PLUS MINUS

Drolet shines for Canadian squad 1. Drolet delivers Canada’s Nancy Drolet scores hat trick, including game winner, in Women’s World gold medal game. 2. So close Americans push Team Canada to limit in entertaining final of Women’s World Championship. 3. Marcel Cousineau Toronto goalie agrees to play for St. John’s in American League playoffs. 4. Martin Brodeur New Jersey goalie sets team record shutout streak, going 213 minutes, 52 seconds without allowing goal. 5. Thumbs up Here’s hoping all goes well for Tampa Bay’s John Cullen with his cancer treatments. Refs not at root of Sharks’ woes 1. Al Sims San Jose bulks up with goons in off-season, then coach complains about refs, discrepancy in power plays. 2. Backstabbers Unnamed (and underachieving) Canucks complain to media about first-year coach Tom Renney. 3. Wayne and Keith Primeau Brothers fighting? Ridiculous.…

Burke’s law will be tested during playoffs

The life of Brian promises to heat up as does action during the Stanley Cup playoffs. This much we know: someone is going to do something stupid to someone and Brian Burke will be called in to pass judgement. This much we also know: he will make an unpopular decision. Most likely he will be accused of leniency. (Exhibit A: Claude Lemieux, two games for a viciously reckless hit.) Less likely, since the NHL prefers its players on the ice to off it, will be a charge of cruel and unusual punishment. (Exhibit B: Tie Domi, eight games for a sucker punch.) Important to remember is we’re in the playoffs now and the standards appear to shift somewhat during the second season. A suspendable offense remains a suspendable offense in the second…

The magic of Lemieux

Mario, we hardly knew ya. When Mario Lemieux made official on April 5 what we’ve all known for months-that he’s retiring at the end of the Pittsburgh Penguin season-it was an occasion to ponder precisely how history will regard hockey’s stealth superstar. Gordie Howe played the game longer than anyone. Bobby Orr revolutionized it. Wayne Gretzky dominated and promoted it like no one before him. Mano’? “I’m not sure Mario is going to get the accolades I he deserves, especially I from outside the game,” i Wayne Gretzky says. “But from within, the players, the people who follow it closely, realize exactly what he’s brought to the table, exactly what he has done.” No one, not even Lemieux’s most ardent critics, will dispute that he played the game at as high a level as…

Super Mario makes it official, B’s give Bourque raise

April 4: Boston gives defenseman Ray Bourque a raise-an additional $1 million per year for remainder of his contract through 1998-99. Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union allstars defeat team of U.S.-born NCAA players 5-4 in overtime in inaugural World University Hockey Challenge in Detroit. April 5: Mario Lemieux officially announces at Pittsburgh sports banquet he’ll retire after this season. Colorado goalie Patrick Roy records his career-high 37th win of the season. April 6: Former Los Angeles Kings’ owner Jack Kent Cooke dies of cardiac arrest at age 84. Nancy Drolet scores three goals as Canada beats USA 4-3 in overtime to win fourth straight Women’s World Championship. April 7: Montreal draws 21,273 to home game to set NHL single-season attendance record of 839,799, surpassing old mark of 837,021 set by Chicago last season. April 8: Lemieux plays final…

Karmanos rules out Minneapolis

The Hartford Whalers could end up in Columbus, Ohio, or Raleigh-Durham, N.C., or St. Paul, Minn., or, if you’re into longshots, even Las Vegas, Nev., but the one place they won’t be going is the Target Center in Minneapolis. “No chance,” Whalers’ owner Peter Karmanos told The Hockey News after a report suggested he was closing in on a deal with the Minneapolis home of the National Basketball Association Timberwolves. “I got a call from the Target Center and I said, ‘There’s no chance. It’s not economically viable and it’s not going to happen.’” Karmanos has not closed the door on St. Paul, though it’s believed the Twin Cities area is at the bottom of his desired list of relocation sites. There is a school of thought that the NHL is trying to…

Hockey was tops for owner Cooke

Jack Kent Cooke was the first to admit his vast empire was built on one part hard work and one part good fortune. Throw in one part controversy and Cooke was one of the most colorful owners in sports. The self-made sports magnate who was the first owner of the Los Angeles Kings died of cardiac arrest April 6 at his Washington estate. He was 84. Born in Hamilton, Ont., Oct. 25, 1912 and raised in I Toronto, Cooke travelled I Canada as a young adult in the depression selling encyclopedias. He started his I fortune buying struggling radio stations and newspapers, upgrading them and | selling them for a profit. Cooke became a millionaire at 32. While at a Toronto radio station, Cooke once tried to add glitz to hockey play-by-play by…

Canada edges U.S.

