Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
January 28, 1994
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.
NHL’S SPACE INVADERS
In Spain, they run the bulls. In the NHL, it’s the goalies. Two years after the NHL moved to eliminate the problem of crease interference, forwards are charging the net at an alarming rate. NHL referees penalized players for interference with the goaltender 38 times by the midway point of last season. This year at the same juncture the call had been made 60 times and in the minds of many, that wasn’t nearly enough. Consider the ongoing war between Buffalo forward Randy Wood and New York Islanders’ net-minder Ron Hextall. “The thing that bugs me is that I’ll say to a referee, ‘I won’t touch him if he doesn’t touch me,’” said Hextall.“Then I get run five or 10 times a game. You can’t even defend yourself. A guy like Randy Wood has no…
Russia’s best? Not a chance
Russian teams used to come to Canada to battle for hockey supremacy. Now they come for our money. Pride be damned, where’s the cash? That was abundantly clear when they sent a rag-tag national team to compete in the Nova Scotia Cup and then headed out on a six-town tour for games against the Canadian Olympic team. The Russian team is guaranteed between $8,000 and $10,000 per game. Of the 18 players on the Russian nationals, only two-34-year-old goaltender Sergei Abramov and speedy winger Sergei Berezin-stand a chance of making the team that will compete in the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. There was a Sergei Makarov on the team, but not the Sergei Makarov. He plays for the San Jose Sharks. The two aren’t related. The games did little in the way…
Breitenbach will step down after decade as commish
After 10 eventful, mostly successful years as commissioner of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, Otto Breitenbach announced his retirement effective July 1. The man who helped orchestrate three separate bursts of expansion, brought about an un-precedented merger and helped create a highly successful WCHA playoff tournament made his decision public Jan. 12. Three days earlier, he revealed his plans to league officials and athletic directors attending the National Collegiate Athletic Association convention in San Antonio, Tex. Though he is 69 and had hip-replacement surgery a year ago, Breitenbach said health was not part of the equation. “The primary factor was I felt it was time to cut back on the workload,” he said. Breitenbach said he would continue in his part-time capacity as executive director of the Badger State Games, an annual Olympic-style event open…
Falcons back in business
Thanks to a balanced attack and steady goaltending, the Bowling Green Falcons appear back on course to land in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament. The Falcons were 8-3-2, tied for third place in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association with the Lake Superior State Lakers. “We’re pretty optimistic,” said Bowling Green coach Jerry York. “We’re in good position in our league and we really feel good about our team. We’re back to the position where we should be.” The perennial power had fallen on hard times in recent years, but things have improved dramatically. A dominant team through most of the 1980s, the Falcons slipped to 15-23-2 overall in 1990-91 and 8-21-5 a year later. They rebounded to 19-21-2 last season. “Our keys have been good balance and improved goaltending,” York said. “Although we…
Made possible with the support of
