‘Skins power shortage has Mazzoleni worried

New Miami Redskins’ coach Mark Mazzoleni has no concerns about his team’s fitness level, attitude and preparation for the season. However, Mazzoleni, who spent the past three seasons as an assistant at Minnesota, can’t say the same about his club’s firepower. “My biggest concern is how we’re going to score,” he said. “You can work your butt off, but you still have to score.” A drop in offensive output last season contributed to the Redskins tumbling from first to fifth in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings. Moreover, Miami lost No. 2 and 3 scorers Shawn Penn and Enrico Blasi and No. 5 scorer and top defenseman Bobby Marshall to graduation. No. 6 scorer Matt Oates signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. Only one returning player, junior center Kevyn Adams (a 1993 first-round draft pick…

Players invited to look at accounts

Harley Hotchkiss is one of those NHL owners who likes to stay in the background. You didn’t see him on the podium flanking NHL commissioner Gary Bettman the day the NHL announced it would postpone the start of the new season. You rarely see him quoted in the newspapers. Instead, he directs you to general manager Doug Rise-brough or president Bill Hay. In early October, however, Hotchkiss quietly contacted a handful of his Calgary Flames’ players and asked them to review the team’s books. Hotchkiss was upset with reports that the NHL Players’ Association did not believe teams were losing as much money as they said. Hotchkiss produced documents that showed the Flames lost $3.8 million in the 1993-94 season. That included a pension fund liability of $1.4 million. According to Hotchkiss, that…

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Boback plays through pain in neck to thrive

When Mike Boback is at the top of his game, he’s a true pain in the neck for American League opponents. The Portland Pirates’ center darts through openings in the slot, shows great offensive creativity behind the net and makes perfect passes to set up linemates for goal-mouth tap-ins. He does all those things when the pain in his neck isn’t too severe and isn’t depriving him of strength. Opponents have great difficulty stopping him. but his own body-specifically a pinched nerve between his third and fourth vertebrae-can neutralize his talents. It has been an on-going nuisance since his third year at Providence College, one that had some doctors telling him to give up the game. Boback, 24, still shudders at the memory of the first attack in 1991. “The first time I got the…