Potvin said.&#9633; Potvin is playing as well or better than he did last year when the Leafs felt confident enough in his ability to trade future Hall of Famer Grant Fuhr. Potvin made Leafs&rsquo; management look smart by leading the team to its first conference final four playoff appearance in 15 years.So how does he do it? Potvin watchers say it starts the same innate sense of anticipation that Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux possess.&ldquo;His strength is that he knows the game and the shooters,&rdquo; said Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; forward Nelson Emerson, who battled Potvin for seven playoff games last season with St. Louis. &ldquo;You shoot and you think it&rsquo;s going in. but he reacts so well to the play, he gets there in time.&rdquo;Potvin has chosen a pragmatic style that emphasizes his lateral quickness and anticipation. He has enough confidence in his ability to trade a step for a millisecond longer to react.&ldquo;The flip side is you can get across the net faster because you&rsquo;re already playing deep,&rdquo; said Dallas Stars&rsquo; goaltending consultant Greg Millen. &ldquo;But you&rsquo;ve got to be extremely quick to play where Felix does.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011467/6145442-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="568" height="1148"><figcaption class="caption-body">Few goalies are as good at reading the play as Felix Potvin.</figcaption></div>And confident. But that has never been a problem for Potvin.&ldquo;Felix is a very unusual person,&rdquo; said Maple Leafs&rsquo; general manager Cliff Fletcher, who signed the goalie to a three-year, $4-million contract following acrimonious negotiations between Fletcher and Potvin&rsquo;s agent, Gilles Lupien. &ldquo;He has a maturity far beyond his years. He never gets too carried away when things are going well or too upset when (they) aren&rsquo;t.&rdquo;&ldquo;That,&rdquo; Potvin said, &ldquo;is what they&rsquo;re paying me to do. I have no reason to think I&rsquo;ll play worse.&rdquo;He hasn&rsquo;t always been successful. Potvin was not selected in the 1989 entry draft, his first year of eligibility. The following year, 30 players were chosen ahead of the Anjou, Que., native.Despite a strong showing to start the 1992-93 season, he was sent down to the Leafs&rsquo; American League affiliate in St. John&rsquo;s after four games. He was only called up to the Maple Leafs because of injuries to Fuhr and backup Rick Wamsley.And aside from two brushes where he exchanged lumber and elbows with Dino Ciccarelli of the Detroit Red Wings during last year&rsquo;s playoffs, Potvin has been the picture of cool in the Toronto net.Potvin plays marvelously and speaks rarely and softly. Those two factors, observers insist, are linked and they indicate Potvin&rsquo;s game won&rsquo;t succumb to the weight of heavy expectations.Any discussion of greatness, however, has to be tempered with his inexperience. Potvin has about one tenth of Fuhr&rsquo;s experience and the Leafs&rsquo; braintrust is wary of painting Potvin as a savior.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been often asked to compare him with Roy and it&rsquo;s not fair,&rdquo; said Leafs&rsquo; coach Pat Bums. &ldquo;In Roy, we&rsquo;re talking about a guy whose great as opposed to a guy who will be.&rdquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s too early to jump on that bandwagon,&rdquo; Millen said. &ldquo;You can start appraising his career after 200 or 300 NHL games.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s understandable that some are cautious to label the second-year goalie a great player. On the other hand, the statistics are hard to ignore.&ldquo;How long do you have to go, 20 years?&rdquo; asked Hall of Fame goaltender Glenn Hall, a goaltending consultant with the Calgary Flames. &ldquo;He has proven what kind of a player he is. There are ups and downs for everyone, but there&rsquo;s no reason to think he won&rsquo;t continue to play at about the same level. He is among the league&rsquo;s elite goalies.&rdquo;<h2>PERFECT POTVIN</h2>It&rsquo;s safe to say the Toronto Maple Leafs wouldn&rsquo;t have set an NHL record for most consecutive wins from the start of the season without Felix Potvin.The second-year goaltender started eight of the Leafs&rsquo; first nine games and was the NHL leader in wins (eight), goals-against average (1.88) and save percentage (.939). Potvin punctuated the team&rsquo;s perfect start by turning aside 24 shots in a 2-0 shutout win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Nov. 24.In the one game Potvin didn&rsquo;t play-a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers Nov. 21- the team needed overtime to keep the record alive. The NHL will not asterisk the record because the team that set the original mark, the 1934 Leafs, also won a game in overtime.Here&rsquo;s a game-by-game breakdown of Toronto&rsquo;s streak.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-02982/6145435-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg" title="f0007-02" width="516" height="432"></div> &#9632;

f0007-01

Leafs’ saving grace

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div>Dominic Roussel figured it was a new season with a new coach, so why not start all over?There was no point in looking back. The 23-year-old began last season as the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; No. 1 goalie, but then it all fell apart.A groin injury sustained during the team skills competition in November sidelined him 14 games. By the time he came back in early January, he had lost his confidence and starting job to Tommy Soderstrom.He wound up playing 34 games with a 13-11-5 record and 3.76 goals-against average. Rather than worry about the numbers, Roussel threw himself into an ambitious training program over the summer.He lifted weights, rode an exercise bike and played pickup hockey in the Montreal area.Roussel outplayed Soderstrom in the pre-season and got the starting assignment on opening night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He recorded a win and hasn&rsquo;t looked back since.His record of 6-0-0 and 2.33 GAA put him among the league leaders.&ldquo;His conditioning is probably the biggest factor that got him over the hump from last year,&rdquo; said coach Terry Simpson. &ldquo;He has learned the value of conditioning at a young age in his career and that&rsquo;s valuable.&rdquo;The conditioning program has been helpful several ways. Roussel still has plenty of energy left after regular practice for conditioning workouts. And he doesn&rsquo;t worry about reinjuring his groin muscles, which was a concern last season.His confidence couldn&rsquo;t be higher.&ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t get tired physically, you don&rsquo;t get tired mentally,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And if you don&rsquo;t get tired mentally, you&rsquo;re always there 100 per cent.&rdquo;Roussel was a key reason for the Flyers&rsquo; quick 6-2-0 start.&ldquo;Sometimes you need that help to keep a team winning,&rdquo; said right winger Dave Brown. &ldquo;Who knows? Maybe we&rsquo;ll save him one day.&rdquo;SPECTRUM II SETBACK: In a stunning reversal of fortune, the proposed Spectrum II received a setback when National Basketball Association Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; owner Harold Katz said Oct. 20 that he was turning down a final offer to become a tenant.The news came just three weeks after Spectacor, the parent company of the Flyers, had come to terms with PNC Bank to coordinate financing.Katz&rsquo;s decision throws the whole plan into doubt, but Flyers&rsquo; owner Ed Snider vowed he would try to build a one-team arena if possible.&ldquo;This is a tremendous setback,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;However, I intend to continue our efforts to give Philadelphia the world-class facility it deserves.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s speculation the 76ers will move to New Jersey. An option for the Flyers would be to renovate the Spectrum, which is 26 years old.NOTEBOOK: MRI tests revealed defenseman Yves Racine sustained a tom medial collateral ligament and a fractured tibia in his left leg during a collision with teammate Jeff Finley Oct. 15 at Washington. Racine is expected to be out of action until late November&hellip;Josef Beranek extended his goal-scoring streak to seven games in a 9-6 loss to the Winnipeg Jets Oct. 23. The Flyer record is nine games, set by Rick Tocchet in 1989.Dave Brown played his 600th career game in a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders Oct. 22&hellip;Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour had a point in each of the team&rsquo;s first eight games.<h2>PHILADELPHIA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Eric Lindros. Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, Viacheslav Butsayev, Dave Tippett.LW-Brent Fedyk, Josef Beranek. Mikael Renberg, Pelle Eklund.RW-Mark Recchi, Kevin Dineen. Dave Brown, Al Conroy.LD-Garry Galley, Milos Holan, Jason Bowen. Jeff Finley.RO-Ryan McGill. Greg Hawgood. Stewart Malgunas.G-Dominic Roussel, Tommy Soderstrom.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Claude Boivin, LW. sprained left knee, indefinite Jim Cummins, RW, separated right shoulder, indefinite. Yves Racine, D. tom left knee ligament. indefinite Dimitri Yushkevich D. bruised right elbow, indefinite. &#9632;

Intense conditioning pays off for Roussel

<div class="byline">By Jeff Williams</div>Benoit Hogue had this dream:&ldquo;Hogie!&rdquo; hollered coach Al Arbour. &ldquo;Get in there and play goal.&rdquo;Unlikely, to be sure, but so far this season Hogue has been all over the ice with the New York Islanders, playing center on a line with Marty McInnis and Brad Dalgamo, seeing spot duty on left wing, playing the right point on the power play, killing penalties, forechecking.He was not, however, sharpening skates between periods.This sort of versatility is what Arbour expects from Hogue. It was the sort of versatility Hogue displayed last year, especially after Ray Ferraro went down with a broken leg Dec. 10. Yet Arbour was not happy with Hogue&rsquo;s play this season, primarily because he wasn&rsquo;t scoring.The Repentigny, Que., native had only one goal in eight games as the Islanders were 1-6-1 and off to the worst start in franchise history. After a loss to the Los Angeles Kings Oct. 12, Arbour was critical of Hogue&rsquo;s holding penalty that allowed the Kings to score a power-play goal and go on to win the game.While Hogue scored his only goal this season against the Kings, he had trouble controlling the puck. &ldquo;My hands weren&rsquo;t there,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was just awful carrying the puck.&rdquo;Hogue had several breakaway opportunities, but failed to convert.&ldquo;I had the puck around the net a couple of times and couldn&rsquo;t do anything with it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t finish it off or find anybody.&rdquo;You could mount an argument that Hogue was the Islanders&rsquo; most valuable player last season, despite Pierre Turgeon&rsquo;s 58 goals. Hogue had a career-high 33 goals and logged as much ice time as anybody.Arbour doesn&rsquo;t see this as taxing Hogue&rsquo;s ability.&ldquo;When we needed him he came through last year,&rdquo; Arbour said. &ldquo;Playing all these positions shouldn&rsquo;t hurt his game, it should enhance it.&rdquo;When Hogue was playing baseball at age 15 in Quebec, he&rsquo;d often play Centerfield, shortstop and pitch in the same game. Just basic training for what the Islanders expect of him.ACTON CLAIMED: In his ongoing search for pesky players, general manager Don Maloney picked up Keith Acton Oct. 22.Acton, 35, is one of the most agitating players in the NHL. The center was claimed on waivers from the Washington Capitals.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a guy everybody hates to play against,&rdquo; Maloney said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the kind of guy we want on our team.&rdquo;Acton, a five-team NHL veteran, played the last four seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers before being signed by the Capitals prior to this season. He was scoreless with 21 penalty minutes in six games this season. He has 224 goals, 575 points, and 1,122 penalty minutes in 952 career games.NOTEBOOK: The Islanders and Ray Ferraro avoided salary arbitration when they agreed to a contract Oct. 18. Ferraro signed a two-year deal worth $700,000 per season with incentives that could add another $100,000. Ferraro was scheduled to make $320,000. Ferraro got his 600th career point when he assisted on a goal by Tom Kurvers against the Pittsburgh Penguins Oct. 19&hellip;The Islanders agreed to terms with backup goaltender Tom Draper Oct. 19, the morning of his first start against Pittsburgh. He will get $325,000 per season for two years.<h2>N.Y. ISLANDERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 18: Ray Ferraro. C. signed two-year contract. Oct. 19: Tom Draper. G, signed two-year contract Oct. 20: Joe Day, LW, assigned to Salt Lake (IHL). Oct. 22: Keith Acton. C, claimed on waivers from Washington.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Pierre Turgeon, Ray Ferraro, Travis Green. Claude Loiselle. Keith Acton.LW-Derek King. Benoit Hogue. Marty McInnis.RW-Steve Thomas, Pat Flatley, Brad Dalgamo, Mick Vukota, Bob McGill.LD-Vladimir Malakhov, Tom Kurvers, Dennis VaskeRD-Uwe Krupp. Scott Lachance, Darius Kasparaitis, Rich Pilon. Wayne Mc-Bean.G-Ron Hextall. Tom Draper<h3>INJURIES</h3>David Votek, LW, left shoulder separation, day-to-day. &#9632;

Snakebitten Hogue can’t find the answers

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div>A decade after breaking in with the New Jersey Devils, one of the organization&rsquo;s elder statesmen was ready to collect his reward.Defenseman Ken Daneyko agreed to a four-year contract on Oct. 18 that will pay him more than $800,000 per season and make him the club&rsquo;s third highest-paid player.The agreement coincided with the Devils&rsquo; 7-0-0 start, by far the best in team history. It also came as Daneyko became the league&rsquo;s ironman, extending his consecutive games-played streak to 318, the longest streak among active players in the NHL.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m committed to the Devils and they&rsquo;ve made a commitment to me,&rdquo; Daneyko said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy to be here. I&rsquo;ve said that a million times. I like it here. I like the team. Obviously, anything could happen over the next few years, but this assumes I&rsquo;m going to be here a while.&rdquo;Since he became a regular in 1986, Daneyko has missed only seven games. Despite injuries, he has played in every game the past three seasons.The 29-year-old was set to break Kirk Muller&rsquo;s team record of 321 consecutive games played. Daneyko was poised to tie Muller&rsquo;s mark Oct. 31 against the New York Rangers and break it three days later in Los Angeles.&ldquo;The streak is fun. I take pride in it, especially the way I play-aggressive-ly,&rdquo; Daneyko said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;ll take a lot to get me out of the lineup.&rdquo;It would be inconceivable, considering the way the Devils opened the season. Daneyko had a special appreciation for the way the team performed under coaches Jacques Lemaire and Larry Robinson.&ldquo;What Jacques and Larry did was bring us together,&rdquo; Daneyko said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve thought as a team instead of individuals. Everybody is playing well, it&rsquo;s fun to come to the rink.&rdquo;There was an added incentive. Daneyko was married during the offseason and Muller attended.Muller&rsquo;s stories about winning the Stanley Cup made Daneyko jealous.&ldquo;Kirk said there&rsquo;s nothing like winning the Cup,&rdquo; Daneyko said. &ldquo;A lot of my friends like Kirk, Mark Messier and others, have won. No doubt you have some envy. No matter what happens, those guys have some fulfillment in their careers.&rdquo;ROOKIE BATTLE: While most of the attention was focused on Jason Smith, the first pick in the 1992 draft, fellow rookie Jaroslav Modry quietly stepped forward and won a job as one of the top six defensemen.Seven games into the year, Modry played regularly while Smith was assigned to the Albany River Rats of the American League to get much-needed ice time.&ldquo;Jason came on strong, but had one bad exhibition game and seemed to lose confidence,&rdquo; said general manager Lou Lamoriello. &ldquo;We knew Modry had speed and skills, but we didn&rsquo;t know how he&rsquo;d adapt to the NHL.&rdquo;Modry, a 22-year-old native of the Czech Republic, played well as a power-play point man. A skilled skater, he credited Larry Robinson with teaching him positioning tips.NOTEBOOK: According to Lou Lamoriello, Jason Smith will not be given a chance to play for the Canadian Olympic team because the Devils want to keep him playing &ldquo;an NHL style.&rdquo;&hellip;Rookie goalie Martin Brodeur registered his NHL first shutout Oct. 20, 4-0 over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.The Devils&rsquo; previous best start was 4-0-0 in 1991-07<h2>NEW JERSEY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct 18: Ken Daneyko, D. agreed to tour-year contract. Oct. 23: Jason Smith, D, assigned to Albany (AHL). Oct 22: Tommy Albelin, D. assigned to Albany.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Alexander Semak, Bernie Nicholls, Corey Millen, Mike Peluso, Bobby Carpenter.LW-Valeri Zelepukin, Stephane Richer, Bobby Holik, Tom Chorske.RW-Claude Lemieux, John MacLean. Bill Guerin. Randy McKay.LD-Scott Stevens, Bruce Driver, Viacheslav Fetisov.RD-Ken Daneyko, Scott Niedermayer, Jaroslav Modry.G-Chris Terreri, Martin Brodeur.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Peter Sidorklewicz, G, right shoulder surgery, indefinite. &#9632;

Daneyko seeing commitment both ways

<div class="byline">By Rick Carpiniello</div>On the night he beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 at Madison Square Garden, someone pointed out to New York Rangers&rsquo; goalie Mike Richter that it had been seven months and five days since his last victory.&ldquo;Really,&rdquo; Richter said in mock surprise. &ldquo;Where the heck have I been?&rdquo;Where, indeed?Richter defeated the San Jose Sharks last March 19-also the fateful evening Brian Leetch broke his ankle getting out of a taxi.Since that night, Richter had gone 0-10-0 in 11 starts, 0-6-0 last year and 0-4-0 this season before the victory over the Kings Oct. 24. He has been bad, not-so-bad and unlucky. He has been behind a struggling team, and he has struggled behind it.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been in a pretty odd situation,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve felt pretty good in some of the games I lost. But when you sit there thinking, &lsquo;I played okay&rsquo; that&rsquo;s exactly what you&rsquo;re going to get. You&rsquo;ve got to find a way to win.&rdquo;Richter didn&rsquo;t know if he&rsquo;d get the chance to play against L.A. He had been in goal for losses to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Tampa Bay Lightning. But coach Mike Keenan came right back with Richter for the L.A. game.Keenan figured Richter wasn&rsquo;t to blame for the losses and deserved another chance. He also noted Richter was 5-0-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average lifetime against the Kings.AT IT AGAIN: The day after the Mighty Ducks&rsquo; loss, Keenan skated the Rangers through an extremely hard practice. The day after that practice, however, Keenan didn&rsquo;t let up.After about 15 minutes of that session, Keenan slammed his stick over a crossbar and sent the players to the dressing room, where he closed the doors and lectured them.Keenan then sent the players out on the ice and was seen and heard yelling at several individual players.While nobody was willing to publicly criticize him, there was a lot of grumbling amongst the players.He had annoyed several players for repeated benchings of defenseman Brian Leetch, who is seen as a scapegoat. Keenan has also pushed several regulars from last year-James Patrick, Ed Olczyk and Sergei Zubov-to persona non grata status.After the Tampa Bay game, a 4-1 loss. Keenan was asked if his tactics might be contributing to the team playing scared or uptight.&ldquo;I guess that&rsquo;s a possibility,&rdquo; Keenan said. &ldquo;But it&rsquo;s better to find out who can handle those situations in October than in the springtime.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: James Patrick appears to be on his way out. The senior Ranger was out of the lineup for the fourth time in seven games. He met with team president Neil Smith&hellip;Mike Keenan had this to say for benchings of defenseman Sergei Zubov on WFAN-radio&rsquo;s pregame show: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s the worst-fit athlete on the team.&rdquo; Keenan added that Zubov had a &ldquo;bad attitude&rdquo; when he reported to training camp.<h2>N.Y. RANGERS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 21: Joby Messier, D, and Mattias Norstrom, D. assigned to Binghamton (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mark Messier. Sergei Nemchinov. Darren Turcotte. Esa Tikkanen, Ed Olczyk.LW-Adam Graves. Greg Gilbert. Mike Hartman, Phil Bourque.RW-Alexei Kovalev. Mike Gartner, Joey Kocur, Tony Amonte, Jim Hiller.LD-Brian Leetch. Jay Wells, Kevin Lowe, Peter Andersson.RD-Alexander Karpovtsev. Doug Lidster, James Patrick, Sergei Zubov.G-Glenn Healy. Mike Richter<h3>INJURIES</h3>Mike Hudson. C, fractured left hand, indefinite. &#9632;

Richter finds solace in win

<div class="byline">By Craig Dolch</div>The Florida Panthers&rsquo; power-play unit needs a new name-and an overhaul.That&rsquo;s because through nine games, Florida&rsquo;s power play was anything but powerful.The Panthers scored only six times in 50 chances for a conversion rate of 12 per cent. That was better than only the San Jose Sharks.And for a team that was playing a lot of close games and relying heavily on its special teams, the lack of production from the power play was frustrating. It was also the biggest disappointment in what was an otherwise successful start for the expansion team.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what the problem is. If I had the answer&hellip;,&rdquo; said right winger Scott Mellanby, not bothering to complete the sentence.Florida allowed two shorthanded goals that proved to be the difference in 2-1 losses-to the Pittsburgh Penguins Oct. 12 and New Jersey Devils Oct. 23.The power play struggled particularly after right winger Scott Levins injured his back Oct. 19 against the Los Angeles Kings. Levins is adept at controlling the puck and creating chances in front of the net. His two power-play goals were good enough for a share of the team lead with center Jesse Belanger.But general manager Bob Clarke said teams, especially expansion clubs, have to overcome injuries.&ldquo;(Levins) is a big part of our power play,&rdquo; Clarke said. &ldquo;But somebody has to step forward and start scoring.&rdquo;Mellanby said that was only part of the problem.&ldquo;(Levins) is good at keeping it in when we get it into the offensive end,&rdquo; Mellanby said. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;re having a hard time getting it in the offensive zone.&rdquo;Coach Roger Neilson relied on the combination of left winger Dave Lowry, center Rob Niedermayer, Mellanby and defensemen Joe Cirella and Brent Severyn as his top power-play unit. He then sent in Evgeny Davydov, Belanger and Andrei Lomakin out as his second unit. But neither group was having much success.SO CLOSE: The Panthers were upset with their 2-4-3 start, considering they were in the thick of things every game.Three of the four losses were by a goal and in the 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues Oct. 7, they allowed an empty-net goal in the final minute.&ldquo;We could have won them all,&rdquo; Roger Neilson said. &ldquo;We just haven&rsquo;t learned how to win.&rdquo;&ldquo;You see some worried faces,&rdquo; said center Brian Skrudland. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s getting frustrating to play teams tough and come up short. This is starting to get repetitious and we have some players who are very mad about it.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Panthers&rsquo; president Bill Torrey has been encouraged with the average attendance of 13,488 for the season&rsquo;s first five games, which represents 94 per-cent capacity at 14,300-seat Miami Arena. The Panthers sold out two of their first five home games.<h2>FLORIDA</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 20: Jeff Greenlaw. LW, recalled from Cincinnati (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Rob Niedennayer, Brian Skrudland, Jesse Belanger. Tom Fitzgerald. Randy Gilhen.LW-Dave Lowry, Mike Hough, Evgeny Davydov, Bill Lindsay, Jeff Greenlaw.RW-Scott Mellanby, Jody Hull. Andrei Lomakin.LD-Alexander Godynyuk, Brent Severyn.RD-Joe Cirella, Gord Murphy, Greg Smyth, Paul LausG-John Vanbiesbrouck, Mark Fite.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Brian Benning, D, dislocated left shoulder, indefinite. Keith Brown. D, hairline fracture of larynx, indefinite. Scott Levins, RW, injured tailbone, indefinite. &#9632;

Punchless power play shoots nothing but blanks

<div class="byline">By Dave Sell</div>When the Washington Capitals braintrust was planning this season, Brian Curran was a minor part of the plan. That&rsquo;s minor, as in he would play in the minors all season.Like other teams trying to save money, the Capitals have fewer minor-league players under contract. That meant their affliate, the Portland Pirates of the American League, had to sign other players for their roster. That&rsquo;s how Curran got to Portland. He got to Washington because rugged defenseman Enrico Ciccone was proving a bit too raw for steady work.&ldquo;There was probably little chance,&rdquo; Curran said of the liklihood he would be in an NHL uniform. Curran played Oct. 22 against the Los Angeles Kings, his first NHL game since 1991-92.Unfortunately, bringing up Curran cost the Capitals a player. Curran had to be signed to an NHL contract before he could play. NHL rules stipulate that when a player is signed after the waiver draft, he or another must go through waivers. The Capitals chose Keith Acton, hoping no team would pick up the 35-year-old center with a $450,000 (U.S.) contract. But the New York Islanders did.&ldquo;I took a gamble and lost,&rdquo; said general manager David Poile.Curran is the epitome of a journeyman. He&rsquo;ll be 30 Nov. 5. The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder knows he&rsquo;s not the most-talented defenseman. He knows his job is to clear rebounds and knock people down.&ldquo;They have enough guys to go up ice,&rdquo; he said of the other defensemen.Curran became a cult figure in Portland by collecting 44 penalty minutes in his first game. One of his fights occurred in the penalty box after a Providence Bruins&rsquo; player wanted to continue a scrum and went into the box after Curran.He is also a realist. If he was once a bright, young prospect picked early in the 1982 draft (22nd overall), he is now practical. In 10 seasons, he has played 356 games for five teams.&ldquo;I need 44 games for my pension,&rdquo; Curran said, referring to a pension that kicks in at 400 games. &ldquo;It would be nice to see the team turn around, be here and be a part of it.&rdquo;LOW RETURN: The Caps didn&rsquo;t get much-a fifth-round draft pick in 1995-when they traded Pat Elynuik to the Tampa Bay Lightning Oct. 24.But rookie Pat Peake, who got much of Elynuik&rsquo;s ice time, was making an impact. He had an assist in his second game which ended a six-game losing streak. He added three more points in his next game.NOTEBOOK: The Capitals lost their first four road games of the season before beating the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 Oct. 24 in their first overtime&hellip;Goalie Rick Tabaracci won all three games he played with Portland while on rehabilitation. Tabaracci tore the medial collateral ligament of his right knee. He joined the Capitals in Calgary, which was the second stop on a five-game western road trip.<h2>WASHINGTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct 21: Rick Tabaracci. G, assigned to Portland (AHL). Oct. 22: Jason Woolley, D. assigned to Portland. Brian Curran, D, recalled from Portland, signed contract. Oct. 24: Keith Acton. C. claimed on waivers by the New York Islanders. Pat Elynuik. RW, traded to Tampa Bay for a fifth-round draft pick In 1995. Oct 25: Tabaracci recalled from Portland.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mike Ridley. Michal Pivonka, Dave Poulin, Steve Konowalchuk.LW-Dimitri Khristich, Randy Bumdge, Kelly Miller. Craig Berube.RW-Todd Krygier. Pat Peake, Peter Bondra, Kerth Jones, Alan May.LD-AI lafrate, Calle Johansson, Brian Curran, Shawn Anderson.RD-Sylvain Cote. Kevin Hatcher,G-Don Beaupre, Byron Dafoe, Rick<h3>INJURIES</h3>Olie Kolzig, G, dislocated knee cap. &#9632;