Canadian university players gained a measure of respect with a win over their U.S. counterparts in the first ever World University Hockey Challenge. Guelph’s J.P. Davis scored with less than a second remaining in regulation time and Acadia’s Greg Clancy scored the winner in overtime as the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union beat the NCAA 5-4 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit April 4. The game was a battle between U.S.-born seniors from the NCAA against the top seniors from the CIAU and drew a crowd of 7,212. Clancy’s decisive goal was his second of the game and came off a pass from Dalhousie defenseman Martin Lapointe 1:46 into the extra session. Alberta’s Paul Strand and Acadia’s Kevin Powell also scored for Canada. Harold Schock of Michigan. Russ Guzior of Providence, Brian La-Fleur of Minnesota…

Bruins eye Thornton

The Joe Thornton Sweepstakes. The NHL draft lottery. Who says there isn’t organized gambling in sports? The draft lottery is the only crapshoot remaining for the 10 teams not in the playoffs. At stake for five teams is a shot at Thornton, the high-scoring Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds’ center who is sure to be the first overall draft pick June 21. Because the most a team can move up is four spots, five teams have a chance to land the first overall pick when the lottery is held May 18 in New York. The Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders (with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ selection) were among the bottom five teams. The fifth team was yet to be determined, but it would likely be the…

Boston’s problems start with Sinden

Harry ‘Houdini’ Sinden is the only executive in the NHL than can make talent disappear right before your eyes while pulling a minor-leaguer out of a hat. Gone are Andy Moog, Jon Casey, Mariusz Czerkawski, Bryan Smolinski, Joe Juneau, Bobby Carpenter, Dave Reid, Glen Wesley, Adam Oates, Rick Tocchet and Bill Ranford. In their places, the Bruins got Jim Carey, a goalie who can’t win in the playoffs, and a bunch of unknowns. It’s time the Bruins made a change at the top before Ray Bourque gets traded for an eighth-round pick in 2010. Troy Nipstad, Chandler, Ariz. Broten for Hall Neal Broten for the Hall of Fame. That’s right, I said Neal Broten. Consider the facts. First, remember it is the Hockey Hall of Fame, not the NHL Hall of Fame, into which players are…

Elston

Bossy ties a Rocket

When Mike Bossy was a young boy growing up in Montreal. 50 goals in 50 games represented the height of individual hockey greatness. Bossy was bom in 1957, 12 years after Maurice (Rocket) Richard first turned the trick with the Montreal Canadiens. Bossy never saw Richard play, of course, but the record was as much a part of life in Quebec as walking. Winning the Stanley Cup was first in any young player’s dreams, but 50 in 50 wasn’t far behind. Bossy got his chance to live out the dream Jan 24, 1981 when the New York Islanders hosted the Quebec Nordiques. The Islanders’ star right winger had 48 goals entering the game, his 50th of the season, but didn’t get a shot on goal in the first two periods. No worry-Bossy…

A dangerous Ranger

There was a time when Brian Leetch wasn’t a playoff game breaker with an insatiable desire to be the difference. It was a long, long time ago. “I used to play up a year in youth hockey,” the New York Rangers’ defenseman said. “I was a quiet kid. If I was a squirt playing peewee or a peewee playing bantam I would just sit back and kind of observe everything that was going on. I did my best, but I didn’t really feel it was my place to step forward and take charge.” Leetch, 29, is no longer a quiet kid. Now, he’s a quiet man-except, of course, when there’s a Stanley Cup playoff game on the line. Then, it is time for him to step forward. And no one makes second-season noise…

Straight from the heart

KITCHENER, Ont.-Hours before Canada’s women skated their way to gold, they went out and found a heart of gold. Team Canada kept its reputation and string of World Women’s Championships alive April 6 largely because of a three-goal effort from a gutsy and talented center Nancy Drolet, but assistant captain Cassie Campbell provided the Canadians with their inspiration earlier in the day. Coming off a dangerously close 2-1 win over Finland in the semifinal game the night before, the Canadians needed a lift. So Campbell arranged to have 20 small gold hearts purchased and delivered to the team along with 20 strands of blue ribbon. Then she spent the afternoon of the biggest game of her life making necklaces each player wore for the final. And even though the Americans outplayed the Canadians…

Team USA needs finishing touches

KITCHENER. Ont.-National team coach Ben Smith graduated from Harvard in 1968 with a degree in history. So it’s a little ironic that for him the storied past between his U.S. team and Canada in the Women’s World Championship goes back just one game. It’s the one Team USA lost to Team Canada, 4-3 in overtime April 6, for the gold medal that Smith will refer to in assembling and preparing the U.S. Olympic Team for the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. But the World Championship wasn’t a one-game tournament. Preliminary round matchups with Sweden, Norway and Finland and the semifinal game against China will also be used as guides. The Americans blanked Norway (7-0), Sweden (10-0) and China (6-0) and tied Finland (3-3). “We’ll look for more scoring punch and special teams need attention,”…

Captain Comeback

Tony Granato wasn’t sure what the future held. A return to school, perhaps? Maybe a coaching position? Move the family to Wisconsin and start his own business? So many options and, apparently, all the time in the world to decide. One thing of which he was certain though, there would be no more playing professional hockey-not after undergoing delicate brain surgery in February, 1996. “I knew I wouldn’t be playing hockey again, and you know what, I was O.K. with that,” said the 32-year-old right winger for the San Jose Sharks, THN’s comeback player of the year for 1996-97. “I didn’t feel sorry for myself at all. I had a great run and it was over. With the condition I was in, I was just hoping to be able to lead a productive…

