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April 28, 1995
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.
HOME-ICE VANTAGE
I kill my rink in early March by stabbing it with a dandelion picker. When a rising late-winter sun melts the ice at the north end, I take the dandelion picker-a three-foot wooden shaft tipped by a metal rod with a notched end-and poke hundreds of jagged holes in the plastic liner of the 60-by-32-foot hockey rink in the backyard of my home in Natick, Mass. The holes let the melt water-the finds it in your neighbor’s yard. With the rink drained, I begin the dolorous job of removing the plastic and pulling up the boards. It is the gloomiest job in the gloomiest month, but it taxes my back more than my brain and leaves me time to think. What I think about most often is that I could have…
Coach starts on Low note
Ron Low had pictured his NHL coaching debut in his mind. “Well, you’d like to envision it,” Low said. “Walk in, beat San Jose, come home on a white horse.” But reality was a slap in the face for the Edmonton Oilers’ sixth head coach, who stepped in after George Burnett was fired. Here’s how it went: Stumble in, lose big to the San Jose Sharks, come home on an airplane with three flat tires, wait for 30 minutes on the tarmac in Salt Lake City to have them changed and arrive 20 minutes late to snow and cold, then lose again to the Sharks the next night in the Northlands Coliseum to sporadic booing from the crowd. “This isn’t going to be the white horse with the big flag, this is going to…
Courtnail not standing still
Trapped in Dallas by the Stars’ neutral-zone system, Russ Courtnail is spreading his wings as a Vancouver Canuck. Courtnail collected five assists, had nine shots on goal and was plus-2 in his first three Canucks’ starts. The speedy winger is enthusiastic about the system his new team plays. “For 6 1/2 years, I’ve been playing the trap, sitting back and waiting for the other team to make a mistake,” Courtnall said. “But here, they keep yelling, ‘pressure, pressure, pressure.’ It’s awesome not having to stand still. I actually get to forecheck.” Prior to his three years with the Stars, Courtnail was a Montreal Canadien, another trapping team. Courtnall was also delighted to be skating on a line with older brother Geoff. In Dallas, Russ witnessed the Hatcher and Broten brothers in action and longed for…
Dogged, gritty Marinucci making good impression
Chris Marinucci is 6 feet and 175 pounds, not big by contemporary standards. But he’s playing bigger and that’s no small feat in this tiny New York Islanders’ season. The rookie was recalled March 29 from Denver of the International League, where he led freshmen with 29 goals and 69 points in 74 games. In six games with the Islanders, he had three assists. Marinucci was playing left wing with Kirk Muller at center and Steve Thomas on the right, pretty heady stuff. “I heard a lot of good comments about him when 1 got here,” Muller said. “He has great hockey sense, the kind you can’t teach.” “He’s very strong on the puck and really protects it,” said coach Lome Henning. “He’s aware of where everybody is. He’s very aggressive and a…
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