Curran unlikely candidate to fill hole on defense

<div class="byline">By Roy Cummings</div>Brent Gretzky has been living in his famous brother&rsquo;s shadow all his life. On Oct. 20. he played in it.Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Brent Gretzky faced off against big brother Wayne in an NHL game for the first time as the Tampa Bay Lightning took on the Los Angeles Kings at the ThunderDome.This was supposed to be Brent&rsquo;s big night. But in the end. it was just another in a long line of big nights for Wayne.Submitting further evidence that his decision to contemplate retirement last summer was premature, the elder Gretzky scored one goal and set up two others to lead the Kings to a 4-3 win before a crowd of 21,536.As for Brent, he rang a backhander off the post midway through the third period. But he was held pointless. Wayne was somewhat disappointed by his little brother&rsquo;s failure to find the mark.&ldquo;I sort of chuckled when he hit the post,&rdquo; Wayne said. &ldquo;I was wishing the score would have been 6-2 or 5-2 and he could have scored. But I thought he played well. I&rsquo;m sure it being only his second game in the league it was nerve-wracking for him.&rdquo;Brent, who was called up from the International League affiliate Atlanta Knights the day before, said he was more nervous about this game than any other.&ldquo;It hit me coming up the ramp for the warm-up,&rdquo; said Brent, 11 years younger than Wayne. &ldquo;I heard somebody mention Wayne&rsquo;s name and my legs turned to spaghetti.&rdquo;The younger Gretzky didn&rsquo;t play a nervous game. He forechecked hard, created scoring chances and even threw a check at his big brother.&ldquo;Yeah, he knocked me into the boards,&rdquo; Wayne said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect that.&rdquo; Wayne might not have expected to lose a faceoff to Brent, but he did.&ldquo;I just wanted to win one faceoff against him,&rdquo; said Brent, who lost four of five against Wayne. &ldquo;I think he let me win it.&ldquo;Of course, he should have. I think my dad showed favoritism by teaching Wayne how to take a draw better than he taught me. He also taught him how to put the puck in the net better.&rdquo;TRADER PHIL: Injuries to Rob DiMaio and Adam Creighton forced general manager Phil Esposito to engage in his favorite hobby Oct. 22.In need of offensive depth, Esposito traded a 1995 fifth-round draft pick to the Washington Capitals for right winger Pat Elynuik.Elynuik, 25, has averaged more than 60 points per season in his five-year career with the Winnipeg Jets and Washington. He had fallen into disfavor with Washington management, who unloaded him in order to give rookie Pat Peake more playing time.NOTEBOOK: Rookie Chris Gratton scored his first NHL goal in Tampa Bay&rsquo;s 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings Oct. 20 and he followed that with a shorthanded goal in their 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers Oct. 22&hellip;Shawn Chambers will be out of action until the second week of November after floating tissue was removed from his right knee Oct. 22.Brian Bradley sustained a mild recurrence of the left shoulder injury that forced him to miss the first three games of the season.<h2>TAMPA BAY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 18: Brent Gretzky, C, recalled from Atlanta (IHL). Oct. 22: Pat Elynuik, RW, obtained from Washington for a fifth-round draft pick in 1995 draft.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Denis Savard, Bill McDougall, Chris Gratton. Brent Gretzky.LW-Danton Cote, Rob Zamuner, Marc Bureau, Gerard Gallant.RW-Petr Klima, John Tucker, Pat Elynuik, Mikael Andersson.LD-Joe Reekie, Roman Hamrlik, Normand Rochefort.RD-Bob Beers, Marc Bergevin, Rudy Poeschek.G-Daren Puppa, Pat Jablonski.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Brian Bradley C, left shoulder bruise, day-to-day. Shawn Chambers. D, right knee surgery, Nov. 7. Adam Creighton. C, strained right knee, Nov. 14 Rob DiMaio, C. broken left leg, indefinite Donald. Dufresne. D, back strain, day-to-day. Wendell Young, G. right shoulder surgery, indefinite. &#9632;

Wayne comes out on top in first battle of Gretzkys

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011274/6145648-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="378" height="532"></div>Alexandre Daigle trades his hockey uniform for a nurse&rsquo;s outfit in a trading card advertisement and the Ottawa Senators have a cow.Manon Rheaume is featured in cheesey advertising for the Classic Card company and the silence is deafening.Between them, Daigle, who posed in a series of outfits, including that of a bullfighter, a firefighter and yes, a female nurse, and Rheaume, hockey&rsquo;s female pioneer, inadvertently showcased the rigidly macho and sometimes downright stupid mentality of pro sports.Despite blustery assurances from Senators&rsquo; management the ad was in poor taste, what Daigle did was a joke. It was harmless fun, the same kind that features NBA players dressed up as their grandmothers in one sneaker commercial or another.But here&rsquo;s the hook.When Daigle posed out of uniform, he was a hockey player pretending to be a woman. When Rheaume did likewise, she reinforced an image of a woman pretending to be a hockey player. The first message is harmless. Of the second, I&rsquo;m not so sure.Daigle is a hockey player. Rheaume is more: she is a symbol, both to men and to women that woman can and will, if given the chance, compete in a male milieu.Physiology means that in this particular venue, the NHL, the overwhelming majority of women can&rsquo;t compete. You could say the same thing about firefighting or coal mining. But Rheaume tries and we, I believe, are the better for it.So even if her presence with the Knoxville Cherokees in the East Coast League is the greatest straight-faced gag since Bill Veeck sent midget Eddie Gaedel to the plate, it&rsquo;s a no-lose proposition.The ECHL gets a draw. Rheaume gets her chance. More importantly, boys and girls are prompted to rethink gender roles and that, in a world tom by hideous treatment of women by men, can only be a good thing.That&rsquo;s what makes some recent advertisements so disappointing.&ldquo;Hockey has never been this hot,&rdquo; says the copy beside a full-page Classic ad. The ad shows Rheaume perched on a stool dressed in jeans and a black leather jacket.Then there&rsquo;s Classic&rsquo;s ad for its 1993 Hockey Draft Collection. The full-page ad shows 10 players, from Alexander Mogilny to Paul Kariya in full equipment, get this, playing hockey. Rheaume&rsquo;s card, meanwhile, pictures her wearing a short sleeve shirt with a modest neckline. She&rsquo;s smiling radiantly into the camera. &ldquo;Up Close and Personal&rdquo; says the copy.Now, as far as cheesecake goes, these presentations are tame. But they underscore the dark side of Rheaume&rsquo;s fame. How do you exploit a personality whose most marketable aspect is gender without exploiting her sexuality?It&rsquo;s a question her agent Steve Bartlett grapples with every day.&ldquo;Look, we&rsquo;re not trying to paint her as the hockey slut,&rdquo; Bartlett said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s very unfair.&rdquo;Bartlett said he has rejected hundreds of offers, because he and Rheaume viewed them as exploitative.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-02999/6145641-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="568" height="784"><figcaption class="caption-body">Manon Rheaume</figcaption></div>But Bartlett freely admits he and Rheaume, who could not be reached for comment, want to have their cake and eat it too. They want her recognized as a serious athlete. Still, &ldquo;we would be naive to suggest that part of her appeal isn&rsquo;t the fact that she&rsquo;s an attractive woman,&rdquo; Bartlett said.Classic&rsquo;s director of special projects Steve Charendoff said the ads are not in bad taste and Rheaume&rsquo;s appeal to the company lies in the athletic, not the aesthetic.Even if they&rsquo;re over the line, you may wonder who really loses. Well, maybe your daughter does, because one of a select few genuine role models is being compromised.Maybe your son does, because he has received yet another message, this one in his hockey cards, that women have no other context other than the sexual.And maybe we all do, for exactly the same reasons. &#9632;

f0016-01

Rheaume card ads cross the line

<div class="byline">By Stan Fischler</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-03" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-03744/6145679-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BRUCE BENNETT/BBS)</figcaption></div>Watch for a slow, but deliberate movement among NHL power brokers. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will eventually slip into the background while senior vice-president and director of hockey operations Brian Burke steps up front and center. It&rsquo;s part of the commissioner&rsquo;s long-range plan in which he concentrates on business instead of publicity. Bettman has told NHL confidantes that he has to spend his first year as the attention-getter until the league gets on track. When that&rsquo;s done, Bettman will be less obvious. Burke will then become the power figure in hockey, a role not envisioned by many when he was appointed to his post Sept. 1&hellip;If Tim Cheveldae is still a Detroit Red Wing by Christmas, then there is a Santa Claus, but his name isn&rsquo;t Scotty Bowman.<h2>Power of one</h2>Harry Sinden&rsquo;s campaign against runaway salaries has support at the league level, but one NHL official told Bluelines, &ldquo;The problem is that Harry is only one vocal GM and he&rsquo;s being swept away by the tide.&rdquo;&hellip;When all is said and done, Steve Larmer erred in not showing up at the Chicago Blackhawks&rsquo; camp, not starting the season and not keeping his ironman streak alive. There had to have been a better way of handling his dispute&hellip;The best coach in the NHL has to be Terry Simpson of the Philadelphia Flyers.<h2>Fighting words</h2>So you don&rsquo;t think the NHL endorses fighting? Check out the ESPN2 promotions or the Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; in a recent newspaper advertisement: &ldquo;Last year, Rob Ray spent 211 minutes in the penalty box,&rdquo; the ad says. &ldquo;This year he&rsquo;s gonna get tough.&rdquo;&hellip;One of the saddest aspects of the North Stars&rsquo; departure from Minnesota is that play-by-play ace Al Shaver, who had been with the club for all of their 26 years in the NHL, did not move on to Dallas with the team. However, Shaver will stay in the business, handling University of Minnesota Golden Gopher games with former North Star coach Glen Sonmor&hellip;The Winnipeg Jets do their share of needling Keith Tkachuk and Kris King about their generous ear sizes. Said Tkachuk: &ldquo;Every time I see Kris I tell him to close the doors on the cab.&rdquo;<h2>Go ahead, strike</h2>Some NHL owners are virtually daring the referees to go on strike. As one told Bluelines, &ldquo;We bitch about them anyway and now they have the gall to ask more than Major League Baseball umpires are getting.&rdquo; During an executive conference call to discuss strike possibilities, a governor offered that an officials&rsquo; walkout would give the league an opportunity to experiment with the two-referee system by using replacement officials. &ldquo;This would be as good a time as any for us to try out the new techniques,&rdquo; the owner told Bluelines.<h2>Writing Thomas</h2>New York Islander Steve Thomas turned author for the first time in his life, writing in the team&rsquo;s magazine. Thomas wrote the only player he ever saw who could get Mike Keenan to back down in an exchange of ideas was Dirk Graham&hellip;It went virtually unheralded, but Jean-Jacques Daigneault being named the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; alternate captain caps a neat comeback off hockey&rsquo;s slag heap by one of the nicest guys this side of Jacques Demers&hellip;It&rsquo;s still hard to figure out why Terry Yake couldn&rsquo;t cut it with the Hartford Whalers&hellip;How about a three-way tie for executive of the year among Cliff Fletcher, Jack Ferreira and Bill Torrey?&hellip;In Toronto they&rsquo;re saying Felix Potvin is for real. It says here they&rsquo;d better wait a year.<h2>No its, ands, butts</h2>In a primer for first-time fans, the San Jose Mercury offered two bits of advice: 1. When you go to the arena, sit up in the $14 rafter seats and yell, &ldquo;Hit &rsquo;em with the butt end of your stick!&rdquo; You&rsquo;ll feel right at home. And, 2. Stay away from the butt end of sticks. Meanwhile, the Miami Herald did likewise and even had an apparel suggestion: &ldquo;Dressing out of Esquire or Cosmopolitan isn&rsquo;t fashionable. The true fan wears a hockey jersey.&rdquo;&hellip;Although the NHL Players&rsquo; Association has rated Cleveland the best neutral-site city, don&rsquo;t expect the league to locate an expansion franchise at the new Gateway Arena. The rink will be operated by San Jose Sharks&rsquo; co-owner Gordon Gund who says, &ldquo;(Cleveland in the NHL) is a long way off.&rdquo;<h2>FRESH FACES</h2>Markus NasluncBorn: Omskoldsvik, Swe.Age: 20Team: Pittsburgh PenguinsHeight: 6 feetWeight: 186 poundsPosition: Left wingHow acquired: Pittsburgh&rsquo;s first-round choice (16th overall) in 1991 &#9632;

f0016-03

Burke will become league’s media star in future

<div class="byline">By Robyn Norwood</div>The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim accomplished in one night something it took the Ottawa Senators six months and 40 games to do.They won on the road, and did it in their first attempt, beating the New York Rangers 4-2 Oct. 19 at Madison Square Garden.&ldquo;This makes it easy to relax and not think, &lsquo;We&rsquo;ve got to get a win on the road,&rsquo;&rdquo; said coach Ron Wilson.After a 7-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in the season-opener, the Ducks built their confidence with an early four-game unbeaten streak that included victories over the Edmonton Oilers and the Rangers and ties against the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames.The Ducks have earned positive reviews for their disciplined style.&ldquo;We just play hard and work hard,&rdquo; Wilson said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re a forechecking team. We&rsquo;ve got a lot of guys who have played on third and fourth lines on teams and know how to do the job in their end of the rink.&rdquo;The Ducks&rsquo; offensive strategy of dumping the puck in and digging it out against the boards was reasonably successful, but they also endured a five-period scoreless streak during losses to the New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question we&rsquo;re not going to get many easy or pretty goals,&rdquo; said right winger Terry Yake, who scored the team&rsquo;s first hat trick against the Rangers.KARIYA WATCH: General manager Jack Ferreira, coach Ron Wilson, club president Tony Tavares and assistant coach Tim Army were in the stands when first-round draft pick Paul Kariya and his Maine teammates played at Providence College Oct. 22.Kariya, who won the Hobey Baker Award as a freshman and was the fourth pick overall at the 1993 entry draft, will join the Canadian Olympic team Dec. 10. The Ducks are eager for him to sign after the Olympics, but he remains undecided about whether to turn pro immediately afterward or return to Maine.&ldquo;Everywhere I go, people have my schedule written out and they say I&rsquo;m going to Anaheim after the Olympics,&rdquo; Kariya said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never, ever stated that to anyone. There&rsquo;s a big chance I&rsquo;m going to return to the University of Maine.&rdquo;The X-factor is the post-season. If he believes Maine has a real shot at repeating as the NCAA champion, Kariya might go back to Orono. And if the Ducks somehow climb into the playoff picture, that would play a part, too.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Todd Ewen, defenseman Sean Hill and Jack Ferreira all received Stanley Cup rings during the team&rsquo;s first visit to Montreal. Ewen and Hill played for the Canadiens last season, and Ferreira was Montreal&rsquo;s director of pro scouting before he was hired in Anaheim.<h2>ANAHEIM</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Anatoli Semenov, Patrik Carnback, Shaun Van Allen, Bob Corkum.LW-Troy Loney. Tim Sweeney, Stu Grimson, Garry Valk.RW-Joe Sacco, Terry Yake. Jim Thomson, Todd Ewen, Steven King, Robin Bawa.LD-Bill Houlder, Mark Ferner, Randy Ladouceur. Bobby Dollas.RD-Sean Hill, Alexei Kasatonov, Myles O&rsquo;Connor.G-Ron Tugnutt, Guy Hebert.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Peter Douris, RW, sprained left knee ligament, day-to-day. &#9632;

Collective sigh of relief after first road win

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div>It appears the Vancouver Canucks and 60-goal scorer Pavel Bure are going to play a little Russian Roulette at the bargaining table.Bure, the Canucks&rsquo; marquee player, is in the third year of a four-year deal he signed before entering the league. He will earn about $1 million this season, less than half the money being paid to Ottawa Senators&rsquo; rookie Alexandre Daigle.Based on the 76-cent Canadian dollar, Bure may be the NHL&rsquo;s best bargain at roughly $760,000 U.S. dollars. When Kelly Kisio and Kelly Miller are making more, it&rsquo;s obvious the Russian Rocket has substantial ground to recover.However, attempts at a renegotiated contract between the club and Bure&rsquo;s L.A.-based agent Ron Salcer have not come to fruition. So the parties will wait.&ldquo;Pavel&rsquo;s fine with it,&rdquo; said Salcer, who met his client in San Jose Oct. 23. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just 22 and all he wants to do is have fun playing hockey. It all builds from what you do on the ice and we want Pavel to keep doing positive things.&rdquo;If Bure banks another 60-goal season and lifts his performance in the playoffs, he will be in a tremendous bargaining position. The Canucks&rsquo; new 20,000-seat arena is slated to open in 1995-96 and it seems inconceivable the organization would allow Bure to play out his option before then.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not big fans of renegotiation,&rdquo; said assistant general manager George McPhee. &ldquo;It might be in everybody&rsquo;s best interests to wait. Winnipeg is waiting with Teemu Selanne. We&rsquo;re prepared to pay market value when the player&rsquo;s turn comes up.&rdquo;Many of the Canucks&rsquo; skilled forwards, including Trevor Linden, Greg Adams, Cliff Ronning and Geoff Courtnall, will be entering their option years along with Bure.CENTURY CITY: The stalled Pavel Bure talks obviously didn&rsquo;t affect the mercurial winger&rsquo;s start to the season.He collected seven goals and 13 points in Vancouver&rsquo;s first seven games and scored the 100th regularseason goal of his career against the Calgary Flames Oct. 21.He didn&rsquo;t score it on Mike Vernon, however, as the Flames&rsquo; netminder had been pulled for an extra attacker with Calgary trailing late in the game. Bure hit the empty net and the Canucks won 6-3.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011168/6145734-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="573" height="884"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Canucks will wait to give winger Pavel Bure a new deal.</figcaption></div>It took the Bure 154 games to reach the century mark, the fastest in Vancouver history and fifth fastest in league history. Former New York Islander sniper Mike Bossy did it in 129 games. Maurice Richard (134), Joe Nieuwendyk (144) and Wayne Gretzky (145) also scored their first 100 in less time.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy when I score, but I&rsquo;m more happy when the team wins,&rdquo; said Bure, who sustained a mild groin strain against the San Jose Sharks Oct. 24 and was listed as day-to-day.NOTEBOOK: Despite a poor 2-42 pre-season, the Canucks jumped off to a 7-1-0 start, the best in team history&hellip;The Calgary Saddledome has been a veritable graveyard for Canuck teams over the years. Vancouver&rsquo;s 63 victory Oct. 21 was only the fifth in 40 regular-season games (5-31-4).Reclamation project Jose Charbonneau had points in six straight games after sitting out the first two games of the season&hellip;Vancouver&rsquo;s first pick in the 1991 draft, Alek Stojanov, continues to be plagued with shoulder woes. The 230-pound winger injured his left shoulder in training camp and banged up his right shoulder while toiling for the Canucks&rsquo; farm team, the Hamilton Canucks in the American League. He has already had two operations on the right shoulder.<h2>VANCOUVER</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 18: Adrien Plavsic, D. recalled from Hamilton (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Cliff Ronning, Murray Craven. Greg Adams. John McIntyre.LW-Geoff Courtnall, Sergio Momesso. Gino Odjick, Shawn Antoski.RW-Trevor Linden. Jose Charttonneau, Tim Hunter. Dixon Ward.LD-Dana Murzyn, Dave Babych, Robert Dirk, Adnen Plavsic.RD-Gerald Diduck. Jyrki Lumme, Jiri Siegr.G-Kirk McLean. Kay Whitmore.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Pavel Bure, RW, groin strain, day-to-day. &#9632;

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Bargain basement Bure can’t cash in just yet

<div class="byline">By Mike Weaver</div>The disappointment of starting their third season with a winless streak has been magnified for the San Jose Sharks because of the surprisingly good beginnings enjoyed by the two expansion teams that joined the NHL this season.Strong starts by the Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim had the Sharks at the bottom of the overall standings after a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks Oct. 24. San Jose&rsquo;s record was 0-8-1.&ldquo;We have to sit here and eat crow right now,&rdquo; said director of hockey operations Dean Lombardi. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing we can say except this team will get better. It&rsquo;s frustrating, but we just have to take the hit and keep working.&rdquo;The biggest problem for the Sharks has been their inability to put the puck in the net. They managed more than two goals in only one of their first nine games.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re one little play away from turning these games into wins,&rdquo; said coach Kevin Constantine. &ldquo;The positive thing is in eight of the nine games, we could have had a tie or a win.&rdquo;Still, being just good enough to lose is becoming quite frustrating for the Sharks.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m tired of moral victories,&rdquo; Lombardi said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m tired of hearing about how we played one or two good periods, but had some lapses.&rdquo;The slow start has the players frustrated.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even want to talk about being close anymore,&rdquo; said winger Bob Errey said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t like being close.&rdquo;ROTATING DEFENSEMEN: The Sharks launched an experiment Oct. 21 in which their three rookie defensemen will take turns serving two-week assignments in the minors.The Sharks kicked off the experiment by assigning Vlastimil Kroupa, 18, to the Kansas City Blades of the International League. Mike Rathje, 19, and Michal Sykora, 20, are the other players who will be affected by the experiment.The move is designed to allow all three players to get continuous playing time. The Sharks had been playing two of the three rookies in every game, but never had all three in their lineup at the same time.&ldquo;We wanted a development plan that works for everybody,&rdquo; Dean Lombardi said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a situation where they&rsquo;re competing with one another. If a kid screws up in the minors, it&rsquo;s not such a big event.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Jay More is expected to be sidelined until early December after breaking his right wrist during an Oct. 23 game against the Vancouver Canucks. More was injured when he was checked into the boards by Dixon Ward&hellip;Center Gary Emmons, a 29-year-old rookie recalled from Kansas City Oct. 18, scored his first NHL goa in a 3-2 loss to Vancouver Oct. 24.Johan Garpenlov, who ranked second in team scoring last season, was held out of the Oct. 24 game against Vancouver because of his slow start He had a goal and three points in seven games.<h2>SAN JOSE</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 18: David Bruce, LW, and Dave Capuano, C, assigned to Kansas City (IHL). Gary Emmons. C, recalled from Kansas City. Oct. 21: Vlastimil Kroupa, D. assigned to Kansas City. Oct 23: Dale Craigwell, C, recalled from Kansas City.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Kip Miller, Gary Emmons, Dale Craigwell, Mike Sullivan, Jamie Baker.LW-Johan Garpenlov, Ray Whitney, Bob Errey, Gaetan Duchesne, Dave Matey.RW-Pat Ealloon, Sergei Makarov, Rob Gaudreau. Jeff Odgers.LD-Jeff Norton, Sandis Ozolinsh, Mike Lalor, Rob Zettler.RD-Mike Rathje, Doug Zmolek. Michal Sykora, Shawn Cronin.G-Arturs Irbe, Jimmy Waite.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jamie Baker, C, groin pull, day-to-day. Igor Larionov, C, separated. left shoulder, day-to-day. Jay More. D, broken right wrist Dec. 6. &#9632;

Skid creates envy of expansion peers

<div class="byline">By Bick Sadowski</div>Like his ice time, Jimmy Carson&rsquo;s patience was running thin.Already frustrated by infrequent shifts that were virtually devoid of power-play time, the Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; center expressed dissatisfaction over his status when he was among five players sat out Oct. 24 in a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers.Coach Barry Melrose also sat Alexei Zhitnik, Warren Rychel, Shawn McEachern and Mark Hardy. He replaced them with Marc Potvin, who hadn&rsquo;t played in any of the previous nine games, and minor-league callups Bob Jay, Rob Murphy, Dave Thomlinson and Brent Thompson.Carson, a Group II free agent who was re-signed to a three-year, $3.3 million deal, said he would request a trade if things didn&rsquo;t change.&ldquo;If they want a third- or a fourth-line center for six or seven minutes a game&hellip;something has to give, one way or the other,&rdquo; Carson said. &ldquo;I would like to know fairly quickly. If I&rsquo;m not going to be used properly, I would just as soon go somewhere else.&rdquo;Carson had 37 goals in 86 games last season, but only 12 goals in 34 games after the Kings acquired him from the Detroit Red Wings in the six-player trade that included defenseman Paul Coffey. He rarely saw the ice on power plays and sat out six playoff games.This season, Carson had two goals and five points in nine games, with his ice time barely registering on a stop watch.&ldquo;Barry tells me to work hard and to keep going, that I&rsquo;m going to be a part of the future,&rdquo; Carson said, &ldquo;but I think at this point actions speak louder than words.&rdquo;When reporters told general manager Nick Beverley to expect a knock on the door from Carson he said, &ldquo;Le him knock.&rdquo; Beverley said Carson&rsquo;s play had dropped off considerably since training camp.When asked if he would be adverse to dealing Carson, Beverley said &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see how it evolves. I&rsquo;m no adverse to anything that will keep the team focused, to be winners.&rdquo;UNDER FIRE: Coach Barry Mel rose and general manager Nick Beverley saved their best verbal shots for Alexei Zhitnik, a talented second-year defenseman whose play was mediocre.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s way off his game,&rdquo; Beverley said of the 21-year-old. &ldquo;He has showed very little of the drive and determination he had last year. I&rsquo;ve expressed dissatisfaction with Alex&rsquo;s game since Day 1.&rdquo;Melrose, who sat Zhitnik out for one game last season, said he was unhappy with Zhitnik&rsquo;s effort and said he was &ldquo;taking things for granted. Alex is one of the best defensemen in the league and he has got to get back to playing like that.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Brent Thompson made his season debut against the New York Rangers Oct. 24 after opening the year with the Kings&rsquo; farm team, the Phoenix Roadrunners of the International League. Thompson, 22, missed all of training camp while recovering from off-season abdominal surgery.<h2>LOS ANGELES</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct 22: Bob Jay. D, Rob Murphy, C. Dave Thomlinson. LW. and Brent Thompson, D, recalled from Phoenix (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Wayne Gretzky. Jari Kurri. Jimmy Carson. Pat Conacher, Rob Murphy.LW-Mike Donnelly. Luc Robitaille, Shawn McEachern, Warren Rychel. Dave Thomtinson.RW-Tomas Sandstrom. Tony Grana-to, Gary Shuchuk, Dave Taylor, Marc Potvin.LD-Alex Zhitnik, Darryl Sydor, Tim Watters, Brent Thompson.RD-Rob Blake. Charlie Huddy, Mark Hardy, Bob Jay.G-Kelly Hrudey, Robb Stauber.<h3>INJURIES</h3>None. &#9632;

Diminished playing time trying Carson’s patience

<div class="byline">By Dan Barnes</div>No ifs, ands or buts, the Target Centre in Minneapolis wants the Edmonton Oilers.Without any ifs, ands or buts.There have been rumors Oilers&rsquo; owner Peter Pocklington has a Target Centre lease deal all but under wraps, conditional on his ability to continue negotiating with Northlands on a Coliseum lease in Edmonton.But Target Centre executive director Dana Warg said Oct. 24 that likely wouldn&rsquo;t happen.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know what (Pocklington&rsquo;s) intentions are,&rdquo; Warg said, &ldquo;But we don&rsquo;t want to enter into a deal that has contingencies in it. It would just be a deal.&rdquo;Pocklington, general manager Glen Sather and director of marketing Stew MacDonald visited the Target Centre in mid-October and Pocklington was so impressed with the building and details of the deal he cancelled visits to two other unnamed U.S. cities.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve narrowed it down to Minneapolis,&rdquo; he said, referring to a potential new location for the Oilers if he can&rsquo;t strike a deal in Edmonton.Several other cities had been in the running, including Portland, Ore., Las Vegas, Houston and Phoenix.Negotiations between Pocklington&rsquo;s lawyers and Northlands continued, but were slow in developing.Pocklington must tell the NHL by Nov. 15 where he intends to place his team next season. A move by the Oilers would bring NHL hockey back to the state one season after the Minnesota North Stars left Bloomington for Dallas.A $1 surcharge on tickets for all Coliseum events has been proposed to raise $1.3 million for Northlands. Pocklington would then pay $1.5 million in rent. He likes the idea.But there are other problem areas including ad contracts and parking.Wheelock Whitney, the chairman of the task force appointed by Minnesota governor Arne Carlson to bring an NHL franchise back to the state, said the biggest problem they face in signing a new NHL tenant is a public versus private ownership question. The Target Centre is owned by Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner, who want to sell it.&ldquo;These things are very complicated. We have an arena that&rsquo;s privately owned. There must be a different kind of ownership,&rdquo; Whitney said. &ldquo;The bonds that are outstanding to finance that stadium would carry a much lower (interest) rate if there would be public ownership with the full backing of the community.&rdquo;NEW POSITION: Play seven years as a pro defenseman-but only nine games in the NHL as a left winger-and you&rsquo;d better pack a sense of humor wherever you go.Marc Laforge brought his when the Oilers recalled him from the Cape Breton Oilers of the American League Oct. 22. He replaced Dave Manson, who separated his right shoulder Oct. 22.Laforge, who played nine games for the Hartford Whalers in 1989, was candid about replacing Manson.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s good offensively. I suck offensively. Plain and simple,&rdquo; Laforge said. &ldquo;My junior coach told me &lsquo;The less you stickhandle Forgie, the better stickhandler you are.NOTEBOOK: The Oilers can&rsquo;t find a top-line right winger. They tried Roman Oksiuta, Steven Rice and Kirk Maltby, but all disappointed. Coach Ted Green then switched Shayne Corson from left wing to right wing and moved Todd Elik and then Dean McAmmond to left.<h2>EDMONTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 22: Marc Laforge, D, recalled from Cape Breton (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Jason Amon. Doug Weight, Vladimir Vujtek, Craig MacTavish. Todd Elik.LW-Shayne Corson, Zdeno Ciger, Dean McAmmond. Scott Pearson, Louie DeBrusk.RW-KIrk Maltby, Steven Rice. Kelly Buchberger, Shjon Podein, Roman Oksiuta.LD-Luke Richardson, Geoff Smith, Marc Laforge.RD-Igor Kravchuk. Ian Herbers, Brad Werenka, Chris Joseph.G-Bill Ranford, Fred Brathwaite.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dave Manson, D, separated right shoulder, indefinite. Scott Thornton, LW, sprained left ankle, indefinite. &#9632;

Moving team to Minny Pocklington’s choice

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div>Days before the Calgary Flames were to play their first-ever game in Anaheim, Joe Nieuwendyk received notification from the NHL.Either sign a contract by Oct. 17 or don&rsquo;t play against the Mighty Ducks.The unusual set of circumstances that led to this came about after Nieuwendyk-heading into his option year-did not sign option papers by the Sept. 10 deadline nor file for arbitration by the Sept. 20 deadline.As a result, he was obliged to work out a contract by the sixth game or not play until he did.With the deadline approaching, Nieuwendyk signed a two-year deal worth $1,825 million (U.S.). He&rsquo;ll get $900,000 this year and $925,000 next year. Those are numbers he can live with.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad we got it resolved,&rdquo; Nieuwendyk said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anybody was clear on the ruling.&rdquo;As a Group II free agent, Nieuwendyk figured playing out his option was not a viable alternative. Nor did he want to go to arbitration because of the hard feelings that that process can sometimes create.&ldquo;The owners have been good to me,&rdquo; Nieuwendyk said. &ldquo;So we just tried to find a fair solution.&rdquo;Nieuwendyk was the best Flame in camp and his good play carried over into the season. He scored seven goals in nine games and played the way he did in his second pro season when he scored 51 goals.&ldquo;I have a lot of confidence right now,&rdquo; Nieuwendyk said. &ldquo;When my legs are feeling the way they are, when I&rsquo;m able to confidently skate the way I have been lately, I seem to handle the puck better.&rdquo;Niewuendyk is carrying more weight on his 6-foot-l frame. For the first time in his career, he is more than 200 pounds. This is significant because the most important part of his game is getting planted in front of the net and digging in.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m feeling strong now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d love to maintain that, but back-to-back games and long road trips will probably wear me down.&rdquo;NORWOOD SIGNS: Free agent defenseman Lee Norwood went to camp with the Dallas Stars, but couldn&rsquo;t agree on a contract. So the Flames jumped into the negotiations and brought him in as insurance.Within days of his arrival, the Flames were talking of activating him because of injuries to three regulars.&ldquo;With his experience and knowhow, he could probably play,&rdquo; said Flames&rsquo; coach Dave King.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Trent Yawney skated for the first time since tearing a muscle in his shoulder before camp, but wasn&rsquo;t sure when he&rsquo;d be ready to return&hellip;.Paul Kruse had the cast removed from his broken foot and was getting close to returning.Ron Stern had a miracle recovery from a broken foot. Projected to miss at least three weeks, Stem was only out two games before getting clearance to play. &ldquo;I had no trouble skating,&rdquo; Stem said, &ldquo;just walking.&rdquo;<h2>CALGARY</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct 18: Mark Freer. C, assigned to Saint John (AHL) Oct. 20: Lee Norwood, D. signed contract. Oct. 22: Vesa Viitakoski, LW. assigned to Saint John.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Joe Nieuwendyk, Robert Reichei. Joel Otto, Ted Drury.LW-Gary Roberts. Paul Ranheim., Sandy McCarthy. German Titov.RW-Theo Fleury. Wes Walz. Ron Stem, Greg Paslawski.LD-Gary Suter. Frank Musil. Chris Dahlquist, Brad Miller.RD-Al Maclnnis. Kevin Dahl, Lee Norwood.G-Mike Vernon, Trevor Kidd, Jason Muzzatti. Jeff Reese.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Kelly Kisio, C. fractured kneecap, indefinite. Paul Kruse, LW, broken right toe, day-to-day. Michel Petit. D, hip pointer, day-to-day. Brad Schlegel, D, groin pull, indefinite. Trent Yawney, D. tom right shoulder muscle, indefinite. &#9632;

Satisfied Nieuwendyk now new and improved

<div class="byline">By THN staff</div>MONTREAL, Que.-Gordon &lsquo;Red&rsquo; Berenson became the greatest single-game scorer in the NHL with his six goals against Philadelphia but he readily admits he couldn&rsquo;t have done it without the help of his teammates.&ldquo;The players were all for me. They created the scoring opportunities and I would never have made it without their help,&rdquo; said the former Michigan College hockey flash.Berenson was quick to point out, too, that Flyers&rsquo; goalie Doug Favell wasn&rsquo;t all that bad. &lsquo;Three of the goals were breakaways and (Favell) was screened on another,&rdquo; the Blues&rsquo; center added.But no matter what Berenson says, his feat was indeed an NHL rarity.If history continues to repeat itself, what Berenson did in Philadelphia Nov. 7, will not happen again until 1992.Berenson&rsquo;s six goals against the Flyers tied the modern-era record for most goals in a game, established by Syd Howe of Detroit in 1944, or 24 years ago. And, 24 years prior to that, in 1920, Joe Malone of the Quebec Bulldogs set the all-time record for most goals in one NHL game when he scored seven against the Toronto St. Pats.The feats of Howe and Berenson both occurred after the inception of the redline.Berenson&rsquo;s performance marked the first time in the 52year history of the NHL a player had scored more than five goals in a road game and five goals had been scored only three time previously by players in road games-all in 1924-25 by Babe Dye of Toronto, Redvers Green of Hamilton and Harry Broadbent of the Montreal Maroons. Berenson became the first player in NHL history to score five consecutive goals in a game.The six goals by Berenson were among only 10 shots he took at Philadelphia goaltender Favell. He was stopped by Favell on his first shot but scored on each of his next five, was stopped on his seventh and scored his sixth goal on his eighth shot on the net. His four second-period goals equalled the record set by Harvey Jackson of Toronto in 1934 for most goals in a period and tied in 1943 by Max Bently of Chicago.The seven points Berenson picked up plus two other assists he had in the Blues&rsquo; four games last week, vaulted him into a four-way tie for second place in the individual scoring race, the highest a player from the West Division has been in the short history of the expanded NHL. &#9632;

‘Red’sees red light six times

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0023-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-01766/6145885-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ron Sedlbauer had 40 goals and just 16 assists for Vancouver in 1978-79.</figcaption></div>At his best, Ron Sedlbauer was a 40-goal man. At his worst, he was known as the &lsquo;Spaceman,&rsquo; a coach&rsquo;s nightmare.The common denominator throughout Sedlbauer&rsquo;s seven-year NHL career was the enigma factor. People playing or watching the game just couldn&rsquo;t figure out the Burlington, Ont., native.He was good when he wanted to be. He was a lost cause wandering aimlessly-hence the nickname &lsquo;Spaceman&rsquo;-at other times.&ldquo;Concentration was the limiting factor in my career,&rdquo; Sedlbauer said. &ldquo;I just couldn&rsquo;t figure it out. There were times when I had the confidence, I was playing well, getting lots of chances and I guess was brilliant.&ldquo;But there were also down times. When you lose that mental approach and confidence, it&rsquo;s murder. It was frustrating, not just for the coaches, but for myself.&rdquo;Sedlbauer was an imposing 6-foot-3, 200-pound left winger who would crash the net and bang in rebounds at any cost.After three seasons hovering near the 20-goal mark for the Vancouver Canucks in the 1970s, Sedlbauer hit on all cylinders in 1978-79. He led the team with 40 goals in 79 games and looked to be on his way to becoming a star.He was playing on a line with center Chris Oddleifson and right winger Hilliard Graves and every-thing Sedlbauer touched, it seemed, turned to goal. He had just 16 assists that season.&ldquo;Everything fell into place that season,&rdquo; Sedlbauer said. &lsquo;That&rsquo;s the benchmark I set for myself, but I was never able to attain that again which I guess is why I was out of hockey soon afterwards.&rdquo;Sedlbauer spent two more seasons in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring 23 and 22 goals. He was 26 when he retired in 1981, but did manage to play 430 games and qualified for the league&rsquo;s pension, a $250,000 payment at age 55.It didn&rsquo;t take Sedlbauer long to start his second career. In fact, he&rsquo;s in his 13th year with Cougar Shoes and is not yet 40.&ldquo;The very day after my last game I was starting work in the family business,&rdquo; said Sedlbauer, whose father and uncle started the firm in 1947.Sedlbauer was introduced to his future wife by roommate Tom Lysiak in Chicago. Susan and Ron have an eight-year-old son, Brendon, and live in Burlington. &#9632;

f0023-01

Canucks’ Spaceman Sedlbauer found touch for 40-goal season

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div>The St. Louis Blues got off to their best start ever, but it was misleading.The Blues started the year 5-1-1 but four of the five wins came against three of the NHL&rsquo;s newest teams.The expansion Florida Panthers led by a goal before the Blues came back and won the season opener 5-3 Oct. 7. They trailed the second-year Ottawa Senators by two before bouncing back to win their second game 7-5 Oct. 9.And in back-to-back games on the west coast, goalie Curtis Joseph had to fend off the &ldquo;fierce&rdquo; San Jose Sharks before the Blues could move in for the kill in strong third periods that propelled them to victories of 4-1 Oct. 19 and 5-2 Oct. 21.So, how does one judge the St. Louis Blues? By their record or by how they played? Even the players aren&rsquo;t sure.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;re playing at the top of our game right now,&rdquo; said defenseman Jeff Brown. &ldquo;There are 100 ways to look at it. It certainly hasn&rsquo;t been pretty, but it doesn&rsquo;t matter how you play, as long as you win.&rdquo;GREAT DEBATE: The Blues&rsquo; game Oct. 23 against the Pittsburgh Penguins sparked a debate.Are the Blues better off with offensive rearguard Phil Housley or would they have been better off with the physical presence of Marty McSorley?Housley, acquired from the Winnipeg Jets for Nelson Emerson and Stephane Quintal Sept. 24, was the Blues&rsquo; second choice. They signed McSorley to a five-year, $10-million free-agent offer sheet in the summer, but the Los Angeles Kings matched and traded McSorley to Pittsburgh.The Blues could use them both. Their most pressing need was a puck-moving defenseman, but they also need a tough defenseman to protect Curtis Joseph, who routinely takes a licking but keeps on ticking.NOTEBOOK: Brendan Shanahan was ejected from the game against San Jose Oct. 21 after attacking goalie Jimmy Waite and tackling him into the net. Waite slashed Shanahan in retaliation for an accidental spear Shanahan had inflicted while going for a rebound. So, why did Shanahan attack? &ldquo;He had this dirty look on his face,&rdquo; Shanahan said. &ldquo;I knew he intended to hurt me.&rdquo;<h2>ST. LOUIS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct 18: Denny Feigner. LW. assigned to Peoria (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Crarg Janney, Jim Montgomery. Bob Bassen, Tony Hrkac.LW-Kevm Miller, Brendan Shanahan. Kevin Miehm, Basil McRae.RW-Brett Hull, Igor Korolev, Philippe Bozon, Kelly Chase, Vitali Karamnov.LD-Murray Baron. Jeff Brown. Bret Hedican.RD-Phil Housley. Garth Butcher. Rick Zombo, Tom Tilley.G-Curtis Joseph, Jim Hrivnak.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Vitali Prokhorov, RW, broken toe on right foot, day-to-day Ron Sutter, C, abdominal surgery, indefinite. &#9632;

Team’s record start was anything but easy

<div class="byline">By Terry Egan</div>The Dallas Stars had reason to be fearful of the first part of their 199394 season.While the Stars only played four of their first nine games on the road, they were forced to deal with the Chicago Blackhawks twice, Quebec Nordiques, Montreal Canadiens and division rivals Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues.Only one game-an Oct. 21 date with the Ottawa Senators-was against a team that finished with fewer than 85 points last season.&ldquo;We figured if we could get through those games over. 500,&rdquo; said center Dave Gagner, &ldquo;that would be an accomplishment.&rdquo;The Stars did that, going 4-3-2. Included in that string was a 6-4 opening night win over the Detroit Red Wings, a 4-0 shutout of St. Louis Oct. 16 and a 5-3 win over the Blackhawks Oct. 18.Hard work was the key to the team&rsquo;s start. Coach Bob Gainey made it clear to his players if they don&rsquo;t produce, they won&rsquo;t play.Gainey sat out Derian Hatcher, Paul Cavallini, Ulf Dahlen (twice), rookie Jarkko Varvio and Dave Gagner at times for their sluggish play.It was the first time Gagner had been a healthy scratch since he was traded to the Stars in 1987.While the team&rsquo;s first nine starts were against formidable opponents, the next 11 seemed easier. Included in the stretch were two games against the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, two games against the lowly San Jose Sharks and one game each against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Hartford Whalers.WAKALUK GREAT: Backup goaltender Darcy Wakaluk has earned himself some playing time thanks to his stellar play.When the Stars left on a five-game road trip, Bob Gainey said he would start Wakaluk in at least one game. He started in Chicago Oct. 18 and beat the Blackhawks 5-3.Wakaluk then relieved Andy Moog in the third period of the team&rsquo;s next two road games, a 5-2 loss to Montreal Oct. 20 and a 6-5 win over the Ottawa Senators Oct. 21.The 27-year-old started against the Quebec Nordiques Oct. 23 and played well in a 3-2 loss.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not a matter of who is No. 1 and who is No. 2,&rdquo; Wakaluk said. &ldquo;One guy is not going to play all the games. It&rsquo;s a long season and it&rsquo;s going to take two guys to do that.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Veteran winger Dave Gagner scored the 200th goal of his career in the third period of the Stars&rsquo; loss to the Quebec Nordiques Oct. 23&hellip;Swedish defenseman Tommy Sjodin. a power-play specialist last season, played in just two of the team&rsquo;s first nine games.<h2>DALLAS</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mike Modano. Neal Broten, Dave Gagner, Dean Evason.LW-Ulf Dahlen. Mike McPhee. James Black, Brent Gilchrist. Chris Tancill.RW-Jarkko Varvio. Russ Courtnall, Paul Broten. Mike Craig, Shane Churfa.LD-Mark Tinordi, Craig Ludwig, Derian Hatcher, Brad Berry.RD-Grant Ledyard, Jim Johnson. Tommy Sjodin, Paul Cavallini.G-Andy Moog, Darcy Wakaluk.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Dave Barr, C, right elbow surgery, indefinite Jim Johnson, D, sprained left knee, day-to-day. &#9632;

Surviving early onslaught was key to high hopes

<div class="byline">By Damien Cox</div>What&rsquo;s that? The Toronto Maple Leafs set an NHL what?With all the attention generated by the second straight World Series triumph of the Toronto Blue Jays Oct. 23, the fact the Leafs broke an 18-year-old NHL record the same night in Florida took a back seat. Although nobody asked, it&rsquo;s safe to assume the estimated 1 million people who took to the streets of downtown Toronto in the early hours of Oct. 24 were celebrating the Jays&rsquo; World Series triumph and not the Leaf record.A 2-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in St. Petersburg&rsquo;s ThunderDome was the Leafs&rsquo; ninth straight to start the season.That broke the mark first set in 1934 by the Dick Irvin-coached Leafs and tied in 1975 by the Buffalo Sabres. It also tied a 68-year-old record for the longest winning streak in team history.But with the Toronto sky raining Blue Jays, the Leafs&rsquo; accomplishment was buried in the back of the sports sections of the major dailies the next day.&ldquo;It feels good to do something that hasn&rsquo;t been done in the whole history of hockey,&rdquo; said goalie Felix Potvin, who registered the shutout.Mark Osborne had both Leaf goals in the victory which kept Toronto in first place overall in the NHL.&ldquo;The main thing we&rsquo;re drawing on is not making any mistakes,&rdquo; said captain Wendel Clark. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not a team that can turn it on and off. We&rsquo;re a bunch of muckers, except for a couple of superstars.&rdquo;During the streak, the Leafs scored 41 goals and allowed 18. They won four one-goal games, and two two-goal games, while they scored 11 power-play goals on 48 chances and stifled 42 of 46 opposition power plays.BETTER THAN 10: Bob Rouse wasn&rsquo;t exactly ecstatic, but he was satisfied.The Maple Leaf defenseman was handed a four-game suspension Oct. 18 by NHL senior vice-president Brian Burke following a nasty stick-swinging incident with Bob Probert of the Detroit Red Wings.Rouse received a match penalty for his actions in that game and expected a suspension, but Burke raised a few eyebrows when he banned Probert for the same number of games, essentially ruling the Detroit bruiser had instigated the incident and fully participated in it.&ldquo;I was worried they might try to set a precedent and give me 10 games or something,&rdquo; Rouse said. &ldquo;This is okay.&rdquo;Late in the Oct. 15 match, a 6-3 Leaf win at Maple Leaf Gardens, Rouse and Probert squared off in the comer of the Toronto end. Probert chopped and slashed Rouse three or four times. Then the Leaf rearguard responded with a full, two-handed baseball swing that hit Probert in the left shoulder.Neither player was injured in the incident. The Leafs were only carrying six defenseman at the time of Rouse&rsquo;s suspension and had to summon rearguard Matt Martin from the U.S. Olympic team.Rouse was eligible to return to action Oct. 28 against the Chicago Blackhawks.NOTEBOOK: Right winger Rob Pearson sustained a right knee injury Oct. 23 against the Tampa Bay Lightning and had to be assisted off the ice. It appeared at first as though it might be serious, but was later diagnosed as a bruise. Pearson had six goals and 10 points in eight games playing on a line with center John Cullen and left winger Wendel Clark&hellip;Clark returned to the lineup Oct. 19 for a 7-2 win over the Hartford Whalers after missing two games with a slightly strained right knee. He celebrated his return with two goals and had six in seven games.Damian Rhodes made his first start since March, 1991 when he played against the Florida Panthers Oct. 21 in Miami. Rhodes stopped 26 shots in a 4-3 overtime Leaf victory that equalled the NHL record at eight straight to start the season&hellip;Three weeks into the season, Maple Leaf defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre led the league with a plus-minus rating of plus-11.Defenseman Drake Berehowsky was expected to return from an injury rehabilitation with the St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs of the American League in the last week of October.Damien Cox is a hockey writer for The Toronto Star.<h2>TORONTO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 18: Matt Martin, D, recalled from U.S. Olympic team.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Doug Gilmour. Mike Krushelnyski, John Cullen, Mike Eastwood, Alexei Kudashov.LW-Dave Andreychuk. Ken Baumgartner. Wendel Clark. Mark Osborne.RW-Nikolai Borschevsky. Bill Berg, Glenn Anderson, Mike Foligno. Kent Manderville.LD-Dave Ellett. Sylvain Lefebvre. Jamie Macoun. Matt Martin.RD-Todd Gill. Bob Rouse, Dmitri Mironov.G-Felix Potvin, Damian Rhodes.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Rob Pearson, RW, right knee bruise, day-to-day. Peter Zezel, C, back disk problems, indefinite. &#9632;

NHL record plays second fiddle to baseball

<div class="byline">By Tim Campbell</div>For those worried about the sophomore jinx hitting the Winnipeg Jets, you can strike at least one name off the list.The start by left winger Keith Tkachuk indicates there will be only one question about the 21-year-old&rsquo;s second full NHL season: How much better will it be than his first?The former U.S. Olympian and the Jets&rsquo; youngest player posted 28 goals and 51 points as a full-time rookie in 1992-93. His robust style and his vast improvement in conditioning have already spoken volumes this year.Tkachuk returned to a line with Alexei Zhamnov and Calder Trophy winner Teemu Selanne Oct. 23 against the Philadelphia Flyers and lit up the Flyers for his first NHL hat trick in a 9-6 victory.The line accounted for 14 points and Tkachuk looked anything but out of place with those world-class linemates.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve played better when I haven&rsquo;t scored a point,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just had to get in there early and bang. Once I get skating and banging, that helps my confidence a lot.&rdquo;Tkachuk&rsquo;s family drove from the Boston area to see him equal his career-best four-point night.He had six goals, 11 points and no minus nights in his first eight games.The game at the Spectrum included the resumption of a personal rivalry with Flyer center Eric Lindros that goes back to the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France.Tkachuk and Lindros crossed paths several times that season and were jostling and bumping for all they were worth in Philly.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to worry about myself, obviously, but if I can get him off his game-he&rsquo;s such a key player for his team and in this league-then fine,&rdquo; Tkachuk said.Lindros scored once and ran over several of Tkachuk&rsquo;s teammates.SELANNE ARRIVES: Not surprisingly, Teemu Selanne got busy after some early-season criticism from general manager Mike Smith.Selanne broke his career-long five-game goal drought with a power-play marker Oct. 21 in Detroit and then put up a three-goal, five-point game two nights later in Philadelphia.Without the personal slump on his mind, Selanne said he could concentrate better.He wouldn&rsquo;t admit to having lost confidence, but hinted it might have been a factor.&ldquo;I know what I can do, but when you start to get (deleted) everywhere, then you think of it: Am I really this bad?&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You have to remember one thing about those skills, you can&rsquo;t lose them. You just have to work harder to do the things you can do well.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Center/right winger Nelson Emerson returned early dividends on the trade that brought him over from the St. Louis Blues. Emerson scored in five straight games, including his second shorthanded goal of the season, and had six goals and 12 points in eight games&hellip;Center Alexei Zhamnov had his first ever five-point night with a goal and four assists against Philadelphia.<h2>WINNIPEG</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>None.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Atexei Zhamnov, Nelson Emerson, Luciano Borsato. Stu Barnes. Mike Eagles.LW-Thomas Steen, Keith Tkachuk, Kris King.RW-Teemu Selanne, Paul Ysebaert, Tie Domi, Bryan EricksonLD-Teppo Numminen, Sergei Bautin. Igor Ulanov. Arto Blomsten.RD-Dean Kennedy, Fredrik Olausson, Stephane Quintal, Boris Mironov.G-Bob Essensa, Stephane Beauregard.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Darrin Shannon, LW, calf strain, day-to-day. &#9632;

Rugged Tkachuk striving for second-year success

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div>There was no reaching for the panic button in Chicago when the Blackhawks stumbled to a 1-4-2 record out of the starting blocks.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re close. It&rsquo;s not like they&rsquo;re 100 miles away,&rdquo; said coach Darryl Sutter. &ldquo;We just have to get a better effort out of our skill players and the workers have to continue to work.&rdquo;Sutter&rsquo;s patience paid off when the Hawks did begin to turn things around with wins on home ice against the Quebec Nordiques (3-2 Oct. 21) and Detroit Red Wings (4-2 Oct. 23).In the win over the Wings, one of those skill players Sutter challenged to be more productive came through as Joe Murphy recorded his first two-goal game as a Hawk.Murphy was one of three Hawks Sutter said needed to pick up their play offensively. Michel Goulet and Brian Noonan were the others.&ldquo;Those are your skill players and they&rsquo;re supposed to score,&rdquo; Sutter said of the trio that totalled three goals in seven games. &ldquo;Other than that, what&rsquo;s their contribution to the team? Jeremy Roenick isn&rsquo;t going to carry them on his back all season.&rdquo;Sutter came down on Murphy hardest since he&rsquo;s being counted on to replace Steve Larmer&rsquo;s offense.&ldquo;I want to see that burning desire from Murphy,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;He has to be a lot more passionate because he&rsquo;s not going to survive just on ability. He has got to play harder. We expect a lot out of him because he&rsquo;s head and shoulders above a lot of guys in the room skillwise. But if he expects to play 23 or 25 minutes a game, he has to earn it.&rdquo;Murphy earned plenty of ice time in the Detroit win, which might have been his best game since the Hawks acquired him from the Edmonton Oilers last February.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s more like me,&rdquo; Murphy said. &ldquo;I know I can play better and I&rsquo;ve felt bad about the way I&rsquo;ve been playing. I felt I was letting the team down.&rdquo;Murphy played the Detroit game at right wing on Roenick&rsquo;s line. Earlier, he had been moved around between Roenick&rsquo;s line and Kevin Todd&rsquo;s.&ldquo;I like playing with the same guys,&rdquo; said Murphy. &ldquo;I like to know who I&rsquo;m playing with.&rdquo;Sutter chuckled at that comment, knowing full well what he meant.&ldquo;What he&rsquo;s saying is he wants to play with Roenick,&rdquo; Sutter said. &ldquo;Heck, if I was out there, I&rsquo;d want to play with him, too. I hope he can. He has to be able to keep up with him.&rdquo;NO PROBLEM?: When Chris Chelios missed practice Oct. 22, rumors spread that the defenseman left the club to protest the delay in getting his contract extended.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-01755/6146012-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="572" height="890"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Murphy recorded his first two-goal game as a Blackhawk.</figcaption></div>As it turned out, general manager Bob Pulford claimed he had given Chelios permission during his suspension to visit his ill sister in San Diego.&ldquo;There has been no ultimatum,&rdquo; said Chelios&rsquo; agent, Tom Reich. &ldquo;Chris is frustrated by a lot of things, like the way the league treated him as a habitual offender by his (four-game) suspension. He&rsquo;s a tough player, not a goon.&rdquo;Hawks&rsquo; owner Bill Wirtz said Chelios is asking for $3 million a year, a figure Wirtz said he can&rsquo;t afford.&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t afford to pay anything near that level,&rdquo; Wirtz said. &ldquo;Chelios will be 32 in January and in the near future we&rsquo;re going to have to learn to get along without him. How many nucleus players can you afford?&rdquo;The Hawks were offering $2.2 million to $2.6 million a year.NOTEBOOK: Unlike Bob Probert of the Detroit, Chris Chelios had no comment on his four-game suspension for abusing an official. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t say what I want to say, so I&rsquo;m not saying anything,&rdquo; Chelios said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m already in enough trouble.&rdquo;&hellip;Jeremy Roenick scored his 400th career point in a game Oct. 23 against Detroit. The only other Hawk to reach that mark quicker was Denis Savard.The Hawks played three games with non-sellout crowds, snapping a string of 44 straight sellouts.<h2>CHICAGO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct 18: Chris Chelios, D. suspended four games for abusing an official. Scheduled to return Oct. 26.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Jeremy Roenick. Kevin Todd. Brent Sutter. Jeff Shantz, Troy Murray.LW-Mtchei Goulet, Stephane Matteau, Rich Sutter, Jocelyn Lemieux.RW-Joe Murphy. Brian Noonan, Dirk Graham. Darin Kimble. Dave Christian.LD-Steve Smith, Bryan Marchment, Frank Kucera. Cam Russell.RD-Neil Wilkinson, Craig MunlG-Ed Belfour. Jeff Hackett.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Toby Horacek, LW, back surgery, indefinite Christian Ruuttu, C, broken right ankle, indefinite. &#9632;

f0027-01

Murphy gets the message, then delivers

<div class="byline">By Keith Gave</div>If the Detroit Red Wings were a horse, they might have to be shot.A series of injuries-the most recent a herniated disc expected to keep Steve Yzerman sidelined until late November-left the Wings sucking the dust of Central Division rivals.Yzerman joins goalie Tim Cheveldae (out until perhaps December with a knee strain) and defenseman Paul Coffey (out until the second week of November with a knee sprain) on the injury list.Just coming off the injury list were Mark Howe (sore back), Dallas Drake (sprained wrist) and Mike Sillinger (rotator cuff injury). A suspension to Bob Probert didn&rsquo;t help Detroit scramble to ice a full roster.A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test revealed a rupture of a disc between the fifth and sixth cervical vertabrae in Yzerman&rsquo;s upper back, but doctors said they were optimistic of a complete recovery without surgery.Wings&rsquo; orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Collon prescribed two weeks of rest and two weeks of rehabilitation before Yzerman can play.Yzerman was injured by a clean check from Winnipeg Jets&rsquo; Thomas Steen early in Detroit&rsquo;s 6-2 win Oct. 21. But Collon added the injury was the result of several on-ice collisions Yzerman has sustained this season.Hard contact in games against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and St. Louis Blues likely contributed to the rupture, which was triggered when Yzerman collided with Steen.Doctors said the previous collisions may have caused enough trauma to nerves in Yzerman&rsquo;s neck to affect his skating. He had complained of sluggishness and of having little jump in his skating in recent games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-01789/6146043-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="576" height="848"><figcaption class="caption-body">Steve Yzerman&rsquo;s injury stemmed from previous body contact.</figcaption></div>PROBERT FURIOUS: Bob Probert was angered by his four-game suspension after a stick swinging incident with Bob Rouse of the Toronto Maple Leafs Oct. 15.And Probert didn&rsquo;t mind saying so, aiming his remarks at the NHL&rsquo;s new vice-president, Brian Burke.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a new guy in a new position,&rdquo; Probert said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a power trip. It&rsquo;s ridiculous. You&rsquo;d think a guy like that would have been embarrassed to hand out something like that.&ldquo;(Rouse) came over the top with his stick at my head. All I did was give him three little taps. I would have been satisfied with the two games I&rsquo;ve missed already.&rdquo;Probert was handed the same penalty as Rouse, Murray explained, because the league treated him as &ldquo;a repeat offender.&rdquo;&ldquo;There are three elements to the suspension,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;Bob initiated the altercation, and he did it with his stick. There is no question about that and he admitted it at the hearing. Second, he abused a linesman. Third, he&rsquo;s a repeat offender.&rdquo;Burke was not amused at Probert&rsquo;s remarks and said the league was considering additional fines.&ldquo;I know (Probert) is frustrated and I know the club is frustrated,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;But I sincerely hope the next time and the only time I see Mr. Probert again is in a hockey rink.&ldquo;And as you know, I don&rsquo;t mind aggressive hockey. But I&rsquo;m not interested in waging a war of words with Bob Probert. What he did was stupid, pure and simple.&rdquo;The suspension will cost Probert $19,048 in lost salary as well as a $500 fine from the league.NOTEBOOK: Rookie Aaron Ward took the news of his Oct. 25 reassignment to Adirondack with difficulty. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to swallow,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;No one likes to be told they&rsquo;re not good enough.&rdquo; Journeyman Bob Halkidis replaced Ward.<h2>DETROIT</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 18: Martin Lapointe, RW. recalled from Adirondack (AHL). Bob Probert. LW, suspended four games by NHL. Eligible to return Oct. 30. Oct: 25: Aaron Ward, D assigned to Adirondack Bob Halkidis, D, recalled from Adirondack.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Greg Johnson. Sergei Fedorov, Keith Primeau, Mike Sillinger.LW-Micah Aivazoff. Sheldon Kennedy. Shawn Burr, Slava Kozlov. Dallas DrakeRW-Dino Ciccarelli. Ray Sheppard, Darren McCarty. Martin LapointeLD-Nicklas Lidstrom, Terry Carkner, Steve Konroyd.RD-Steve Chiasson, Vladimir Konstantinov, Mark Howe, Bob Halkidis.G-Vince Riendeau. Chris Osgood<h3>INJURIES</h3>Tim Cheveldae, G, sprained right knee. Nov. 8. Paul Coffey, D, sore left knee, Nov. 8. Steve Yzerman, C, herniated disc, indefinite. &#9632;

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Yzerman sidelined until late November

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02530/6146081-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg"></div>Fear of physical punishment on the ice frightens some youngsters out of hockey, but there&rsquo;s a good chance they&rsquo;ve never been taught how to give or receive a bodycheck.George Gwozdecky, last year&rsquo;s National Collegiate Athletic Association coach of the year from Miami University, has a three-step plan for introducing young players to the joys of hitting.&ldquo;The first thing kids have to realize is it&rsquo;s not going to hurt,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We start by getting them to fall on the ice, and with the high-tech equipment that&rsquo;s available today, they soon discover the harder they go down, the more fun it is.&rdquo;The next move is to the boards, where base-building fundamentals are acquired.&ldquo;The key element here is to make sure they spread their skates and bend their knees,&rdquo; said Gwozdecky, whose Redskins are the defending Central Collegiate Hockey Association champions. &lsquo;They&rsquo;ve got to develop a wider base so they don&rsquo;t get knocked off balance or they have a harder time getting knocked off balance. The knees act as shock absorbers and they&rsquo;ve got to bend their knees (at the same time as their feet are spread) to cushion the blow.&ldquo;They also want to try and use the boards as their friend and ally. Boards, for the most part, have a lot of give and take to them. Watch how NHL players use the recoil action of the boards to push off and try to knock their opponents off balance.&rdquo;The beginner&rsquo;s course on openice hitting techniques starts with a fun-filled game called &ldquo;Bull in the Ring.&rdquo;Gwozdecky describes the game this way.&ldquo;Take a group of kids, seven or eight of them in a circle, and put one in the middle. This &ldquo;bull&rdquo; has to try and get out of the circle. He skates around the inside of the circle and builds up some speed, then tries to find a hole in that ring where he can make some contact, throw a check and try to break free.&ldquo;In the meantime, the kids forming the ring must brace themselves and lower their center of gravity. They&rsquo;ve got to spread their skates and bend their knees because they know this bull may be coming their way. They&rsquo;ve got to absorb the check and keep the bull in the ring.&rdquo;Gwozdecky maintains it is a good idea to have bodychecking banned in youth hockey up to a certain age, but kids are never too young to start acquiring basic contact skills. Learning how to keep the bull in the ring may serve to keep more youngsters in hockey when they&rsquo;re a little older.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03374/6146074-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="560" height="814"><figcaption class="caption-body">George Gwozdecky</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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COACHING TIP OF THE WEEK

Goaltending has a mystique all its own. Fans of all ages are fascinated with the color and intricate detail of the different goalie masks of NHL netminders.It is this mystique that prompted Ken Tangen of the Norman James Corporation and Jerry Van Velden of Van Velden Masks, to combine forces and create the ultimate hockey collectors&rsquo; item-the Goaltender Mask telephone.The mask telephone is a replica of an actual goalie mask mounted on a solid oak base. Each phone sports the official logo of an NHL team on the front handpainted by Van Velden.The back plate of the mask has been removed and is replaced with a high quality AT & T telephone with several key features.While the mask phone is an exact replica of an NHL mask, it is not meant to be used in action.Van Veldon is well-known in hockey circles for his handpainted masks of NHL goalies including Detroit Red Wing Tim Cheveldae and former Calgary Flame and Toronto Maple Leaf Rick Wamsley.He has also done several masks for minor professional and junior goalies.Tangen and Van Veldon formed Phantom Communications International, a Toronto-based company that distributes the phones, about six months ago.Tangen said he got the idea after watching the National Football League entry draft on television.&ldquo;The general managers of the teams were all using the helmet phones to make their picks,&rdquo; Tangen said. &ldquo;It seemed like a perfect fit with hockey. Goaltender&rsquo;s masks have a very strong appeal with fans.&rdquo;The company plans to distribute phones of all NHL teams this season with possible expansion into minor pro teams.Tangen is also hopeful that NHL general managers will use the phones at the 1994 NHL entry draft in Hartford.&ldquo;Anybody who knows what a custom mask costs can appreciate the quality of this product,&rdquo; Tangen said. &ldquo;This is an excellent collectors&rsquo; item and terrific conversation piece.&rdquo; &#9632;

Goalie phone a unique item

The selection of holiday gift items for hockey fans has never been better or more diverse.When it comes to apparel, the NHL&rsquo;s licensed product line now runs the gamut from toques to ties to turtlenecks. And the non-apparel offerings appear to be limited only by the imagination of product designers.&ldquo;You can still find the bobble-head dolls and the basics like pennants and pens that look like hockey sticks,&rdquo; said Judy Salsberg, the director of non-apparel products for NHL Enterprises. &ldquo;But now we also have unusual items such as grills and ice buckets that are imprinted with team logos and colors. With the growing interest in hockey, we&rsquo;re in a wonderful position right now.&ldquo;We have items in every price range from about $1.99 to hundreds of dollars. But we try to be careful and not overdo it. We like to pride ourselves on items that are different or cater to a different niche.&rdquo;With that in mind, the NHL will soon have three different licensees that manufacture watches with team logos.Each watch maker offers different styling at different price points. Bulova and Michael Anthony are already in place, while in early 1994, the popular Fossil brand will launch a distinctive new NHL line.Thanks to the league&rsquo;s southward surge, more U.S. residents may now be able to tell the faces of NHL players. And that&rsquo;s good news for the five firms-Topps, Pinnacle (formerly Score), Leaf, Upper Deck and Fleer-that have licenses to produce NHL trading cards.According to llene Kent, NHL Enterprise&rsquo;s licensing and marketing director for collectibles, the 1993-94 cards sets from all five makers should be ready for the holiday season, providing an inexpensive gift option. Other unique non-apparel gift items for the holidays include:&#9633; Etched glass or porcelain tankards with pewter lids and trim, from Dram Tree Ltd.&#9633; A new telephone that resembles a goaltender&rsquo;s mask, from Phantom Communications, complete with team logo.&#9633; CCM is also borrowing from its on-ice technology-the company provides helmets to most NHL players-to produce a bicycle helmet with team colors and logos.The NHL&rsquo;s licensed apparel also continues to grow, according to Brian Jennings, NHL Enterprises national sales director.&ldquo;One item that&rsquo;s popular right now is a t-shirt style called the &lsquo;breakout&rsquo;,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It gives the illusion of the logo coming right through the shirt.&rdquo;A reformulation of two traditional items-baseball-caps and sweaters-continues to add new wrinkles to the NHL&rsquo;s apparel line.&ldquo;Headware continues to do well,&rdquo; Jennings said. &ldquo;You ask yourself, &lsquo;What else can they do to a hat.&rsquo; Then a licensee comes through and takes the design to the next level.&rdquo;There are also new options for fans who wish to wear team sweaters as off-ice fashion items.Last season, a new woolen Heritage Line was launched. These nostalgic garments, are recreations of the wool sweaters worn by teams in the 1920s and 1930s. They feature old-style logos of the existing &ldquo;Original Six&rdquo; teams plus those of some defunct franchises.CCM, the official maker of NHL game jerseys, is also offering modern sweater fabrications. Jerseys worn on the ice are polyester to assure durability. But a 100 per cent polyester sweater can be hot and uncomfortable, so the new off-ice jerseys will be available in cotton/polyester blends.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-01785/6146112-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg" title="f0030-01" width="548" height="910"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Sacco&rsquo;s Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are hot with NHL fans.</figcaption></div>Another new product is Fanwrap, a wrapping paper that sports the colors and logos of any NHL team. Matching bows and ribbons also are available.When it comes to logos, NHL crests-especially those from the expansion teams-are hot.&ldquo;With the (San Jose) Sharks, it probably was the first time an NHL logo went across the country,&rdquo; Salsberg said. &ldquo;A hot new logo always helps you sell. Now everywhere you see (Anaheim Mighty) Ducks. The (Florida) Panthers&rsquo; logo also is magnificent. The great thing is they have two different looks.&rdquo;Buoyed by sales through 130 of the 200 Disney Stores in North America, the Mighty Ducks hope to set all-time single season records for merchandise sales this winter.According to Anaheim&rsquo;s Shelly Gartner, CCM plans to make 500,000 Mighty Ducks jerseys for the coming season-more than the San Jose Sharks sold their first year. &#9632;

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NHL products perfect gifts Fans mighty pleased with Ducks, Panthers’ apparel

The NHL&rsquo;s licensed merchandise program is slowly becoming kids stuff.As the league&rsquo;s line of licensed items grows, so do the number of new offerings that are specifically designed for youngsters.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen a 545 per cent increase in our children&rsquo;s business from our fiscal year 1992 to our fiscal year 1993,&rdquo; said Tina Ellis, who recently joined NHL Enterprises as director of children&rsquo;s licensing. &lsquo;The numbers bear it out. There&rsquo;s an explosion when it comes to children getting involved in the purchase of licensed merchandise.&rdquo;Are hockey crazed parents buying NHL licensed items for their children or are hockey-crazed kids asking mom and dad for the goods?According to Ellis it&rsquo;s a two-way street.&ldquo;The average age at which a child starts influencing purchases has gone down,&rdquo; Ellis said. &ldquo;Our ultimate goal is to get kids interested in the game and then convert them to life-long fans.&rdquo;So this holiday season, the selection and diversity of gift items available for children is greater than ever.&ldquo;Kids are more sophisticated in their choices today,&rdquo; Ellis said. &lsquo;We want to appeal to them and win them over.&rdquo;Here&rsquo;s a list of goodies that are bound to appear on plenty of hockey wish lists this year:&#9633; Two new video games are available. NHL Stanley Cup for Super Nintendo and NHL &rsquo;94 for Sega Genesis include realistic hockey action along with the colors and logos of NHL clubs. NHL &rsquo;94 is made by Electronic Arts and is available on diskette for use on IBM PC&rsquo;s and clones.&#9633; Kenner has introduced its NHL Starting Line-Up figurines, a series of six-inch tall plastic likenesses of some of the league&rsquo;s top stars. Miniatures of Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, Brett Hull, Patrick Roy, Eric Lindros, Steve Yzerman, Jeremy Roenick, Ed Belfour, Pat LaFontaine, Grant Fuhr, Ray Bourque and Jaromir Jagr are sold individually.&#9633; Table hockey isn&rsquo;t what it used to be. Kevin Sports Toys International offers the NHL Wayne Gretzky Overtime Hockey game complete with an electric timer/scoreboard and interchangeable plastic players. Player sets are available for each NHL team to create any possible match-up. The game includes player benches, a referee and a Zamboni.&#9633; Meadowlander (a company affiliated with the New Jersey Devils&rsquo;) offers a line of two foot-high stuffed bears that are clad in NHL team sweaters and a hockey helmet.&#9633; Limited edition Matchbox-miniature vintage automobiles bearing the logos of the &ldquo;Original Six&rdquo; NHL teams-are available from White Rose Collectibles. &#9632;

NHL Enterprises has any Christmas wish list covered

During the course of an NHL season, fans usually find plenty of ways to whoop it up.And during the holidays, NHL teams try to extend the cheer to people who probably can&rsquo;t attend games.As part of year-round community relations and charitable efforts, nearly all NHL clubs arrange special Christmas-related programs designed to brighten the lives of the less fortunate.Usually, the efforts benefit disadvantaged, injured, sick and abused individuals, especially children.For instance, variations of the well-known &ldquo;Toys for Tots&rdquo; program are sponsored by several clubs. Through this campaign, fans are asked to bring a new toy to a designated game or games. The club, usually in conjunction with a service organization, collects the toys and helps distribute them to needy kids somewhere in the team&rsquo;s home city.&ldquo;Toys For Tots&rdquo; is well received. Last year, the Chicago Blackhawks worked with U.S. Marine Corps representatives to collect some 20,000 toys and direct them to needy Windy City youngsters. The New Jersey Devils run a similar program in concert with the Marines.The Los Angeles Kings have taken the effort a step further with their own &ldquo;Kings for Kids&rdquo; program. The team collects toys from fans during two home games just before the holidays. The gifts are then delivered with Christmas cards by Kings&rsquo; players and coaches to youngsters at the Children&rsquo;s Hospital of Los Angeles.The Calgary Flames, who have a multi-faceted holiday charitable effort, conduct their toy collection with the help of Calgary firefighters. The items are then turned over to underprivileged youths.Children&rsquo;s hospital visits, such as the one conducted by the Kings, are made by NHL players all season long as part of community relations programs.However, many teams intensify these efforts near Christmas to lift the spirits of kids who would rather be spending the holidays at home.As a group, the Vancouver Canucks visit a local children&rsquo;s hospital or ward for most of a day to visit with young patients and host a party.Among other things, the players bring with them stuffed versions of &ldquo;Prankster,&rdquo; the team mascot.Taking another approach last season, the San Jose Sharks divided themselves into groups so they could stop by six different pediatric facilities in the Bay Area.Special open practices and fund-raisers are also a popular holiday event.In addition to a toy collection program held in conjunction with the Salvation Army, the Pittsburgh Penguins hold a special party for children enrolled in the &ldquo;Make-A-Wish&rdquo; program.Designed expressly for gravely or terminally ill youngsters Make-A-Wish tries to provide these children with special or fantasy experiences.The Penguins invite the children and families involved with the Pittsburgh Chapter of Make-A-Wish to attend a practice. Afterwards, the guests attend a luncheon in the Civic Arena&rsquo;s Igloo club along with Penguins&rsquo; players, coaches and off-ice entertainers such as clowns and face-painters.In Calgary, the Flames open a practice to the public one day, charging only a nominal admission fee.The receipts are then turned over to the local Salvation Army Christmas Appeal Fund. &#9632;

Helping charities holiday ritual for NHL teams

Many youngsters will receive a sampling of snazzy NHL licensed merchandise items for Christmas this year, but most current NHLers were happy to get the basics when they were kids.&ldquo;It seems so much different today,&rdquo; said Hartford Whalers&rsquo; goaltender Sean Burke. &ldquo;When I was a kid, I was just happy to get something I could use, a piece of equipment.&ldquo;One thing that stands out for me was a pair of Vladimir Tretiak goalie pads I got when I was about 10 years old.&rdquo;Added Burke&rsquo;s teammate Pat Verbeek: &ldquo;I got things like a new track suit or something I could use when I went out skating on the ponds when I was a kid.&rdquo;The league&rsquo;s licensed product market was virtually non-existent when current NHLers were youngsters. So even if they craved goods imprinted with the logos and colors of their favorite teams, products weren&rsquo;t available.It was only natural for them to want the tools of their future trade as Christmas presents.&ldquo;The gift I remember most was a pair of gloves I got one year, when I was probably about 11,&rdquo; said Detroit center Steve Yzerman. &ldquo;They were the trendy gloves at the time and I had been asking for them for a while and finally got them.&ldquo;A lot of the guys I was playing with wanted them and I was one of the first to get them.&rdquo;Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; center Joe Sakic also recalled asking for-and receiving-a new piece of gear.&ldquo;I got an aluminum stick, a Christian I think, when I was about 13,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I was begging for it. A few of my friends had them and we all thought they we&rsquo;re really cool. I think it was the very first year they (aluminum sticks) came out.&rdquo;Ironically, it is the only aluminum stick Sakic has used in his career.Meanwhile, Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; goaltender Bill Ranford says his first set of goalie pads was the best hockey gift he ever received.&ldquo;I got them when I was about five, before I even played,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I remember they were blue and white and I think they came from Canadian Tire.&rdquo;Some NHLer&rsquo;s, however, do recall non-equipment gifts, even if they weren&rsquo;t as glitzy as today&rsquo;s licensed merchandise.&ldquo;I think the best hockey gift I got was the book, &lsquo;Hockey is Our Game&rsquo; about the 1972 Russian-Canadian series,&rdquo; said Dallas Stars&rsquo; center Dave Gagner. &ldquo;I still have that book and I skim through it all the time.&rdquo;Meanwhile, Boston Bruins&rsquo; center/left winger Joe Juneau also recalls a gift that was linked to that memorable 1972 series.&ldquo;I always got my equipment at the start of the season, not at Christmas,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I do remember getting this thing (a viewer) that was like a little camera. You could put little tapes inside and you had to hold it up so light would come in through the other side so you could see the tape.&ldquo;I think there were three tapes and they had Paul Henderson skating, shooting and doing different drills on the ice. I remember you could make it go forwards and backwards.&rdquo;Juneau was also thrilled when he received a hand-held electronic hockey game, which he used to take on the road as a youngster.He also had a table hockey set he enjoyed with his brothers.Like many other professionals, Juneau loved getting a hockey-related gift on Christmas morning. &#9632;

New equipment was perfect gift for many top pros

Many young hockey players receive new equipment at Christmas.But the holidays just wouldn&rsquo;t be complete for many of them without playing in a mid-winter tournament.The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and Hockey USA sanction hundreds of these events for players of all ages and skill levels each winter.This year, the CAHA&rsquo;s 12 branches and USA Hockey&rsquo;s 11 districts are still tallying the final number of tourneys.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s usually a significant break in the schedule for most teams between about Dec. 20 and the time the kids go back to school in January,&rdquo; said Jamie McDonald, manager of coaching for the CAHA.&ldquo;From a coaching perspective, you want to encourage your players to stay active during that time, be it just skating around on ponds or competing in a holiday tournament.&ldquo;And when they get new equipment, the sooner they try it out, the happier they are.&rdquo;Although tournament participation can be a special focus for house league and competitive teams, McDonald urges coaches not to become too enthusiastic about participating in Christmas competition without first recruiting the support of players and their parents.&ldquo;We always recommend talking to parents and kids first before making a decision,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to force a tournament on them if they have other activities planned.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s an immense selection of tournament possibilities throughout the CAHA branches.The events are designed for novice/mite-aged skaters to internationally competitive midgets.Tournaments can be found in major amateur centers such as Toronto, Montreal, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Boston, as well as several smaller communities.For instance, this winter&rsquo;s premier holiday event, the World Hockey Challenge, will take place Dec. 29-Jan. 4 in Amos, Que., located in the northern reaches of the province.The event will pit top midgetaged skaters from five Canadian regional teams (Pacific, Western, Ontario, Quebec and Maritimes) against squads from the United States, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic.Formerly known as the Quebec Esso Cup, the World Hockey Challenge has been an important stepping stone for top players including 1993 first-round NHL draftees Alexandre Daigle, Paul Kariya, Chris Pronger and Chris Gratton.But while elite-level events get most of the publicity, lower-level tourneys are just as important to the sport at the grassroots level.&ldquo;You have to look beyond the tournament itself and beyond winning,&rdquo; said Vai Belmonte, director of USA Hockey&rsquo;s coaching program.There are many humanistic values to consider. Players get to compete against other teams and individuals from other parts of their district or other parts of the country.&ldquo;And at a Christmas tournament, there&rsquo;s a different atmosphere for the player and the parents.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a different camaraderie for a team in a tournament than there is when you just prepare for a regular game.&rdquo; &#9632;

Holiday tournaments fun break from regular schedule

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0036-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01698/6146263-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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WRAP UP THE HOCKEY SEASON EARLY THIS YEAR!

<div class="byline">By Bob McKenzie</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01618/6146294-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="377" height="532"></div>It is comforting, albeit somewhat surprising, to discover the emperor has no clothes.Which is to say, after years of believing the NHL had the market cornered on thriving in spite of the men who run it, it turns out Major League Baseball has a big piece of the action now.And, get this, with a new commissioner and a fresh mindset, the NHL is actually showing signs of progressive and efficient leadership in the &rsquo;90s. Can Major League baseball say the same?After witnessing the 1993 World Series, a portion of which was played in my hometown for the second consecutive year, the answer would have to be, no.And for someone who spent the better part of the &rsquo;80s watching (at times, ridiculing) the NHL and its policy makers with a critical eye, that comes as a significant surprise.The National Basketball Association, National Football League and Major League Baseball were the role models for the NHL, a league that for the longest time never seemed to grasp the concept of being fan (or media) friendly.And while there is still much to be learned from watching the machinations of basketball, football and baseball, some of it is the basis for a how-not-to manual. The &rsquo;93 Fall Classic is a case in point.Start with start times.Weeknight games in the World Series were scheduled for a first pitch of 8:12 p.m. (EST) with weekend games at 8:38.The rationale, of course, is the lure of primetime television, compounded by the problem of time difference on the west coast. An 8:12 start in Toronto or Philadelphia, for instance, is 5:12 in L.A.But there is a big difference between accommodating TV networks and being a slave to them.Common sense dictates the first pitch of a World Series game shouldn&rsquo;t be any later than 7:42 p.m. (EST) for weeknight games and 8:12 for weekend affairs. Advancing the games by 30 minutes won&rsquo;t make or break the TV audience-those in the West who are going to watch it are going to watch it&mdash;but it at least gives the game a fighting chance of ending around 11 p.m., the time when the average person considers turning off the tube and going to bed.And think of the kids.To take a youngster-today&rsquo;s buyer of licensed merchandise and tomorrow&rsquo;s ticket-buyer or television viewer-to a World Series game is nothing less than an adventure. I took my seven-year-old son to Game 2 at SkyDome and because we ducked out in the eighth inning (with a reasonably safe Toronto lead), I was able to tuck him into bed at 12:45 a.m.Thankfully, that was a Saturday night game, but he was still a basket case the next day.A huge baseball fan, he couldn&rsquo;t see one inning of a weeknight World Series game, at least not if he wanted to remain awake at school.Which brings us to problem No. 2- the length of games.Three hours plus for a nine-inning game has become the norm. It&rsquo;s just too long, especially when you factor in the possibility of rain delays and umpteen pitching changes in a hitter&rsquo;s game that can push it up to four hours, give or take 15 minutes.Surely, there must be ways to speed up the process without tearing the fabric of the game.The designated hitter rule discrepancy is another glaring error on the part of MLB. If the Arabs and Israelis can sign a peace accord, can the American and National Leagues not once and for all settle the DH issue?It&rsquo;s actually embarrassing to watch the AL pitchers at the plate and on the basepaths.Of course, these are all matters that should be handled by the commissioner. What&rsquo;s that, you say? Oh, right, there is no commissioner. Hockey had the same problem through most of the &rsquo;80s.Baseball&rsquo;s problems aren&rsquo;t confined to these World Series maladies. MLB made its deal with the devil when it signed a network TV deal that would increase revenue and decrease the number of regular-season games shown.The Canadian Football League&rsquo;s blackout policy of the &rsquo;80s, the NHL&rsquo;s local and regional TV emphasis of the same period and MLB&rsquo;s less exposure for more money all do a masterful job of one thing and one thing only-hiding the product from the consumer.Now, there&rsquo;s a marketing plan.The NHL has already learned the error of its ways and is working in the opposite direction. It&rsquo;s probably too late for the CFL.And as for Major League Baseball, well, it has to be one helluva a great game to survive in spite of the men who run it.Now, where have we hockey fans heard that before? &#9632;

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Hockey’s gaining ground on baseball

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02439/6146325-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Comments by Patrick Roy after a Montreal-Quebec game set off sparks between Jacques Demers (inset left) and Pierre Page. (MARCO CAMP ANELLI/BBS)</figcaption></div>Jacques Demers must have a short memory.Last April, before his Montreal Canadiens renewed their playoff rivalry with the Quebec Nordiques, Demers said that he wanted no part of the vitriol that had characterized the Battle of Quebec of a decade earlier.That was then. This is now.The provincial rivals met twice this season within 72 hours, Oct. 16 in Montreal and Oct. 18 at Le Colisee. By the time the ice chips settled, the teams had split the games and the Battle of Quebec was alive and well, thanks to Demers, his Quebec counterpart Pierre Page and Canadiens&rsquo; goalie Patrick Roy.The genesis of the exchange occurred during the second game. With Montreal leading 3-0 in the second period at Quebec, Page replaced starting goalie Stephane Fiset with 18-year-old rookie Jocelyn Thibault. Thibault, played very well, stopping all 23 shots he faced before the Canadiens scored in an empty net to win 4-2.Following the game, Roy acknowledged that Thibault had played well, but &ldquo;there was no pressure on him.&rdquo;Although Thibault agreed with Roy&rsquo;s comments, Page went on a tirade when he heard them.&ldquo;That was an ignorant thing for Roy to say,&rdquo; Page said following the game. &ldquo;Maybe his $4 million salary has gone to his head. He thinks he&rsquo;s Deion Sanders with those gold chains around his neck, but he&rsquo;s not going to get to us. One day he&rsquo;ll have to swallow his medicine.&rdquo;Instead of swallowing, Demers spewed out an attack on Page that would be the envy of those loudmouths in the World Wrestling Federation.&ldquo;If the Nordiques had someone else behind the bench, they would have beaten us (in last year&rsquo;s play offs),&rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;With a 2-0 lead: and so much talent, Quebec should never have lost that series.&ldquo;About 99 per cent of the time, (Page) loses his mind and has no idea what he&rsquo;s saying.&rdquo;The next day Roy was told of Page&rsquo;s remarks. Asked about the Sanders comment-an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves and a defensive back with the Atlanta Falcons-and his collection of jewelry, Roy said he has far fewer trinkets than the controversial Sanders. &ldquo;Only two (Stanley Cup) rings,&rdquo; Roy said.Roy then explained his remarks about Thibault.&ldquo;I only said Thibault played well, but that you couldn&rsquo;t blame Stephane Fiset because he didn&rsquo;t have any chance on the three goals he let in,&rdquo; Roy said. &ldquo;I said it was tough to judge Thibault&rsquo;s performance because he went in when it was 3-0. So even if they lost 6-2 or 7-2, people would say the game was already over.&ldquo;Page said what he wanted to say. I have no control over that.&rdquo;Demers said the problem is that Page has no control over what he says, either.&ldquo;As usual, (Page) talked too much,&rdquo; Demers said. &ldquo;He thinks he&rsquo;s smarter than everyone else, but he doesn&rsquo;t think before he talks.&rdquo;Contacted in Hartford, where the Nordiques were preparing to play the Whalers, Page remained unapologetic.&ldquo;Patrick Roy said things that are unacceptable. What Jacques Demers said just adds to the situation,&rdquo; Page said. &ldquo;Roy has his (four-year, $16 million) contract, the Stanley Cup and his rings. That&rsquo;s fine. But he should watch what he says. He gets on everyone&rsquo;s nerves. He even gets on the Canadiens&rsquo; nerves.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not taking anything away from his talent or his Stanley Cup. But he should keep his mouth shut.&rdquo;The two teams don&rsquo;t meet again until Jan. 5 at Phoenix in a neutralsite game. It remains to be seen whether cooler heads will prevail in a warmer climate. &#9632;

f0037-02

The Babble of Quebec

<div class="byline">By Dave Eminian</div>Doug Crossman is hoping to revive his 13-year NHL career by reporting to work with the Peoria Rivermen of the International League.The veteran defenseman was assigned by the St. Louis Blues Opt. 16 to the Rivermen, where he joins one of the top defensive units in the league.The Blues have been offering Crossman around the NHL. With no takers, the much-traveled 33-year-old will have to improve his worth in the IHL. A one-way contract worth $350,000 makes his demotion easier to swallow.&ldquo;You got to play, that&rsquo;s all I can do, just try to play my way out of here,&rdquo; Crossman said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had 13 years in (the NHL) and I always knew, always expected this to happen sometime.&ldquo;You go home and think about it and all of a sudden you realize this is your mortality flashing before your eyes.&rdquo;Crossman&rsquo;s only significant stay in the minors came during his rookie year as a pro in 1980-81, when he spent 70 games with American League&rsquo;s New Brunswick Hawks.In 12 years since, he had a three-game minor-league stint at New Haven (AHL) and spent the rest of his career in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to get stability,&rdquo; Crossman said. &ldquo;Unfortunately in sports, you sometimes don&rsquo;t get to know the guys you&rsquo;re on the ice with.&rdquo;That&rsquo;s likely to be the case in Peoria, too, where no one expects Crossman to stay in the minors for long.Gordie Roberts was 33 when he was assigned to Peoria by the Blues in 1990-91. The Pittsburgh Penguins quickly picked him up and he went on to win two Stanley Cups.Crossman will do what he can to help his teammates while he tries to help himself.&ldquo;Some of these guys were 10 years old when I started (as a rookie pro),&rdquo; Crossman said.Actually, rookie Rivermen defenseman Steve Staios was seven. So was right winger Nathan Lafayatte.&ldquo;They have time ahead of them,&rdquo; Crossman said. &ldquo;But their goal is the same as mine and everyone else&rsquo;s here: get to the NHL.&ldquo;You accept the hand you&rsquo;re dealt. The worst that can happen to me is I stay in the minors the rest of the season, which is seven months. For me, seven months just isn&rsquo;t that long to wait.&rdquo;DEEP IN THE HEART: An IHL team in Texas moved closer to being reality Oct. 18 with the latest step in the expansion process-a visit by commissioner Tom Berry and a league committee to a proposed ownership group in Houston.That group is headed by Glenn Hart of Michael Petroleum Corp., and includes Ray Patterson and Steve Patterson.The league committee is expected to recommend granting a franchise to Houston, a territory believed coveted by the NHL, in time for play at The Summit next season.I-OPENERS: Las Vegas&rsquo; franchise home opener Oct. 15 was a 3-2 Thunder shootout win over the Atlanta Knights. Among the 13,125 fans in attendance were Andre Agassi, Baltimore Orioles&rsquo; outfielder Brady Anderson, San Diego Padres&rsquo; pitcher Tim Worrell, Professional Golf Association tour member Richard Gamez and actors Jason Priestley and Arnold Schwarzenegger&hellip;The Indianapolis Ice went 0-4-0, the team&rsquo;s worst start in its six-year history.Ice defenseman Mike Speer ended a 93-game goal-scoring drought with two goals against Peoria Oct. 16&hellip;Cleveland Lumberjack left winger Ladislav Karabin was player of the week for the period ending Oct. 17. He notched six assists in two games.Pokey Reddick had a 4.50 goals-against average, but was 4-0-0 with the high-scoring Cincinnati Cyclones. &#9632;

Crossman starting over at 33 with Rivermen

<div class="byline">By Kevin Oklobzija</div>Rich Chernomaz is a player/assistant coach for the St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs, but he&rsquo;s proving the emphasis should still be on player.Playing the right wing for center Yanic Perreault, Chernomaz vaulted toward the top of American League scoring parade. The 11-year veteran had six goals and 12 points in 11 games.&ldquo;It helps to play with Perreault,&rdquo; said Chernomaz, who signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs over the summer. &ldquo;Needless to say, you get that guy the puck, it&rsquo;s going to end up in the net more times than not.&rdquo;But while the points are coming quickly for Chemomaz-the way they did when he played for the Maine Mariners from 1983-84 to &rsquo;86-87 and for Salt Lake of the International League the past six seasons-he has added responsibilities as Marc Crawford&rsquo;s assistant.Coaching has appealed to Chernomaz for a few years, though the Toronto organization wasn&rsquo;t where he expected to start.As the veteran leader the Calgary Flames kept bringing back to Salt Lake, Chernomaz, 30, expected to remain with the organization.&ldquo;I stuck around there for six years for that opportunity,&rdquo; said Chernomaz, whose NHL totals are nine goals and 16 points in 51 games for the New Jersey Devils and Calgary.But the Flames went in another direction. When they left the IHL to start a new AHL franchise in Saint John, N.B., they sent Chernomaz a termination contract and hired Rick Carriere as Bob Francis&rsquo; assistant.&ldquo;They wanted to hire a coach who was a defenseman because they felt they&rsquo;d lost some young defensemen over the years,&rdquo; Chernomaz said. &ldquo;But I say that was a little shallow based on my loyalty and the past conversations I had had with people in the organization.&rdquo;Chernomaz wasn&rsquo;t without opportunities, however. Cliff Fletcher was the Calgary general manager when Chernomaz first signed with Salt Lake in 1987-88. Now in Toronto. Fletcher rehired Chernomaz.&ldquo;The most exciting thing for me is to be back in Canada where the game&rsquo;s appreciated a little more,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Especially in a place where it&rsquo;s the only game in town.&rdquo;TREFILOV TERRIFIC: When the Calgary Flames plotted a game plan for their prospects in Saint John, they decided goalie Andrei Trefilov needed to play the bulk of the games.A native of Kirovo-Chepetsk in the former Soviet Union, Trefilov was accustomed to a light workload. So after a learning season with Salt Lake last season, the Flames want to throw Trefilov into the fire this year.Trefilov, 24, played every minute of Saint John&rsquo;s first seven games, including six in 10 days on a season-opening road trip.Calgary&rsquo;s final pick in the 1991 draft (261st overall), Trefilov was 1-3-3 with a 2.77 goal-against average and. 919 save percentage.&ldquo;He has been phenomenal,&rdquo; said coach Bob Francis. &ldquo;If he wants to assume the heavy workload as a No. 1 goalie, then he has to get used to playing a lot.&rdquo;In two seasons with Moscow Dynamo, the most games Trefilov played in a season was 28. Last season, he had a 23-17-3 record and 3.19 GAA in 44 games for Salt Lake.AHL TIDBITS: The AHL made a successful return to Portland, when the Pirates drew 6,213 for their opener against Saint John, just 500 shy of a sellout. The Cumberland County Civic Center hosted the Maine Mariners from 197778 through 1991-92.The shake-up in the Albany River Rats&rsquo; front office continued when director of merchandising Geoffrey Knapp was fired Oct. 12. Scott Steinhardt is his replacement. It was the third firing in the past four months. Broadcaster Mike Haynes was fired during the summer and general manager Dave Hanson was dismissed in late September.Oleg Petrov&rsquo;s five assists in a 10-4 victory over the P.E.I. Senators Oct. 11 tied a Fredericton Canadiens&rsquo; club record&hellip;The Springfield Indians had killed all 18 opposing power plays through their first four games. &#9632;

The player remains in Chernomaz

<div class="byline">By Nick Gates</div>The saying goes like father, like son. But that&rsquo;s not the case in the Vachon household.Nick Vachon envisions himself a goal scorer, while Rogie Vachon, special assistant to Los Angeles Kings&rsquo; owner Bruce McNall, carved his NHL niche for 16 years as a goaltender with the Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins.The younger Vachon was a 12th round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1990 entry draft. He spent two seasons with the Boston University Terriers of Hockey East before jumping to the Western League&rsquo;s Portland Winter Hawks last year.The 21-year-old right winger blossomed into an offensive threat with Portland, picking up 33 goals and 91 points in 66 games.He signed a contract with the Atlanta Knights of the International League in the off-season, but was assigned to the East Coast League&rsquo;s Knoxville Cherokees.&ldquo;When people come up and ask if I&rsquo;m Rogie Vachon&rsquo;s son or realize who I am, it makes me proud,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;He worked hard for what he accomplished and where he got.&rdquo;But Vachon hasn&rsquo;t experienced the pressure some second-generation players have had to deal with.&ldquo;It would have been tougher on me if I was a goaltender because of the comparisons,&rdquo; Vachon said. &ldquo;It has never been a hassle.&rdquo;Although father and son live apart, their relationship remains strong. Nick calls home frequently, every day if he can.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a momma&rsquo;s boy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I want to let them know what&rsquo;s going on. He (Rogie) is interested and wants to know how I&rsquo;m doing.&rdquo;The name Vachon has yet to open doors for the 5-foot-10, 190-pounder, but he doesn&rsquo;t think it should anyway.&ldquo;I have to work my way up,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Because of my size I&rsquo;m going to have to show I can play. I&rsquo;m going to have to prove myself.&rdquo;Vachon isn&rsquo;t big-5-foot-10, 190 pounds-but he&rsquo;s rarely intimidated. He had 100 penalty minutes for the Winter Hawks&rsquo; last season. And he had a strong playoff, scoring 11 goals and 18 points in 16 games to lead Portland to the Western League final, where they lost in seven games to the Swift Current Broncos.TURNSTILE SURGE: Knoxville&rsquo;s pre-season game at Roanoke Oct. 16 against the expansion Express drew 5,022 at Roanoke Civic Center.The Roanoke Valley Rebels averaged a league-low 1,483 per game in 1992-93 and moved to Huntsville, Ala., after the season to become the Blast.Most of the increased interest in Roanoke is attributed to the job Express president and general manager Pierre Paiement and his frontoffice staff did in resurrecting hockey in the city.ROWDY RENEGADE: The Cherokees&rsquo; shipped tough guy Grant Chorney to the Richmond Renegades Oct. 18 for goalie Ken Weiss.Chorney, a right winger, accumulated a league-record 443 penalty minutes last season with the Cherokees.&ldquo;I just didn&rsquo;t have room for him,&rdquo; Knoxville coach Barry Smith said. &ldquo;I went with a little more speed on the wing.&rdquo;Chorney scored 10 goals in 52 games with the Cherokees.CUTS RUN DEEP: Birmingham Bulls&rsquo; coach/director of hockey operations Phil Roberto found out the most difficult part of a coach&rsquo;s job is releasing players.&ldquo;Making the first cuts are easy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;You can see in the first hour if a guy can skate or not. and if he is willing to hit. Cutting the last guy or two is very difficult. I like teaching, but releasing players is no fun.&rdquo;Roberto particularly hated to give hard-working defenseman Jeff Clark his release on Oct. 15. &lsquo;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s tough to tell a kid like Jeff he won&rsquo;t be playing here this season,&rdquo; Roberto said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve never seen a kid with so much heart and determination.&rdquo; &#9632;

Scoring, not flopping younger Vachon’s forte

<div class="byline">By Rob Vanstone</div>The Kamloops Blazers&rsquo; No. 1 goalie will have to pass more time in the Western League before proceeding to the professional ranks.The NHL&rsquo;s Quebec Nordiques have returned Steve Passmore to Kamloops. It will be his fourth full major-junior season.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gone from being one of the youngest guys in camp to the old man,&rdquo; said Passmore, who is under NHL contract with Quebec. &ldquo;This is a bit of a change, but I&rsquo;m still optimistic about playing in the pros down the road.&ldquo;This year was an eye-opener for me. I expected to play pro in some league, although I&rsquo;m not saying I&rsquo;m ready for &lsquo;The Show&rsquo;.&rdquo;Passmore, 20, began his WHL career with the Victoria Cougars, who traded him to Kamloops Jan. 21. He was named a first-team West Division all-star last season, thanks to a 2.80 goals-against average and. 918 save percentage in 25 games with the Blazers.&ldquo;Quebec ended up having too many goalies and they were trying to find pro spots for all those guys,&rdquo; said Passmore, who spent three weeks with the Cornwall Aces-Quebec&rsquo;s American League affiliate-before being dispatched to Kamloops.&ldquo;All the other guys were too old to go back to junior. I happened to be of age to go back.&rdquo;The exception was 18-year-old Jocelyn Thibault, whom Quebec picked 10th overall in the NHL&rsquo;s 1993 entry draft. He avoided a return to the Quebec League by sticking with the big club as an underage.Passmore is trying to approach this season with a positive attitude.&ldquo;At first, I had mixed feelings,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But when I sat down and thought about it, I figured it would be in my best interest to come back to Kamloops and hopefully win a Memorial Cup title.&rdquo;&lsquo;BRIDGE IS BURNING: The Lethbridge Hurricanes were the WHL&rsquo;s hottest team in the early going, compiling a 9-1-0 record.The team has thrived under new coach Rob Daum. who believes that winning has helped him sell his philosophy.&ldquo;It makes it a lot easier,&rdquo; said Daum, the Swift Current Broncos&rsquo; assistant coach-general manager the past two years. &ldquo;It keeps everyone positive because the attitude is always upbeat.&ldquo;Any problems you have are always small because of the success on the ice. There&rsquo;s no substitute for winning.&rdquo;Or experience, for that matter.Lethbridge&rsquo;s roster includes 17 returning players. The Hurricanes finished fifth in the East Division with a 33-36-3 record last season.&ldquo;The attitude of the players is they underachieved last season,&rdquo; Daum said. &ldquo;They want to be overachievers instead of underachievers.&rdquo;TRADE BAIT: The Prince Albert Raiders have a nice problem-an abundance of goaltending. They own the rights to two proven 20-year-olds, Joaquin Gage and Stan Matwijiw.Gage has secured the Raiders&rsquo; starting job, meaning Matwijiw will be traded.Prince Albert acquired Gage from the Portland Winter Hawks June 30. He helped Portland win the West Division title last season.&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t say Stan doesn&rsquo;t have as much talent as Gage, but Gage came from a first-place team that went to the league final,&rdquo; GM Dale Engel said. &ldquo;We feel the winning feeling Gage brings to us is important.&rdquo;Gage had a 3.99 goals-against average in 38 games with Portland last season. The presence of Scott Langkow-whom the Winnipeg Jets picked 31st overall in the NHL&rsquo;s 1993 draft-allowed the Winter Hawks to trade Gage.Matwijiw was Prince Albert&rsquo;s workhorse last season, compiling a 3.98 GAA over 65 games with a last-place team.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re trying to find a situation for him,&rdquo; Engel said. &ldquo;Everybody&rsquo;s playing chess in the league. There&rsquo;s some interest in him, but not enough for us to do anything.&rdquo;DONE DEALS: The Spokane Chiefs acquired defenseman Darren Perkins from Swift Current for future considerations&hellip;The Tri-City Americans gave up future considerations for left winger Slade Stephenson from Lethbridge. &#9632;

One more season for Passmore

<div class="byline">By Stuart Cowan</div>At just 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, Laval Titan center Yanick Dube has been striking fear in opposing goalies this season.The 19-year-old center had 25 goals and 47 points in 17 games this season. That&rsquo;s 13 points more than the next highest scorer in the Quebec League-right winger Samuel Groleau of the St-Jean Lynx (5-29-34).Projected over 70 regular-season games, Dube would finish with 103 goals and 194 points, the highest league totals since Mario Lemieux scored 133 goals in 1983-84 and Patrice Lefebvre had 200 points in 1987-88.What Dube lacks in size, he makes up for in speed.&ldquo;His game is speed,&rdquo; said Laval coach Michel Therrien. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just so fast.&rdquo;Dube doesn&rsquo;t only use that speed for offense. His plus-35 rating last season attests to that.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a two-way player,&rdquo; Therrien said. &ldquo;Sometimes top scorers don&rsquo;t worry about defense. But Yanick plays both ways and he&rsquo;s a good example for young players on this team. He works hard on and off the ice. When he&rsquo;s not here he&rsquo;s working out at the gym.&rdquo;Dube was Laval&rsquo;s seventh-round pick (76th overall) at the 1991 midget draft after helping the Richelieu Riverains to the Air Canada Cup title as a 15-year-old. He scored 14 goals and 33 points in 65 games as a rookie and last season had 45 goals and 83 points in 68 games.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not surprised by the way he has started,&rdquo; Therrien said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a kid who always works hard. He started to play like this in the (playoff) final against Sherbrooke last season and at the Memorial Cup and he has continued it.&rdquo;A major reason for Dube&rsquo;s quick start this year was a shift from right wing to his more familiar center position.&ldquo;It gives me more room to move on the ice and it has helped,&rdquo; Dube said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m working hard and good things are happening.&rdquo;Dube is hoping to get an invitation to the final evaluation camp for the Canadian national junior team prior to the World Junior Championships.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s one of my main goals. I want to keep playing like this and for our team to keep winning. I want to win the Memorial Cup this season.&rdquo;He also wants to score 70 goals and get drafted by an NHL team after being overlooked in the 1993 draft.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s proof that small players can play with the big guys,&rdquo; Therrien said. &ldquo;The way he skates he&rsquo;s tough to hit-he&rsquo;s like (Theoren) Fleury with Calgary.&rdquo;ON A ROLL: Laval won its first six games under Michel Therrien following the resignation of coach Jacques Laporte. The Titan was 6-5-0 under Laporte.&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t here at the beginning of the season so I can&rsquo;t tell you what was wrong,&rdquo; said Therrien, who spent three seasons as a Laval assistant coach prior to this year.&ldquo;But it was a different coach with a different style and the players weren&rsquo;t used to that. My style is a lot more like Bob Hartley used last season.&rdquo;BISONS HONOR ROY: The Granby Bisons retired goaltender Patrick Roy&rsquo;s No. 30 prior to their home game against the Beauport Harfangs Oct. 24.Roy was Granby&rsquo;s second-round pick (21st overall) in 1982 after leading the Ste-Foy Gouverneurs to the Air Canada Cup. He played three seasons for the Bisons (1982-83 through 1984-85), compiling a 58-89-3 record and 5.33 goals-against average with Granby.He was the Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; third-round pick (51st overall) in the 1984 NHL entry draft and has gone on to make No. 33 famous.Roy is the first player in Granby&rsquo;s 13-year history to have his number retired.HENRY HOSPITALIZED: Hull Olympiques&rsquo; president Charlie Henry is recovering in hospital after undergoing a quintuple heart bypass operation Oct. 19. &#9632;

Small package Dube putting up big numbers

<div class="byline">By Jim Cressman</div>Dave MacQueen shares the record for the fastest goal in Ontario League history, but never did the rookie coach figure he&rsquo;d have the dubious honor of the slowest start in Peterborough Petes&rsquo; history.The Petes&rsquo; were 1-7-2 after the first 10 games.It hasn&rsquo;t been easy on MacQueen or new general manager Jeff Twohey. They replaced the legendary Dick Todd when Todd moved on to join the New York Rangers as an assistant.The Petes began last season with 11 straight victories, an OHL record, and advanced to a record sixth Memorial Cup. They lost to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the final.But they&rsquo;ve been hit hard this season by player graduations and injuries.MacQueen was coaching Jr. B in St. Mary&rsquo;s, Ont., and Twohey was promoted from assistant coach-assistant GM.&ldquo;Dick called the other day and said, &lsquo;Don&rsquo;t worry,&rsquo;&rdquo; said MacQueen, who recalled losing his first seven games his first year with St. Mary&rsquo;s.Todd left with a 477-239-53 record over 12 years and the Petes have a legacy of coaching greats, such as Scotty Bowman, the winningest coach in the NHL, Roger Neilson and Mike Keenan.&ldquo;All I&rsquo;ve said is Dick Todd is a legend and I respect that,&rdquo; MacQueen said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not here to fill his shoes.&rdquo;The Petes are the model major junior franchise. They&rsquo;ve had more players selected in the NHL draft than any other team. And there&rsquo;s an incredibly strong tie with the community. So that puts an even greater strain on management when the team struggles.&ldquo;You can see why the Petes have been so successful,&rdquo; MacQueen said. &ldquo;It has been a big transition but we&rsquo;ve been made to feel completely comfortable here.&rdquo;Twohey, 33, started in the Petes&rsquo; organization as a part-time scout, then became a trainer before becoming assistant coach-assistant GM in 1989.&ldquo;You can never replace Dick,&rdquo; Twohey said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re young here, but we&rsquo;ve got a lot of confidence in our ability.&rdquo;LAYING DOWN THE LAW: OHL players are abiding by new rules this season. The most significant changes are:&#9633; A match penalty and automatic one-game suspension is now assessed when a player sticks out his knee and makes contact with an opposing player when one or both is in motion.If an injury occurs, the incident is reviewed by commissioner David Branch. In the past, kneeing was only a minor penalty. The change was promoted by coaches and GMs after a number of related injuries last season.&#9633; The OHL adopted the NHL rule which says no goal can be scored by a player striking the puck above the height of the crossbar. A player&rsquo;s shoulders used to be the limit.&#9633; The NHL rule with respect to delayed penalties is also in effect. Example: While Team A is shorthanded, a delayed penalty is signalled against Team A, Team B scores. Under the new rule, the player in the box comes out and the player on delay goes in. In the past, both penalties were wiped out by the goal.WILD THING RETURNS: The North Bay Centennials welcomed the return of popular defenseman Dennis (Wild Thing) Bonvie.Bonvie, 20, had been trying out with the Cape Breton Oilers of the American League before returning for his overage season. He is one of the league&rsquo;s toughest players and accumulated 316 penalty minutes last season. In two seasons, Bonvie has four goals and 600 penalty minutes.CHANGE OF HEART: Oshawa Generals&rsquo; rookie left winger Andrew Power returned to the team after a six-week leave of absence. The fifth-round selection at the 1993 midget draft had an impressive training camp and scored a natural hat trick in a pre-season game. He left the team after that game and started the season with a Jr. B team in St. Thomas, Ont., where he had nine goals and 21 points in 10 games. &#9632;

Petes’ tandem not about to push panic button

<div class="byline">By Larry Mahoney</div>The Maine Black Bears will be without another of their top scorers for a significant portion of the Hockey East season.Senior right winger Cal Ingraham was suspended for 14 games by the National Collegiate Athletic Association because of an error in his eligibility status when he transferred to Maine in 1990.He led the team last season with 26 goals and finished third in team scoring with 45 points in 24 games.Paul Kariya, the fourth pick in last year&rsquo;s entry draft, will join the Canadian Olympic team Dec. 10 and may turn pro after the Lillehammer Games.Ingraham transferred to Maine&rsquo;s University College, located in Bangor, from the Air Force Academy in 1990. He moved to the Orono campus for the second semester.Under NCAA rules, transfers from Division I schools must be enrolled at the new school for 365 days and meet minimum academic standards prior to engaging in athletic competition.The NCAA interpreted Ingraham&rsquo;s courses at University College as equivalent to a junior college separate from the University of Maine.UM officials had considered UC to be part of the UM system.The NCAA determined Ingraham shouldn&rsquo;t have been certified to compete until January, 1992 since he did not enroll at the university&rsquo;s Orono campus until January, 1991.The 14-game suspension represents the number of games Ingraham played during the fall of 1991.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m disappointed with the decision, especially for Cal&rsquo;s sake. Cal didn&rsquo;t do anything wrong,&rdquo; said Maine athletic director Mike Ploszek. who plans to appeal the decision. &ldquo;It just doesn&rsquo;t seem fair for him entering his senior year. We are considering what our options are from an appeal standpoint.&rdquo;&ldquo;It really didn&rsquo;t have much to do with me,&rdquo; Ingraham said. &ldquo;It was an honest mistake and we (university officials) reported it. I guess that&rsquo;s the hardest part.&rdquo;SKY HIGH: Boston College coach Steve Cedorchuk is confident his team can soar to new heights this season.The Eagles finished with an uncharacteristic 6-15-3 record, second last in Hockey East.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to be much better,&rdquo; Cedorchuk said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re faster, our goaltending is improved, we&rsquo;ve got more quickness on defense and we&rsquo;re more experienced up front.&rdquo;Several key veterans have impressed in practice, including center John Joyce, the team&rsquo;s top scorer a year ago and newcomers Jeff Connolly, Ryan Taylor and Brian Callahan.STRONGER, HIGHER, FASTER: Maine was the only Hockey East team that proved to be a match for the U.S. Olympic team in the Olympians&rsquo; three-game series against New England teams. The Black Bears tied the U.S. Olympic team 3-3 Oct. 16. Boston College lost 9-3 to the Olympians on Oct. 13 and Boston University fell 8-0 to the team Oct. 15. &#9632;

Suspension shocks Ingraham

<div class="byline">By Matt Carlson</div>The Michigan Wolverines were hit hard by graduation and off-season defections, but they&rsquo;ll still be a force in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.Coach Red Berenson lost top players David Roberts, Mark Ouimet, David Harlock and Chris Tamer to graduation, while left winger Cam Stewart and defensemen Aaron Ward, signed with the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings, respectively.&ldquo;Michigan will be a changed team this year.&rdquo; Berenson said. &ldquo;The major loss for our team was on defense where we lost our top four. But the number of experienced players we lost is going to create a lot of opportunities for younger players.&rdquo;Berenson did an excellent recruiting job over the summer and the Wolverines may have as many as nine freshmen in their lineup.Part of the recruiting class includes center Brendan Morrison, who had 35 goals and 94 points in 56 games with the Penticton Panthers of the British Columbia Jr. League last season.Morrison isn&rsquo;t big at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, but he won&rsquo;t back down in traffic.Other top freshmen include center/left winger John Madden from the Barrie Colts of the Central Ontario Jr. League and defenseman Blake Sloan from the Boston Jr. Bruins. Both were pursued by several schools.LOOKING GOOD: Several CCHA arenas are undergoing facelifts or will be in the near future.Lake Superior State&rsquo;s Norris Center will have its seating expanded from 3,400 to more than 4,500 as part of a $ 1.5-million revamping. The funding effort will be spearheaded by a major donor and the leasing of 21 new private boxes at $5,000 to $6,000 per season. Work should be completed in time for the 1994-95 campaign.Other arenas to receive renovations:&#9633; Western Michigan University&rsquo;s Lawson Ice Arena underwent a $1-million makeover over the summer.&#9633; Miami-Ohio&rsquo;s Goggin Ice Arena received a new lighting system that features greatly increased visibility.GOALIE WOES: Three CCHA teams are searching to shore up big holes in goal.Bowling Green, Ferris State and Illinois-Chicago all lost their No. 1 men from last season.Bowling Green starter Aaron Ellis, 19, jumped to the Detroit Jr. Red Wings of the Ontario League after struggling academically last year.Illinois-Chicago no longer has dependable Jon Hillebrandt, its starter the past two seasons. He signed a contract with the New York Rangers.And Ferris State lost Pat Mazzoli, who will play in the Italian Elite League this year. He appeared in 24 games last season, recording a 10-9-2 record and 3.65 goals-against average. &#9632;

Excellent recruiting year makes Wolverines deadly

<div class="byline">By Andy Baggot</div>Don Lucia left Alaska. Brush Christiansen did not.Still, both coaches find themselves in the same place as a new college hockey season dawns. Both are leading teams in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.Lucia left Central Collegiate Athletic Association affiliate member Alaska-Fairbanks this summer to take over as coach at Colorado College.The job with the Tigers was created when the school fired coach Brad Buetow following two National Collegiate Athletic Association rule violations.Christiansen, meanwhile, has run the show at Alaska-Anchorage for the past 14 years. After spending last season as an affiliate member of the WCHA-the Seawolves did not figure in the standings, but did take part in the play-offs-Anchorage becomes a full-time entry this year, giving the league 10 teams.&ldquo;This is where I always wanted to see our program go,&rdquo; said Christiansen, whose club operated as an independent and won 252 games before hooking on, with the WCHA.Both coaches want to make good impressions in the WCHA. Lucia inherits a talented, if thin team whose focus was destroyed by the off-ice soap opera surrounding Buetow. He has worked hard to re-establish a sense of confidence among the players.&ldquo;The players have been tremendous,&rdquo; Lucia said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to keep it positive. I want them to look forward to coming to the rink. That was a bit of a problem last year.&rdquo;Lucia, a long-time friend of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs&rsquo; coach Mike Sertich, won 113 games in six seasons at Fairbanks.Christiansen brings a talented Seawolves&rsquo; club-big and physical with excellent skill at forward-and an idea of what he wants to happen.&ldquo;This will be a learning experience, but I don&rsquo;t want to come in thinking of ourselves as a doormat,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to be a. 500 team, but I know it&rsquo;s going to be very difficult to be in that position.&rdquo;MARQUEE MATCHUP: The annual Mariucci Classic holiday tournament Dec. 31-Jan. 2 in Minneapolis features the toughest invitational field in the country.In addition to the host Minnesota Golden Gophers, a perennial powerhouse, the defending NCAA champion Maine Black Bears, the 1992 national champion Lake Superior State Lakers and Cornell Big Red will take part.According to Minnesota coach Doug Woog, standing-room-only tickets are all that remain for the event to be held at the new 9,000-seat Mariucci Arena.TURNSTILE COUNT: The WCHA should surpass the 1-million mark in combined attendance for the first time this season. The league&rsquo;s nine schools drew 945,849 last year. The addition of Alaska-Anchorage will put the WCHA over the top. &#9632;

‘Rookie’ coaches confident

<div class="byline">By Tom Boggle</div>The only rookie coach in the Eastern College Athletic Conference this season already has a coach-of-the-year plaque hanging on his wall.Dan Poliziani will serve as the interim coach at Yale University while veteran Tim Taylor guides the U.S. Olympic team, but Poliziani brings with him a winning experience.&ldquo;The year (1991-92) I had visa problems, I went back to Canada and got a head coaching job in Jr. A with the Burlington Cougars of the Central Ontario Jr. League,&rdquo; Poliziani said. &ldquo;I ran the program the same way I envisioned I would do things at Yale if I got the chance.&ldquo;We did well with a young team and I wound up being named coach of the year. I was able to take the things I learned from Tim and put them to work.&rdquo;Poliziani is no stranger to Yale hockey. He played for the Bulldogs from 1978 to 1982 and is fourth overall in career points (131), fourth in career assists (72) and sixth in career goals (59).After helping the Bulldogs win their first Ivy League title in 1981, Poliziani played for the New Haven Nighthawks of the American League, but a serious eye injury ended his playing career and brought him back to Yale, where he has served as Taylor&rsquo;s assistant for seven seasons.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m telling everyone I&rsquo;m not trying to reinvent the wheel,&rdquo; Poliziani said. &ldquo;The most important thing to me is team discipline and that&rsquo;s something that was lacking a bit last year. We had great individuals, but we got beat by Brown (in the ECAC playoffs), which meshed better as a team.&rdquo;Poliziani is in for a challenge this season. The Bulldogs lost 70 per cent of an explosive offense that featured Hobey Baker finalist Mark Kaufmann, Jamie Lavish and all-America defenseman Jack Duffy.ENGINEERS RULE: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is the choice to win the ECAC this season, mainly because of its strong returning class.The Engineers lost just one player, defenseman Allen Kummu. The Engineers finished first in the annual coaches poll of predicted finish, capturing nine of a possible 12 first place votes.Clarkson and Harvard were picked to battle it out for second and third, respectively.BIG SHOOTER: Cornell coach Brian McCutcheon is hoping the return of forward Mike Sancimino will help the Big Red surprise this season.Sancimino, a native of Utica, Mich., missed the majority of the 1992-93 season because of illness. He played in just 14 games, scoring three goals and five assists.But he played well during the U.S. Olympic* Festival in the summer and should be a key part of Cornell&rsquo;s offense. &#9632;

Taylor’s fill-in Poliziani has tough task ahead

<h2>CCHA</h2><h3>BOWLING GREEN FALCONS</h3>F-Jason Clark. Jeff Elvin, Curtis Fry, Tom Gtantz, Mike Hall. Jason Helbmg, Jeff Herman. Brian Holzinger. Mike Johnson, Kevin Lune. A.J. Plaskey, Sean Pronger, Brett Punchard, Kevin Seguin. Jamie Williams. Chris Hutchinson. D-Chad Ackerman, Brandon Carper. Matt Eldred. Todd Kelman, Glen Mears. Todd Reirden, Kelly Perrault. Jeff Wells G-Will Clarke, Noel Crawford. Bob Petrie.<h3>FERRIS STATE BULLDOGS</h3>F-J.J. Bamberger. Scot Belt, Brad Bumham. Tim Christian. Derek Crimin. John Duff. Luke Harvey. Gordy Hunt, Gary Kitching. Mike Kolenda. Robb McIntyre. Greg Paine, Val Passarelli, Doug Smith. Phil Sturock D-Dusty Anderson, Colin Dodunski, John Gruden, Dwight Pamsh, Andy Roach, Keith Sergott, J. Sotropa. G-Seth Appert. Craig Lisko, Rich Nagy<h3>ILLINOIS-CHICAGO FLAMES</h3>F-Alan Dunbar. Todd Fmner, Marc Genest, Matt Hanaman. Rob Hutson, Connor Kerr, Derek Knorr. Rick Lacroix, Chris MacDonald. Trevor Mathias. Matt McElwee, Mike Peron, Brian Thibodeau. Mark Zdan, Tracy Bradach, Shaun Summerville. Ryan Wells. D-Jeff Blum. Matt Brenner. Mike Dennis. Shannon Finn, Bob Gohde, Marty McMillan, Rob Mottau. G-Sean Carter, Jeff Featherstone. Paul Spencer.<h3>KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES</h3>F-Dean Sylvester. Evan Sylvester, Sam Thombury, David Dartsch. Marc Drouin, Mark Kotary, Bob Krosky. Bob Mainhardt, Steve McLean. Jim Mitchell, Claude Morin. Neal Purdon, Erik Ray-gor. D-Sebastien Bilodeau, Quinn Fair, Lane Gunderson. Kevin McPherson. Roger Mischke, Colin Muldoon. Jason Ricci, Steve Sabo. Jason Watt. G-Javier Gorriti. Scott Shaw, Mario Lacasse.<h3>LAKE SUPERIOR STATE LAKERS</h3>F-Wayne Strachan, Gerald Taltaire, Sean Tallaire, Jason Trzcmski, Rob VaBcevic. Kurt Miller, Mike Morin, Jay Ness. Brian Fetsner, Danny Galarneau, Mike Koiranen, Clayton Beddoes. Matt Alvey, Dan Angelelli. Scott McCabe. D-Keith Aldndge. Steven Barnes, Josh Bllben, Chad Crumley, Mike Matteucci, Gino Pulente, Ryan Sharpe, Darren Welherill, Brad Willner. G-Sean Kulick, Blaine Lacher. Paul Sass<h3>MIAMI REDSKINS</h3>F-Kevyn Adams. Enrico Blasi. Derek Block, Marc Boxer, Dan Carter, Bob Clouston. Jason Crane. Jared Echternach, Tom White, Brian Ensign. Jason Mallon. Andrew Miller, Matt Oates. Shawn Penn. Stephen Rohr, Barry Schutte, Rene Vonlanthen. D-Andrew Backen. Bobby Marshall, Jeff Reid, Justin Krall, Dan Daikawa, Trent Eigner. Pat Hanley. Ryan Surber. G-Charles Thuss, Eustace King, Kevin Deschambeault. Richard Shulmistra<h3>MICHIGAN WOLVERINES</h3>F-John Arnold, Jason Bottertll. Anton Fedorov. Kevin Hilton, Mike Knuble, Mike Legg, Warren Luhmng, John Madden. Brendan Morrison, David Oliver. Mike Stone, Rick Willis, Brian Wiseman. Ron Sacka, Ryan Srttler. D-Alan Sinclair. Peter Bourke. Chris Frescoin, Steven Halko. Tim Hogan, Mark Sakala. Harold Schock, Blake Sloan, Drew Denzin. G-Chris Gordon. Steve Shields, Al Loges<h3>MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS</h3>F-Mike Ware, Matt Albers, Michael Burkett. Anson Carter, Josh Wiegand, Brian Clifford, Bran Crane. Steve Ferranti. Scott Worden, Steve Guolla, Kelly Harper, Mike Mattis. Rem Murray, Steve Suk. Tony Tuzzolino. D-Bart Turner, Bart Vanstaaldumen, Steve Norton. Chns Sullivan. Nicolas Perreault. Chris Slater. Chris Smith, Ryan Fleming G-Mike Buzak, Eric Kruse. John Weidenbach, Taylor Gemmel<h3>NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH</h3>F-Chris Bales, Patrick Bellmore. Brett Bruininks. Troy Cusey. Tim Harberts, Jeff Hasselman, Brent Lamppa, Jamie Ling. Terry Lorenz, Jay Matushak, Ryan Thornton, Sean McAlister, Bnan McCarthy. Jamie Morshead. Carey Nemeth, John Rushm. D-Matt Osiecki. Bryan Welch. Davide DalGrande. Jeremy Coe. Matt Bieck, Garry Gruber. Ben Nelsen. Tom Arkell. Rob Bolton G-Erik Berg. Brent Lothrop. Greg Louder. Wade Salzman.<h3>OHIO STATE BUCKEYES</h3>F-Steve BrenL Pierre DuFour, Sacha Guilbault. Randy Holmes. Chad Power, Bill Rathwell. Steve Richards, Bryan Riedel. Joe Sellers, Adam Smith, Sean Sutton. Ron White, Chris Williams. D-Sandy Fraser. Tim Green. Gary Hirst, Brian Keller, Derek Nicolson, Craig Paterson. Jeff Winter, Rob Peters G-Tom Askey, Kurt Brown, Phil Groenevefd.<h3>WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS</h3>F-Chris Brooks. Jeremy Brown, Justin Cardwell, Tony Code, Matt Cressman. Shawn Zimmerman. Ryan D&rsquo;Arcy. Brian Gallentine. Jim Holman, Derek Innanen, Mark Jodoin, Jamal Mayers, Colin Ward, Mike Whitton, Peter Wilkinson, Matt Greene. D-Derek Schooley. Brendan Kenny. Mikhail Lapin, Darren Maloney. David Agnew, Brent Brekke, Tom Carriere. G-Craig Brown. David Mitchell, Brian Renfrew.<h3>ALASKA-FAIRBANKS NANOOKS</h3>F-Kyle Armstrong, Cody Bowtell. Warren Carter. Jason Eckel, Dean Fedorchuk. Lome Kanigan, Scott Keyes, Dima Kulmanovsky, Tavis MacMillan. Greg Milles, Derek Norton. Kevin Oakenfold. Rob Phillips. Trent Schachle. Fred Scott, Corey Spring, Pat Williams, Ryan Olier D-Marcel Aubin, Chris Carney, Mark Cotter, Dallas Ferguson, Chris Hodges, Don Lester. Bob Schwark, Glenn Odishaw. Kirk Patton. G-Brian Fish, Bond Sutton, Larry Moberg<h2>WCHA</h2><h3>ALASKA-ANCHORAGE SEAWOLVES</h3>F-Cotton Gore, Brandon Carlson, Randy Muise, Mitch Kean, Trent Leggett, Todd Skoglund, Mark Stitt, Troy Norcross. Kirk MacDonald, Jack Kowal, Paul Williams, Glen Thornborough, Garnet Deschamps, David Valieres, Keith Morris, Mika Rauttakallio. D-Todd Berhard, Jason White, Tim May, Petri Tuomisto, Darren Meek, Kelly Melton, Jeremy Mylymok, Chris Kerr. G-Darren Donald, Chris Davis, Lee Schill.<h3>COLORADO COLLEGE TIGERS</h3>F-Chad Remackel, Steve Nelson, Colin Schmidt, R.J. Enga, Rob Shypitka, Ryan Reynard, Tim Sweezo. Jim Paradise, Andy Olds, Chad Hartnell, Jody Jaraczewski, Jason Christopherson, Peter Geronazzo, Steve Metzger, Jay McNeill, David Tucker, Jim Nicol. D-Jon Steiner, Eric Rud, Bob Needham, Kent Fearns, David Paxton, Shawn Reid. G-Judd Lambert, Paul Frank, Ryan Bach.<h3>DENVER PIONEERS</h3>F-Dave Klasnick, Petri Gunther, Sean Ortiz, Antti Lasksonan, Garrett Buzan, Kelly Hrycun, Mike Rotach, Brian Konowalchuk, Brent Cary, Angelo Ricci, Mike Naylor, Anders Bjork, Jude Sandvall, Jason Elders, Charlie Host, Corey Carlson, Chris Kenady, Erik Andersson. D&mdash;Kelly Hollingshead, Mike Corbett, Ian DeCorby, Mark Luger, Paul Koch, Craig McMillan, Travis Smith, John McLean. G-Sinuhe Wallinhelmo, Chris Bums, Jim Mullin.<h3>MICHIGAN TECH HUSKIES</h3>F-Layne Lebel, Kyle Ferguson, John Kisil, Justin Peca, Patrick Mikesch, Martin Machacek, Jeff Mikesch, Jay Storm, Mitch Lane, Kyle Peterson, Mike Figliomeni, Randy Stevens, Jim Storm, Andre Savage, Travis Seale, Brent Peterson, D-Liam Garvey, Jason Wright, Kirby Perrault, Jason Hanchuk, Eric Jensen, Jeff Hill, Brian Hunter, John French. G-J.P. Pietila, Randy Wakeham, Jamie Ram, Luciano Caravaggio.<h3>MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS</h3>F-Joe Dziedzic, Bobby Dustin, Brian LaFleur, Brandon Steege, Steve Magnusson, Dave Larson, Andy Brink, Justin McHugh, Jeff Nielson, Brian Bonin, Jesse Bertagliati, Dan Woog, John Hillman, Brent Godbout, Jim Hillman, Jed Fiebelkorn, Tony Bianci, Dan Hendrickson, Nick Checco. D-Greg Zwakman, Mike McAlpine, Dan Trebil, Charlie Wasley, Eric Means, Brett Abrahamson, Chris McAlpine. G-Jeff Moen, Jeff Callinan.<h3>MINNESOTA-DULUTH BULLDOGS</h3>F-Rusty Fitzgerald, Kraig Karakas, Sergei Petrov, Derek Locker, Aaron Novak, Joe Tamminen, Matt Christian. Corey Osmak, Joe Ciccarello, Chris Marinucci, Marc Christian, Chris Sitt-low, Jeff Romfo, Adam Roy, Brian Caruso, Dan Jabionic, Chet Culic, Brad Federenko, Kyle Erickson. D-Todd Mickolajak, Brett Larson, Greg Hanson, Chris Snell, Jason Garatti, David Buck, Rick Mrozik, Rod Aldoff, Rod Miller. G-Jerome Butler, Taras Lendzyk, Niklas Axelsson.<h3>NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING SIOUX</h3>F-Kevin Hoogsteen, Landon Wilson, Sean Beswick, Teeder Wynne, Joby Bond, Brad Burym, Marty Schriner, Chris Gotziaman, Brian Zierke, Keith Murphy, Scott Kirton, Darcy Mitani, Brett Hryniuk, Dean Grillo, Corey Johnson, Kevin McKinnon, Troy Davis, Page Klostreich. D-Jarrod Olson, Kevin Rappana, Akil Adams, Mark Pivetz, Dane Litke, Darren Bear, Nick Naumenko, Brad Bombardir. G-Todd Jones, Jeff Lembke, Toby Kvalevog, Kevin Powell.<h3>NORTHERN MICHIGAN WILDCATS</h3>F-Kory Karlander, Justin George, Don McCusker, Greg Hadden, Brian Barker, Brent Riplinger, Steve Woog, Karson Kaebel, Bill MacGillivary, Scott Green, Dean Seymour, Scott Smith, Mike Harding, Patrik Hansson, Bryan Ganz, Jason Hehr. D-Steve Hamilton, Shayne Tomlinson, Trevor Janicki, Garett MacDonald, Darcy Dallas, Jason Hehr, Steve Carpenter, Chad Dameworth, Mike Hillock. G-Keith Barcholomaus, Paul Taylor, Dieter Kochan.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01313/6146596-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="477" height="730"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Konowalchuk Denver Pioneers</figcaption></div><h3>ST. CLOUD HUSKIES</h3>F-Bill Lund, Cory Fairchild, Adam Rodak, Eric Johnson, Mike O&rsquo;Connell, Kelly Rieder, Tony Gruba, Jeff Schmidt, Marc Gagnon, Jay Geisbauer, Brett Lievers, Dave Holum, Chad Brennan, Chris Markstrom, Mike Maristuan, Dave Paradise, Sandy Gasseau. D-Gino Santerre, P. J. Lepler, Kelly Hultgren, Dan Reimann, Taj Melson, Brad Nelson, Randy Best. G-Grant Sjerven, Neil Cooper, Jason Jiskra.<h3>WISCONSIN BADGERS</h3>F-Kelly Fairchild, Darren Haley, Andrew Shier, Shawn Carter, Jason Zent, Jamie Spencer, Todd Hedlund, Max Williams, Blaine Moore, Troy Howard, Chris Tucker, Scott Sanderson, Rob Granato, Mike Doers, Dan Tompkins, Mike Strobel, Fran Bussey. D-Ulvis Katlaps, Brian Rafalski, Mickey Elick, Tim Krug, Matt Peterson, Chris Tok, Jeff Sanderson, Marco Balkovec, Mark Strobel. G-Kirk Daubenspeck, Jim Carey, Scott Skaleski.<h2>ECAC</h2><h3>BROWN BEARS</h3>F-Scott Bradford. Marty Clapton, Mark Fabbro, Mike Flynn, Kim Hannah, Scott Humber, Brian Jardine. Kelly Jones. Chris Kaban, Steve Kathol, Malcolm Kostuchenko, Tony Martino, Robert Merrill, Ryan Mulhern, Sean Murdoch, Mike Noble, Kns Omicioli. Mark Shaughnessy. Eric Trach. Pasi Vantinnen D-John Churchward. Charlie Humber. James Mooney. Bill McKay. Jeff Reschny, Ron Smitko, Patrick Thompson, Mike Traggio, Brendan Whiffet G-Brian Audette Geoff Finch. Mike Parsons<h3>CLARKSON GOLDEN KNIGHTS</h3>F-Cratg Conroy. Chris de Ruiter. Shawn Fotheringham, Jean-Francois Houle. Chris Lipsett. Kevin Murphy. Steve Palmer. Patrice Robitaille, Jerry Rosenheck. David Seitz, Marko Tuomainen, Todd White D-Josh Bartell. Ed Hennch, Phil Lecavalier, Brian Mueller. Matt Pagnutti, Patrick Therault, Adam Weisel. G-Kerry Blanchard. Jason Currie, Gregg Malicke, Chuck McGee.<h3>COLGATE RED RAIDERS</h3>F-Eari Cronan, Dave Debusschere, Chris DeProfio, Steve DuBarry, Ron Fogarty. Bruce Gardiner. Dan Gardiner. Mike Harder, Greg Lewis. Clayton McCaffrey. Rob Metz, Sam Raffoul. Scott Steeves. Brent Wilde D-Jason Craig. Nigel Creightney, John Dance, Brad Dexter, Matt Garzone, Dan Gibson, Jack McIntosh. Todd Murphy, Rod Pamenter. J. P. Paquin. G-Jason Gates. Shawn Murray, Matt Weder.<h3>CORNELL BIG RED</h3>F-Vincent Auger. Tony Bergin. Geoff Bumstead, Brad Chartrand, Matt Cooney, John DeHart. Andre DoB. Shaun Hannah, Jake Karam, Jiri Kloboucek, Geoff Lopatka. Joel McArter. Tyler McManus. Jamie Papp. Mike Sacimmo, Mark Scollan. D-Dan Dufresne. Blair Ettles, Christian FeHi, Bill Holowatiuk. Jason Kendall, Tim Shean. Alex Vershinin. Chad Wilson, Steve Wilson. G-Andy Bandurski, Eddy Skazyk.<h3>DARTMOUTH BIG GREEN</h3>F-Mike Bolt, Tony DelCannine. Dion DelMonte, Scott Fraser. Derek Geary, Owen Hughes, Bill Kellecher, Rob Kerr. Pavol Liska, Mike Richardson. Brent Retter. Tom Ruzzo, Mike Stacchl. Patrick Turcotte, Matt Wilson. D-Dan Bloom, Dax Burkhart. Ben Butters, Matt Colins, Trevor Dodman, Scott Dolesh. Eric Dumas, Mike Loga, Darren Peers. Yanick Roussin, Darren Wercinski, Dan Williams G-Francis Power. Ben Helter. Mike Bracco.<h3>HARVARD CRIMSON</h3>F-Chris Baird, Joe Craigen, Perry Cohagen, Ben Coughlin, Bnan Farrell. Cory Gustafson, Tom Holmes, Jason Karmanos, Ian Kennlsh, Steve Martins. Keith McLean. Kirk Nielson, Ethan Philpott, Stuart Swenson. D-Lou Body, Marco Ferrari. Ashlin Halfnight, Bryan Lonsinger. Derek Maguire. Geb Marett. Sean McCann, Peter McLaughlin. G-Steve Hermsdorf. Aaron Isreal. Tripp Tracy.<h3>PRINCETON TIGERS</h3>F-Mike Bas. Ethan Early. Troy Ewanchyna. Tom Flummertell John Fust. Jon Kelley, Mervin Kopeck, Clinton Murray. J.P O&rsquo;Connor. Miro Paste, Joey Pelle, Tony Ranaldi. David Scow-by, Ian Shaip, Corey Rhodes, Tom Tucker, Jean Verdon. D-Scott Almon, Dan Brown, Gavin Cdquhoun, Brent Rahar, Barrington Miller. Sean O&rsquo;Brien, Jason Smith. G-Rod Yorke. James Konte<h3>RENSSELAER ENGINEERS</h3>F-Ketly Askew, Kobie Boykins, Jeff Bnck, Wayne Clarke. Jeff Gabriel, Craig Hamelin. Ken Kwasniewski. Xavier Majic. Jeff Matthews. Chns Maye, Jeff O&rsquo;Connor, Ron Pasco, Enc Perardi. Tim Regan. Bryan Richardson. D-Adam Bartell. Cam Cuthbert. Chns Kiley. Brad Layzell Jon Pirrong, Patrick Rochon. G-Mike Tamburro, Tim Spadalore. Neil Little. Tim Carvel.<h3>ST. LAWRENCE SAINTS</h3>F-Mike Attain, Cade Blackburn, Ryan Cassidy. Bnan Kapeller. Kris Laamanen, Brian McCarthy, Mark McGeough. Spencer Meany. Burke Murphy. Scott Murphy, Joel Prpic. Dan Skene. Scott Stevens. D-Troy Creurer, Thomas Cullen. Chns Dashney. Jeff Kungle, Brian LaVack. Mike McCourt, Tom Perry, Ken Ruddock. G-Jon Bracco, Paul Spagnoletti.<h3>UNION COLLEGE SKATING DUTCHMEN</h3>F-Ftyan Alaspa. Chris Albert, Jamie Antoine. Steve Battiston, Ryan Donovan. Jayson Flowers, Chris Ford. Chris Hancock. Cory Holbrodgh, Jeff Jampetti. Russell Monteith, Patrick O&rsquo;Ftaherty, Andrew Otynick, Jay Prentice. Craig Reckin. Jon Sincinski, Chris Sears. Troy Stevens. Chad Thompson, Alex Vallee D-Scott Boyd. Greg Buchanan, Dean Goulet. Shane Holunga. Matt Kelley, Brad Kukko, BiU Moody, Seabrook Satterlund. Reid Simonton, Andrew Will. G-Luigi Villa. Mike Gallant.<h3>VERMONT CATAMOUNTS</h3>F-Dominique Ducharme, Phil Eboli. Keith Festa. Matt Johnson. BUI Lincoln, Eric Lavoie. Brian Leddy. Travis Lehouiiler. Dale Patterson. Rob Pattison, Nicolas Perreault, Eric Perrin. Tom Quinn. John Christian Ruld. Matt Walter, Martin St. Louis. D-Corey Mechanic. Steve McKell, Mike Larkin. Scott MacDonald, Pavel Navant. Jonathan Sorg, Jason Williams G-Tom Vukota, Jon Miyamoto<h3>YALE BULLDOGS</h3>F-Chris Barbanti, Keith Carpenter, Todd Carricato. Yvan Champagne. Art Chipman, Jason Cipolla. Brendan Doyle, John Emmons. Martin Leroux. Steve Lombardi. Louie Locks, Ryan Nerz, Joshua Rabjohns. Jeff Sorem. Andy Weidenbach. Michael Yoshino. D-Pelle Bildsten. Dan Brierley, David Cochran, Mike Cullinane, Prescott Logan. Jame Mackey. Curtis Millen. Dan Nyberg. Sean Owen. Sari Silven-noinen. Garrison Smith G-Dan Choquette, Jamie Francomano. Todd Sullivan<h2>HOCKEY EAST</h2><h3>BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES</h3>F-Rob Canavan, Ryan Haggerty, Rob LaFerriere, Jack Callahan, Jeff Connolly, David Hymovitz, Toby Harris, Mike McCarthy, Don Chase, Jerry Buckley, John Joyce. Clifton McHale, Bob Thornton, Brian Callahan, Jim Krayer, Mark Wainwright. D-Tom Ashe, Brad Carlson, Mike Spalla, Joe Harney, John DeMarco, Peter Masters; Mark Milford, David Wainwright, Ryan Taylor, Greg Callahan. G-Josh Singewald, Greg Hampton, Greg Taylor, Mike Sparrow.<h3>BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS</h3>F-Billy Pierce, Shawn Bates, Jon Jenkins, Bob Lachance, Mike Grier, John Hynes Jr., Mike Pomichter, Jay Pandolfo, Jon Pratt, Steve Thornton, Ken Rausch, Mike Prendergast, Matt Wright, Doug Friedman, Jacques Joubert, Jon Jacques.D-Jon Coleman, Stephen Foster, Kaj Linna, Chris O&rsquo;Sullivan, Dan Donato, Doug Wood, Shane Johnson, Rich Brennan. G-J.P. McKersie, Chris Bise, Derek Herlofsky, Shawn Ferullo.<h3>MAINE BLACK BEARS</h3>F-Paul Kariya, Mike Latendresse, Barry Clukey, Wayne Conlan, Patrice Tardif, Mike Ray, Brad Purdie, Dan Shermerhom, Tony Frennette, Justin Tomberlin, Chuck Texeira, Tim Lovell. Brad Mahoney, Cal Ingraham, Marcel Pineau, Trevor Roenick, Red Cardinal. D-Leo Wlasow, Lee Saunders. Andy Silverman, Dave Maclsaac, Jeff Tory, Chris Imes, Jacque Rodrique, Jason Weinrich, Jason Mansoff. G&mdash;Blair Allison, Peter Nordell, Blair Marsh.<h3>MASSACHUSETTES-LOWELL CHIEFS</h3>F-Brendan Concannon, Jarrod DiBona, Jon Mahoney, Jeff Daw, Ryan Sandholm, Jeremy Tabb, Marc Salsman, Ryan Golden, Bill Riga, Normand Bazin, Neal Donovan, Ian Hebert, Eric Brown, Greg Bullock, Mike Murray, Shane Henry, Christian Sbrocca. D-Kerry Angus, Paul Boffo, Ed Campbell, Travis Tucker, Dave Barozzino, David Mayes, Aaron Kriss, Jason Cormier. G-Chris Hagan, Craig Lindsay, Dwayne Roloson.<h3>MERRIMACK WARRIORS</h3>F-Jim Gibson, Craig Ross, Matt Adams, Rob Atkinson, Ryan Mailhiot, Quentin Fendelet, Cooper Naylor, Claudio Peca, Darryl Krauss, Rob Beck, Tom Johnson, Mark Goble, Dave Armstrong, Rich Beauregard, Mike Ceppi, Derek Fosberg, Matt Gallo, Brian Boucher, Todd Charbonnier, Chris Davis, Ziggy Marszalek, Eric Weichseibaumer. D-Steve McKenna, Jason Pagni, Dean Capuano, Mark Comtorth, Chuck Baker, Ryan Guzior, Tom Costa, Dan Hodge, John Jakopin, Chris Ross. G-Matt Poska, Kevin Candito, Martin Legault, Eric Thibeault, Jim McNiff.<h3>NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDCATS</h3>F-Eric Royal, Rob Donovan, Mike Sullivan, Tom Nolan, Sean Perry, Jeff Lenz, Tom O&rsquo;Brien, Scott Robison, Eric Flinton, Brian Putnam, Jason Dexter, Pat Norton, Nick Poole, Glenn Stewart, Bob Chebator, Joe Moran, Corey Cash, Mike Heinke, Eric Boguniecki. D-Eric Fitzgerald, Erik Johnson, Steve Pleau, Scott Malone, Mike McCready, Kent Schmidtke, Brian Muir, Tim Murray, Dean Woodman, Ted Russell. G-Brian LaRochelle, Trent Cavicchi.<h3>NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES</h3>F-Mike Taylor, Tom Parlon, Mike Collett, Tom O&rsquo;Connor, Jordon Shields, Dan Lupo, Tomas Persson, Hart Webb, Geoff Lucas, Craig Carmody, David Penney, Eric Petersen, Jean-Francois Aube, Steve Phillips, Jason Melong. D-Francois Bouchard, Rick Schuhwerk, Danny McGillis, Darryl MacNair, Jeff Vaughn, Jason Kelly, Brad Klyn. G&mdash;Elijah Gold, Todd Reynolds, Kevin Noke, Mike Veisor.<h3>PROVIDENCE COLLEGE FRIARS</h3>F-Hal Gill, Dennis Burke, George Breen, Joe Hulbig, David Ruhly, Chad Quenneville, Trevor Hanson, Brady Kramer, Russ Guzior, Brian Ridolfi, Travis Dillabough, Erik Peterson, David Green, Mike Gambino, Stefan Brannare, Jon LaVarre. D-lan Paskowski, Jay Kenney, Dennis Sousa, Justin Gould, Scott Balboni, Jon Rowe, Erik Sundquist. G-Bob Bell, Dan Dennis, Vin Martino. &#9632;

f0041-01

NCAA ROSTERS

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0045-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02127/6146679-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg"></div><h2>KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS</h2>Statistics provided by National Hockey League; RK-overall rank; NO.-uniform number; GP-games played; MIN-minutes played; GAA-goals-against average; W-wins; L-losses; T-ties; ENG-empty-net goals; SO-shutouts; GA-goals against; SA-shots against; SV%-save percentage. Players indicated by an asterisk (*) are eligible for the Calder Trophy. Overall rank is based on goals-against average with ties broken using the following criteria: minutes played, save percentage and wins (minimum 120 minutes played). &#9632;

f0045-02

NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

<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, OCT. 18</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01203/6146850-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="587" height="3063"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02141/6146843-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="584" height="2246"></div><h2>TUESDAY, OCT. 19</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0397/6146836-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="582" height="1131"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0478/6146829-1-eng-US/f0046-042.jpg" title="f0046-04" width="590" height="3481"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0559/6146822-1-eng-US/f0046-052.jpg" title="f0046-05" width="592" height="3023"></div><h2>WEDNESDAY, OCT. 20</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0651/6146815-1-eng-US/f0046-062.jpg" title="f0046-06" width="592" height="368"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0744/6146808-1-eng-US/f0046-072.jpg" title="f0046-07" width="594" height="3485"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01231/6146801-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="590" height="2517"></div><h2>THURSDAY, OCT. 21</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02165/6146794-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="594" height="926"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-03131/6146787-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg" title="f0047-03" width="588" height="3537"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0488/6146780-1-eng-US/f0047-042.jpg" title="f0047-04" width="592" height="3331"></div><h2>FRIDAY, OCT. 22</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0564/6146773-1-eng-US/f0047-052.jpg" title="f0047-05" width="590" height="116"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0649/6146766-1-eng-US/f0047-062.jpg" title="f0047-06" width="604" height="3543"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0742/6146759-1-eng-US/f0047-072.jpg" title="f0047-07" width="592" height="2681"></div><h2>SATURDAY, OCT. 23</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0829/6146752-1-eng-US/f0047-082.jpg" title="f0047-08" width="596" height="764"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01157/6146745-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="602" height="3501"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02103/6146738-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="592" height="3499"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0366/6146731-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="600" height="3493"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0451/6146724-1-eng-US/f0048-042.jpg" title="f0048-04" width="588" height="3499"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0536/6146717-1-eng-US/f0048-052.jpg" title="f0048-05" width="590" height="82"></div><h2>SUNDAY, OCT. 24</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0625/6146710-1-eng-US/f0048-062.jpg" title="f0048-06" width="594" height="3339"></div> &#9632;

f0046-01

NHL SUMMARIES

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01139/6146888-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01140/6146881-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="3100" height="3544"></div> &#9632;

f0049-01

SCOREBOARD

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0051-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01131/6146919-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0051-01

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0052-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0275/6146957-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01128/6146950-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="3103" height="3028"></div> &#9632;

f0052-02

AMERICAN LEAGUE

<div class="byline">By Al Morganti</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01115/6147040-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg" title="f0056-01" width="377" height="533"></div>Big contracts are becoming almost as common in the NHL as they are in the other major sports. The big difference in hockey is that once granted the megadeal, most players begin to worry about how to earn the money, rather than how to spend it.That has changed a little over the last few years, but there are still a lot of guys who don&rsquo;t let their newfound wealth go to their heads. They still perform with as much determination as they did before they entered the richman&rsquo;s tax bracket.Such is the case with Ray Ferraro. The New York Islanders&rsquo; gritty center avoided one of those nasty arbitration hearings during the third week of the season when he agreed to a $1.5million deal over two years. Ferraro, coming off a monster playoff with 13 goals in 18 games, was not looking forward to his day in court.Ferraro has a boy scout personality and isn&rsquo;t the type to handle the mudslinging that takes place in arbitration very well. And it would be out of character for him to boast-or allow his agent to boast-about what he has done for the team.&ldquo;I would have gone through it,&rdquo; Ferraro said, &ldquo;but I wasn&rsquo;t looking forward to it. If we were $100,000 or $150,000 apart, I would have done it. But for $15,000 or $20,000, it wasn&rsquo;t worth it.&rdquo;It wasn&rsquo;t long ago $20,000 would have been a big deal to Ferraro. A middle-round draft choice of the Hartford Whalers in 1982, Ferraro is hardly a first-level star and he came up during a time when big bucks were the perks of other sports, not the NHL.&ldquo;When I agreed to this deal,&rdquo; Ferraro said, &ldquo;I was thinking back to the time when I roomed with Paul Mac-Dermid in Hartford. I remember we would talk about salaries and the big thing was hoping one day to earn $100,000. We thought that would be the ultimate.&rdquo;As it turned out, Ferraro has cashed in pretty well for a 29-year-old coming off an injury-plagued sea son. He played just 46 games in 1992-93, collecting 14 goals and 47 points. His case for a substantial raise-he earned $280,000 last season-was built in the Isles&rsquo; run to the conference final.But with the new contract comes added pressure and responsibility. Ferraro knows if things don&rsquo;t go right, he&rsquo;ll be held as accountable as the Isles&rsquo; other highly paid players.&ldquo;Hey, I&rsquo;m a big fan of other sports,&rdquo; Ferraro said, &ldquo;so, I know how it works from the fans&rsquo; standpoint. A guy makes good money and you&rsquo;ll expect he&rsquo;ll look like he&rsquo;s worth it every night.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have a problem with that. For me, it won&rsquo;t make any difference. I&rsquo;m the kind of guy that expects a lot of myself in any case.&rdquo;Perhaps it wasn&rsquo;t coincidental that while Ferraro was going through his contract posturing, the Islanders were off to a terrible 1-3-0 start on the west coast, then got embarrassed by the New Jersey Devils in their home opener 6-3, before losing a thriller to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0278/6147033-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg" title="f0056-02" width="567" height="926"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ray Ferraro</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I think what happened is we started to assume some things,&rdquo; Ferraro said. &ldquo;I think we played really well in the playoffs last season, got a lot of attention for beating the Penguins and some people just sort of thought it would carry over.&ldquo;People expected it was automatic we would get better this season, or people expected we would continue to grow as a team.&rdquo;Ferraro knows, however, a team can&rsquo;t live on reputation and it can&rsquo;t afford to become complacent. The Trail, B.C., native has first-hand knowledge how resting on your laurels can get you into deep trouble quickly.&ldquo;I was on a Hartford team that took Montreal to a seventh game in the division finals in 1986,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We all came back next season and we thought, &lsquo;Well, we&rsquo;re on our way.&rsquo;&ldquo;That was 1986 and the Whalers haven&rsquo;t won a playoff series since. I think I learned my lesson.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s Ferraro&rsquo;s ability to relay that message to his teammates that will prove his worth to the Islanders. &#9632;

f0056-01

Ray makes lots of dollars and sense

<div class="byline">By Michael Ulmer</div>There is no equivalent in Czech to the axiom, &ldquo;Make hay when the sun shines,&rdquo; but Martin Straka has shown he understands opportunity nonetheless.Straka, a 21-year-old center who scored just three goals last year, has been the unexpected beneficiary of Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s back problems. But the real winners are the Pittsburgh Penguins.After 10 games, the line of Straka, right winger Jaromir Jagr and veteran left winger Doug Brown scored 14 of the Penguins&rsquo; 31 goals.Seven-game point-scoring streaks for both Straka and Jagr ended in a 3-3 tie with the St. Louis Blues Oct. 23.The play of Straka, Jagr and Brown has lifted the Penguins from what could have been a terrible start. Lemieux wasn&rsquo;t scheduled to return to the lineup until Oct. 28 and longtime linemates Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet have endured disappointing starts. The two combined for just six goals in the first 10 games.Meanwhile, it took Ron Francis 10 games to score his first goal. And Markus Naslund, touted in the offseason as the club&rsquo;s best new young forward, looked lost through training camp and the early regular season.Straka, meanwhile, has responded to a surge in ice time. He led the team in goals with eight and scored in six of his first seven games.Jagr, coach Eddie Johnston&rsquo;s choice as the team&rsquo;s best player this season, led all Pittsburgh scorers with four goals and 13 points.Straka is the antithesis of his countryman Jagr. Despite his eye-catching one-on-one moves, Jagr is a better playmaker than scorer. Jagr&rsquo;s goal total has inched up from 27 to 34 in his three NHL seasons, but he has doubled his assists from 30 in his rookie year to last year&rsquo;s total of 60.Unlike Jagr, Straka, a solid 5-foot-10, 180 pounder, is a pure scorer. The Penguins chose him in the first round in 1992 after he scored 27 goals as a 19-year-old for his hometown team, Skoda Plzen in the Czech Elite League. He has neither premier speed nor an overpowering shot, but is clever. And with Jagr acting as an aircraft carrier on offense. Straka finds plenty of room. Most of his goals were in-close chances generated by Jagr.While Jagr considers defense getting a faceoff in the other team&rsquo;s zone, Straka has shown excellent two-way instincts.Straka said ice time, more than familiarity, has triggered his goal explosion. Stocked with arguably the best group of forwards of all-time, former Penguins&rsquo; coach Scotty Bowman used rookie Straka sparingly last season. Straka played 42 games, scoring three goals and 16 points. He also played four games with the Penguins&rsquo; International League affiliate, the Cleveland Lumberjacks, and had four goals and seven points in four games.&ldquo;Playing with Jaromir is great, he&rsquo;s a great player,&rdquo; Straka said. &ldquo;Plus last year, many of the games I would play one shift, two shifts. Now, playing this much, it&rsquo;s good for me.&rdquo;And good for Brown, who was released by the New Jersey Devils after last season. Brown, who spent time in the minors last season and played only 15 games with the Devils, has experienced a rejuvenation playing with Straka and Jagr.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a question of being with two tremendous players,&rdquo; Brown said. &ldquo;Jaromir has such great skills and Straka has a hot hand and quick feet. I have a little bit of speed and I&rsquo;m the conscience defensively.&rdquo;Johnston said he intends to keep the unit intact after Lemieux returns. Assuming Le Magnifique is reunited with linemates Stevens and Tocchet, that leaves Francis to center a line with Naslund and Joe Mullen.As they often have through Lemieux&rsquo;s injuries over the years, the Penguins have found a way to stay afloat.With Lemieux coming back, the thought of defending the Penguins is enough to give most opponents anxiety attacks.&ldquo;Last year, Pittsburgh was a team with two very good offensive lines,&rdquo; said New York Islanders&rsquo; pro scout Ken Morrow. &ldquo;When Lemieux comes back, that gives them three good lines and that&rsquo;s hard to defense.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0341/6147071-1-eng-US/f0056-032.jpg" title="f0056-03" width="958" height="2601"><figcaption class="caption-body">Martin Straka</figcaption></div><h2>BREAKING OUT OF BAD TIMES</h2>Martin Straka isn&rsquo;t the only player posting breakthrough numbers after a sluggish start to his career. There are others who have stepped up their play after struggling early in their careers:&#9633; Josef Beranek led the Philadelphia Flyers with nine goals in eight games, including at least one in seven straight. Prior to this season: 27 goals in 124 games.&#9633; Rob Pearson of the Toronto Maple Leafs had six goals and IQ points in eight games, but bruised his right knee on Oct. 23. Prior to this season: 37 goals in 125 games.&#9633; Keith Primeau of the Detroit Red Wings had five goals and 10 points-not to mention a much more prominent role-in seven games. Prior to this season: 24 goals in 166 games. &#9632;

f0056-03

Sophomore sensation

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div>Montreal Canadiens&rsquo; center Stephan Lebeau, in his fifth full season, hit the century mark Oct. 20 against the Dallas Stars, scoring a. pair of goals in a 5-2 victory.Lebeau didn&rsquo;t even realize he had reached the mark until it was flashed on the scoreboard. &ldquo;I just hope it won&rsquo;t stop there,&rdquo; he said.For the longest while, it appeared as though his career would never get. started.Signed as a free agent by Montreal in 1986, the 5-foot-10, 173 pounder spent only one season in the minors before making the jump to the NHL.But Lebeau struggled his first three seasons under former Canadiens&rsquo; coach Pat Bums. Lebeau got banged around considerably because of his size and Bums preferred utilizing bigger players in smaller Adams Division rinks such as Boston and Buffalo, particularly in post-season play.&ldquo;For sure there were highs and lows early in my career,&rdquo; Lebeau said. &ldquo;But I see that as something positive now. I developed slowly, but surely and that will probably help me in the long run.&rdquo;Lebeau scored 64 goals over his first three three seasons. That number is respectable enough, but far below the output hoped for from the former Shawinigan Cataractes&rsquo; junior, who scored 94 goals one year in major junior and 70 during his rookie American League season.Last season, under new coach Jacques Demers, Lebeau flourished, scoring 31 goals in 71 games. Demers had more confidence in the slick center than Bums did and it showed in Lebeau&rsquo;s play.This season, should Lebeau remain healthy, he should continue the upward climb. He had seven goals and nine points in nine games.&ldquo;I know it&rsquo;s a cliche, but I really do just take it a game at a time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just want to improve every year.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-01109/6147102-1-eng-US/f0057-012.jpg" title="f0057-01" width="574" height="774"><figcaption class="caption-body">Center Stephan Lebeau was close to a goal-a-game pace.</figcaption></div>BACKUP SIDELINED: Backup goaltender Andre Racicot will be out of the lineup until late November after sustaining an injury to his left knee against the Dallas Stars.The injury occurred in the second period when Racicot went down after being deked for a goal by Dallas defensemen Derian Hatcher. Although Racicot completed the period, he was replaced by Patrick Roy for the start of the third.The knee was badly swollen and the ligaments damaged.In a surprising move, the Canadiens recalled goaltender Frederic Chabot, who had been loaned to the International League&rsquo;s Las Vegas Thunder. It was presumed Montreal would recall Les Kuntar, the first-string netminder on the American League affiliate Fredericton Canadiens.Chabot, who had a brief tryout with Canada&rsquo;s Olympic team during the Canadiens&rsquo; training camp, demanded a trade when he was assigned to Fredericton. Instead of the trade, he was sent packing to Las Vegas.&ldquo;We want Kuntar to play a lot and we feel Chabot knows the players here better because he has (played in the NHL) before,&rdquo; said coach Jacques Demers.Chabot spent most of the last three seasons in Fredericton. He has played only four games over the last four seasons with Montreal.Chabot was 1-1-0 with a 2.72 goals-against average in Las Vegas.NOTEBOOK: Left winger John LeClair made his season debut against Anaheim. He twisted his knee during the Canadiens&rsquo; last pre-season game in Quebec Oct. 2.Right winger Gary Leeman, who scored 51 goals in 1989-90 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but has struggled since, scored his first goal of the year against Anaheim. It was Leeman&rsquo;s seventh game this season.<h2>MONTREAL</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 17: Turner Stevenson, RW, assigned to Fredericton (AHL) Oct. 21: Frederic Chabot, G, recalled from Las Vegas (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Stephan Lebeau. Paul DiPietro, Ron Wilson, Guy Carbonneau.LW-Gilbert Dionne, Vincent Damp-housse. John LeClair. Benoit Brunet. Mario Roberge, Pierre Sevigny.RW-Mike Keane. Brian Bellows. Gary Leeman, Ed Ronan.LD-Mathieu Schneider, Kevin Haller. Jean-Jacques Daigneault, Peter Popovic.RD-Lyle Odeiein, Eric Desjardins, Patrice Brisebois, Rob Ramage.G-Patrick Roy. Frederic Chabot.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Kirk Muller, C. reinjured left shoulder separation, indefinite. Andre Racicot, G, strained left knee ligaments, indefinite. &#9632;

f0057-01

Lebeau hopes next 100 comes a little easier

<div class="byline">By Jim Kelley</div>Think the Buffalo Sabres are desperate?With a 1-7-1 start, injury problems, inconsistent goaltending and the next to last spot in the Northeast Division and the Eastern Conference, they were desperate to make a trade.Sabres&rsquo; scouts were dispatched around the league and numerous general managers have filled the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium press box. Even coach-GM John Muckler and assistant coach Don Lever took a trip to Chicago to see the Blackhawks play the Quebec Nordiques.Muckler, working diligently to keep his team from pressing the panic button, wouldn&rsquo;t say which players he wants to acquire, but it&rsquo;s common knowledge he covets Chicago&rsquo;s Craig Muni and Brian Marchment.&ldquo;Are we looking for a defenseman? Of course we are,&rdquo; Muckler said. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;re not going to tear apart this team to get one. We&rsquo;ve been looking since before training camp and if the right deal comes along we&rsquo;ll make it.&rdquo;There were strong indications in Philippe Boucher has been mentioned in trade talks with Chicago. Buffalo and Chicago that the two clubs came to some preliminary agreement regarding Muni. Buffalo reportedly offered a second-round pick in 1994, but the Hawks were holding out for a player. Rookie defenseman Philippe Boucher was the one most often requested.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01115/6147133-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg" title="f0058-01" width="573" height="725"><figcaption class="caption-body">Philippe Boucher has been mentioned in trade talks with Chicago.</figcaption></div>On the surface, the deal does not appear to favor Buffalo. Muni is 31, a high-salaried player ($450,000 base) who will go higher ($700,000 when he reaches his option year in 1995), but the team is in dire straits.In nine games, the Sabres allowed 41 goals, the. second-highest total in the league. In six of seven losses and in their one tie they either had the lead or were tied going into the third period.Veteran defensemen Petr Svoboda and Doug Bodger were hit with injuries. Svoboda had recurring problems with a knee that was surgically reconstructed last January. Bodger has had neck and back problems. Those injuries reduced the core group to Ken Sutton, entering his fourth season, second-year pro Richard Smehlik, veterans Randy Moller and Gord Donnelly and youngsters Boucher and Keith Carney.Carney joined the team near the end of the 1991-92 season and spent the majority of 1992-93 with the Rochester Americans of the American League. The Sabres still consider him a prospect, but they can&rsquo;t afford to wait.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to solve our own problems,&rdquo; Muckler said. &ldquo;I can assure you that we will do that.&rdquo;DEAL CLOSE: The Buffalo News reported winger Alexander Mogilny is preparing to sign a four-year contract that will pay him an average $2.7 million per season.Several details have not been finalized, such as a bonus structure and a personal appearance clause. The newspaper said Mogilny has also agreed to relinquish his marketing rights to the Sabres in a deal similar to the one signed by New York Islanders&rsquo; center Pierre Turgeon.Mogilny missed all of training camp and the start of the regular season due to complications with his injured right ankle. He was expected to return Oct. 27 against the Calgary Flames.NOTEBOOK: Defenseman Doug Bodger missed two games with back pain, but returned for a 3-3 tie with the Hartford Whalers Oct. 22. That tie ended a club record tying seven-game losing streak&hellip;The game against Hartford was center Pat LaFontaine&rsquo;s 150th as a Sabre. He has accumulated 250 points in that time.Wayne Presley scored his first goal in a 4-2 loss Oct. 22 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Presley missed half of camp and the first six games with stretched knee ligaments&hellip;Yuri Khymlev also scored his first goal of the season against Pittsburgh. He had been out with a neck sprain.Richard Smehlik had three goals in nine games. He scored just four all of last season.<h2>BUFFALO</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 20: Matthew Barnaby. RW. assigned to Rochester (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Pat LaFontaine, Dale Hawerchuk. Bob Sweeney. Derek Plante, Dave Hannan.LW-Brad May, Craig Simpson, Rob Ray. Sergei Petrenko.RW-Yun Khymlev, Randy Wood. Donald Audette, Scott Thomas.LD-Doug Bodger. Richard Smehlik, Randy Moller.RD-Ken Sutton. Gord Donnelly. Philippe Boucher. Keith Carney.G-Grant Fuhr, Dominik Hasek<h3>INJURIES</h3>Alexander Mogilny, RW. inflamed right ankle. Oct. 27. Petr Svoboda, D, swollen right knee, day-to-day Denis Tsygurov, D, severe Charley horse, indefinite. &#9632;

f0058-01

Muckler looks to Chicago for defensive help

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div>Though they&rsquo;re the only team to give him a real chance during six pro seasons, Brent Hughes hoped to leave the Boston Bruins.The Bruins acquired the 27-year-old left winger from the Washington Capitals in February, 1992 and he became a regular last season.But Boston left him unprotected in the waiver draft and when he wasn&rsquo;t claimed, Hughes began the season with the Providence Bruins of the American League.&ldquo;That would be the feeling of anyone,&rdquo; Hughes said when asked if he wanted another team to claim him. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re getting sent to the minors, you&rsquo;d rather play somewhere else.&rdquo;Hughes&rsquo; disappointment didn&rsquo;t last long. The Bruins recalled him from Providence Oct. 21 after Daniel Marois injured a shoulder. Hughes played a critical role a night later in a 3-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers that snapped Boston&rsquo;s 0-1-3 slump.&ldquo;This is a great feeling after going unclaimed,&rdquo; said Hughes, who scored Boston&rsquo;s first goal and drew an Edmonton penalty that led to Adam Oates&rsquo; decisive goal.Hughes wasn&rsquo;t brought to Boston to score points, although with the club&rsquo;s offense struggling, the Bruins certainly won&rsquo;t mind if he does. His main assets, though, are speed and a consistently physical game.&ldquo;If they wanted someone who can score,&rdquo; said Hughes, who has 11 goals in 111 games, &ldquo;they wouldn&rsquo;t be calling me up. They want somebody to bang and mix it up around here, so I&rsquo;ll go out and do that for them and see what happens.&rdquo;Hughes has always been a consistent scorer in the minor leagues. He had 34 goals and 68 points with the Moncton Hawks of the AHL in 198889, when he also played his first 28 NHL games with the Winnipeg Jets. Hughes also had 25 goals and 55 points in 54 games with AHL&rsquo;s Baltimore Skipjacks before the Caps traded him.&ldquo;And I was leading (Providence) in scoring (this season),&rdquo; Hughes said. &ldquo;I played about 35 minutes a game, so I think I raised my level of play.&rdquo;ABOUT TIME: Steve Heinze, who had a solid 18-goal rookie season last year, played Boston&rsquo;s first eight games without notching a point.&ldquo;It seems like I go in and out of these things all the time,&rdquo; Heinze said. &ldquo;It hurts more in times like this, when just about everyone&rsquo;s having trouble scoring.&rdquo;Heinze&rsquo;s drought ended with a goal in a 3-3 tie Oct. 23 at Calgary.&ldquo;It goes for the whole team, but especially for myself,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to get to the net, crash it.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Cam Neely played three of the five games on Boston&rsquo;s annual October road trip scoring two goals and five points on the trip&hellip;Ray Bourque left the team immediately after the Edmonton game to join his family in Montreal for his mother-in-law&rsquo;s funeral.Adam Oates had scored in 25 straight regular-season games, starting with last season&rsquo;s final 21, before getting shut out Oct. 15 at Anaheim.<h2>BOSTON</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 21: Brent Hughes. LW, recalled from Providence (AHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Adam Oates. Bryan Smolinski. Jozef Stumpel. Ted Donato.LW-Cam Stewart. Joe Juneau. Dave Reid, Brent Hughes.RW-Cam Neely, Steve Leach. Glen Murray, Steve Heinze, Dmitri Kvartal-nov.LD-Don Sweeney, Glen Wesley, David Shaw.RD-Ray Bourque, Glen Featherstone, Paul Stanton, Jim Wiemer.G-Jon Casey, John Blue.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Daniel Marois, LW, separated right shoulder. Nov. 7. Gord Roberts, D, sore ribs, day-to-day. Mikhail Tatarinov, D, back spasms, day-to-day. &#9632;

Feisty Hughes gets another chance in Boston

<div class="byline">By Kevin Johnston</div>Iain Fraser was the talk Quebec Nordiques&rsquo; training camp.But it wasn&rsquo;t because of his play. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound center was unimpressive in the pre-season, but still signed a two-year, one-way contract worth $250,000 per season.Many people questioned coach-general manager Pierre Page&rsquo;s judgement after signing the free agent-especially since other big-name players hadn&rsquo;t signed-but their concerns were tempered when Fraser performed well early in the season.Fraser, 24, got his chance when regulars Owen Nolan and Claude Lapointe were sidelined with injuries.The Scarborough, Ont., native had two assists in a 5-2 win over the Hartford Whalers Oct. 20 and scored in the Nordiques&rsquo; 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks the next night.He then scored the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars Oct. 23, giving him one goal and four points in four games.&ldquo;Iain is playing like a veteran,&rdquo; Page said. &ldquo;I like what I&rsquo;m seeing out there. True, he might not work as hard as we would like during practice. But he has compensated for that over the past few games.&rdquo;Fraser was the second-leading scorer in the American League last season with 41 goals and 110 points.&ldquo;I know the contract had people talking around here,&rdquo; Fraser said. &ldquo;And I guess they were right to grumble. I wasn&rsquo;t getting too much done out there. I think that&rsquo;s all behind me now.&rdquo;Despite his strong play, there is no guarantee Fraser will crack the lineup once Lapointe and Nolan return. One thing working for Fraser is his versatility. Page used him in several situations and he performed well.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to make it difficult for Mr. Page to cut me,&rdquo; Fraser said. &ldquo;I have to go all out if I want to stay in the lineup.&rdquo;NICE DEBUT: Left winger Rene Corbet made his NHL debut in Chicago and looked very sharp.Corbet was recalled from the Cornwall Aces of the American League because of minor injuries to Martin Gelinas and Reggie Savage.The Nordiques&rsquo; second pick in the 1991 entry draft didn&rsquo;t score, but he had a few decent scoring chances.&ldquo;I was happy with the way I played, Corbet said. &ldquo;But I know I&rsquo;ll more than likely spend most of this season learning the ropes in Cornwall of the AHL.&rdquo;He was re-assigned to Cornwall the next day. He led the Aces with 13 points in five games.NOTEBOOK: Steve Duchesne remained a holdout over a contract dispute and little progress was made. No official date has been determined for the arbitration hearing. Pierre Page met with Duchesne&rsquo;s representative Pat Brisson in Chicago Oct. 21. It was the first face-to-face discussion of any kind between the two parties since Duchesne accused the Nordiques of reneging on an offer to pay him $1.2 million this season.<h2>QUEBEC</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 21: Rene Corbet, LW, recalled from Cornwall (AHL). Oct.22: Corbet assigned to Cornwall.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mats Sundin, Joe Sakic. Mike Ricci, lain Fraser.LW-Valeri Kamensky. Chris Simon, Martin Rucmsky, Martin Gelinas, Chris Lindberg. Tony TwistRW-Andrei Kovalenko, Scott Young. Reggie Savage.LD-Steven Finn. Curtis Leschyshyn. Kerry Huffman. Alexei Gusarov.RD-Alain Cote, Adam Foote. David Karpa. Craig Wolanln.G-Stephane Fiset, Jocelyn Thibault. Jacques Cloutier.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Claude Lapointe, C/RW. sprained left knee, indefinite. Paul MacDermid. RW. sprained ankle, indefinite. Owen Nolan, RW. torn rotator cuff in right shoulder, indefinite. &#9632;

Fraser silences his critics with productive start

<div class="byline">By Jeff Jacobs</div>Nothing foreshadowed this. Nobody saw Michael Nylander&rsquo;s crash to earth with a dull thud.After all, Nylander led the Hartford Whalers with 14 points in the last eight games of the 1992-93 season.Whalers&rsquo; coach and acting general manager Paul Holmgren raved about his play in the World Championships for Team Sweden. Nylander even led the Whalers during the pre-season with five goals and 10 points.Expectations were sky-high. Former Whalers&rsquo; GM Brian Burke even suggested Nylander could surpass Andrew Cassels as the top center by the new year.Then the season opened Oct. 6.On the day before Nylander scored the tying goal in a 3-3 deadlock with the Buffalo Sabres Oct. 23, Holmgren voiced his feelings about the one assist the Swede had for all October.&ldquo;He is a source of concern for all of us,&rdquo; Holmgren said.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think Paul&rsquo;s too happy with my play,&rdquo; Nylander said.The top line of Pat Verbeek, Geoff Sanderson and Cassels produced 15 of 28 goals through a 3-5-1 start. Nylander is supposed to spearhead a No. 2 line to take pressure off Cassels&rsquo; line. Instead, Nylander played a couple of weak games in the opening two losses and then was scratched for four in a row, including a three-game winning streak.&ldquo;The problem he&rsquo;s having is he doesn&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s playing enough,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;The problem I&rsquo;m having is I don&rsquo;t think he&rsquo;s playing well enough to play a lot. I had a meeting with him before (a 5-2 loss to the Quebec Nordiques Oct. 20). He played 18 minutes that night. He was better in the first half and tailed off.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if sitting him out affected him or not. We expect more of him. I think he has to get grittier. Get his nose dirty. Have that passion for wanting the puck, wanting to keep it and making something happen.&rdquo;Holmgren said Sanderson, who had eight goals in nine games, battles for loose pucks harder than he once did.&ldquo;Michael has to get that part back,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;And after the preseason, I would have thought he would have taken right off. I saw him in the World Championships and every time Michael had the puck, he made something happen.&rdquo;BURKE BACK: Sean Burke, who missed eight games with a hamstring pull, stopped 27 shots, including two late stops on Dale Hawerchuk in the 3-3 tie with Buffalo.Burke, playing his first regular-season game since last March 10 (when he hurt his back), said he felt no ill effects from the hamstring pull he sustained in Ottawa Sept. 26.&ldquo;It has been a long layoff,&rdquo; Burke said. &ldquo;Mentally was the toughest part. I was able to practice, ride the bike. I&rsquo;m in good shape. But battling 65 minutes, bearing down, is something you have to work at.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: Andrew Cassels&rsquo; salary arbitration hearing is set for Nov. 12. In negotiations, the Whalers were said to be offering a deal starting at $650,000 and moving toward $750,000 with bonuses. Cassels&rsquo; agent, Larry Kelly, was believed to be asking for a deal worth $700,000 to $800,000.The Whalers assigned right winger Yvon Corriveau, who hadn&rsquo;t played in any of the the first eight games, to the Springfield Indians of the American League. Goalie Mario Gosselin was assigned to Springfield for a two-week conditioning stint.<h2>HARTFORD</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 22: Yvon Corriveau, RW, assigned to Springfield (AHL). Oct. 23: Mario Gosselin. G, assigned to Springfield for conditioning purposes.<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Andrew Cassels. Michael Nylander, Mark Janssens, Robert Petrovicky.LW-Geotf Sanderson, Nick Kypreos, Jim McKenzie, Patrick Poulin, Randy Cunneyworth.RW-Pat Verbeek, Robert Kron, Mark Greig, Jim Sandlak, Brian Propp.LD-Chris Pronger, Eric Weinrich, Doug Houda, Al Pedersen.RD-Brad McCrimmon, Adam Burt, Dan Keczmer.G-Sean Burke. Frank Pietrangelo.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Zarley Zalapski, D. sprained left knee, indefinite. &#9632;

Coach Holmgren puzzled; search is on for Nylander

<div class="byline">By Dave Molinari</div>Numerous parallels have been drawn between the careers of Mario Lemieux and Michael Jordan, but there&rsquo;s a critical difference.Lemieux doesn&rsquo;t intend to walk away from his game anytime soon, as Jordan recently did.&ldquo;As long as my back is going to hold up and I can go out there and do the things I can do, I&rsquo;m going to play the game,&rdquo; Lemieux said.&ldquo;If I feel like my back is not strong enough and I&rsquo;m not able to do the things I did in the past, maybe I&rsquo;ll think about retiring. But for now, there are no plans for myself to step aside. I still have some things to do.&rdquo;He planned to resume doing them Oct. 28, when the Quebec Nordiques visit the Civic Arena. Lemieux sat out Pittsburgh&rsquo;s first 10 games recovering from off-season back surgery.It wasn&rsquo;t clear how much of a workload Lemieux would assume or how long he&rsquo;d be able to play before back trouble flared.&ldquo;You never know with my back,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;Over the years, (trouble) can come on at any time. I&rsquo;m sure I&rsquo;m going to have to maybe miss some games during the season.&ldquo;Certainly we anticipate that. But for the most part, I should be out there for most of the games.&rdquo;Observers wondered why Lemieux did not have surgery until late July-thus forcing him to miss the first three-plus weeks of the season-but he said he didn&rsquo;t want to undergo the operation until he was convinced there was no alternative.&ldquo;I wanted to make sure the surgery was the right thing to do,&rdquo; Lemieux said. &ldquo;I certainly waited a couple of months&hellip;to see if my back was going to get better over the summer.&ldquo;Obviously, it went the other way and didn&rsquo;t get any better. It got worse. That&rsquo;s when I talked to the doctors, went out to Los Angeles again to see Dr. (Robert) Watkins and he recommended the surgery.&rdquo;During the operation, Dr. Peter Sheptak repaired a herniated muscle in Lemieux&rsquo;s back and removed scar tissue and a bone spur. Lemieux said the preliminary indications are the surgery was a resounding success.PAEK RECOVERING: Defenseman Jim Paek, sidelined since sustaining a serious eye injury Sept. 26, was scheduled to resume playing during the first half of November.Paek sustained a bruised retina in his right eye when he was clipped by the stick of Detroit Red Wings&rsquo; Darren McCarty in an pre-season game. That caused blurred vision that eased, but not disappeared by the end of October.&ldquo;The doctors are optimistic it will clear up,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They just don&rsquo;t know how long it will take.&rdquo;NOTEBOOK: The St. Louis Blues snapped Pittsburgh&rsquo;s 13-game run of regular-season victories at the Civic Arena by tying the Penguins 33 Oct. 23. Phil Housley salvaged the tie for the Blues when he scored with 12.8 seconds remaining&hellip;The Penguins did not sell out any of their first four home games, though the crowds for each were well above last season&rsquo;s capacity, 16,164. The largest, 17,101, turned out for the St. Louis game.<h2>PITTSBURGH</h2><h3>TRANSACTIONS</h3>Oct. 22: Greg Andrusak. D. recalled from Cleveland (IHL).<h3>ROSTER</h3>C-Mario Lemieux. Ron Francis. Martin Straka, Bryan Trottier. Mike Stapleton.LW-Kevin Stevens. Markus Naslund, Doug Brown. Grant Jennings, Jeff DanielsRW-Rick Tocchet, Jaromir Jagr, Joe Mullen. Mike Needham.LD-Mike Ramsey, Peter Tagltanetti. UH Samueteson.RD-Larry Murphy, Marty McSoley. Kjell Samuelsson, Greg Andrusak.G-Ton Barrasso. Ken Wregget.<h3>INJURIES</h3>Jim Paek, D, bruised right eye, indefinite. &#9632;

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November 5, 1993

Book questions awarding of franchise in Anaheim

CLASSIFIED

LOUISVILLE…THE SCORING LEADER!

Bowness handling Daigle with tender loving care