Shanahan could be final piece of puzzle

Even as the Detroit Red Wings won an NHL-record 62 regular season games last season, the impression was they approached the 1996 playoffs more fearful of losing than confident that they were finally going to sip from the Stanley Cup. It’s partly the way they won all those games-with a skilled collection of talent from around the world that put on an artful show from October to April, before the mugging and grinding that usually characterizes the playoffs caught up with them. In general, the Red Wings never demonstrated the championship swagger that characterized, say, Patrick Roy or Claude Lemieux, a mixture of bravado and talent that would be wholly unappealing if they couldn’t back it up on the ice. The Red Wings possessed a dressing room full of quietly good players…

MORGANTI

Throughout NHL history, reputations have been made in the playoffs. No matter how many points a team compiles during the regular season, true glory only comes with long spring runs. Although there is a lot to gain in the playoffs, so too is there a lot to lose-and the loss of status or reputation can hurt to the same extent that winning can be glorious. For example, the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers went 35 games without a loss, but it was the New York Islanders who used the 1980 playoffs as a springboard toward four consecutive Stanley Cups. And last season’s regular season record for wins by the Detroit Red Wings seemed like a cruel joke when the Colorado Avalanche pushed past them and eventually on to a championship. It is the same with…

Post-season berth sweet for trio of original Ducks

In the end, there were three left to tell the tale: goalie Guy Hebert, defenseman Bobby Delias and right winger Joe Sacco. They are the only original Mighty Ducks who remained when Anaheim clinched its first playoff berth with a 32 victory over the Dallas Stars April 4. The Ducks, who entered the NHL in 1993-94, made it to the post-season in their fourth year of existence. “For myself, Bobby and Joe, we feel like our careers wouldn’t be complete until we made it to the playoffs in Anaheim,” Hebert said. “This is something we’ve been waiting for since we set foot here.” “It’s a great feeling,” Sacco said. “I’ve waited a long time. All the players have, but especially Guy and (DoL las) and myself.” Dollas was home with the chicken pox on…

No chance for rebound

They’re certainly disappointed, but most of the Boston Bruins’ youngest players won’t really know what they’re missing when the NHL playoffs start without them. The youngest Bruin of all-19-year-old defenseman Kyle McLaren-is an exception. In his own way, last season’s all-rookie team member feels worse than anybody about Boston’s first failure to qualify since 1966-67. “It’s hard to describe,” said McLaren, whose rocky second season ended when he fractured a thumb March 27. “There’s this empty feeling inside and you know you won’t have that good feeling again unless you get back (to the playoffs) next year. It’s just an unbelievable feeling: Done in the middle of April.” McLaren had been looking forward to the 1997 playoffs from the moment Boston was eliminated in a five-game first-round series with the Florida Panthers in…

Division title was worth wait

It took longer than most people expected, but measured against a 16-year drought, the Buffalo Sabres were proud of the fact they won a division title this season. Buffalo’s 5-1 triumph over the Boston Bruins in Boston April 10 nailed down that elusive last point and gave the Sabres the Northeast Division crown, their first title of any kind since the 1980-81 team finished first in the old Adams Division. “If someone had asked me six months ago if we could win the division, I would have said it was impossible,” said Sabres’ goalie Dominik Hasek. “But this is a young team that has grown together and gained confidence and now we are winners.” Hasek, as he is on most nights, was the difference in the clinching game. The victory was his 37th…

Gavey looks toward future as neck injury flares again

It turns out center Aaron Gavey's neck problems didn’t begin in the February game against Montreal Canadiens in which he was cross-checked from behind. They started years ago. The only difference is the numbness and the burning sensation didn’t go away this time. Instead, it took five weeks for what started out as a day-to-day injury for Gavey to return to the Calgary Flames’ lineup. That happened in an April 6 game against the Chicago Blackhawks and two nights later he was back on the sidelines again with pain. “The team’s concern was for me to get rid of it right now,” Gavey said, “so for next year and for the next 10 years, we won’t have to worry about it.” Gavey joined the Flames from the Tampa Bay Lightning in an early-season…

Roy: Let the games begin

He set a career record for victories in a season, met U.S. President Bill Clinton and had more fights than Mike Tyson. Regular seasons aren’t supposed to be so eventful for Patrick Roy. But the Colorado Avalanche super-star goalie is ready for the real action to begin. It’s playoff time and Roy hopes to set another record very soon. If Roy wins four games in the post-season, he’ll tie Billy Smith for most playoff victories (90). Roy is ready for the challenge. “That’s what it’s all about, the play-offs. It has been a good season for us, but it won’t matter as soon as Game 1 begins,” Roy said. The Avalanche entered the final weekend in a dogfight with the Dallas Stars for the top spot in the Western Conference and first overall. A late-season…

Moreau gets rave reviews from Hawks

Ethan Moreau won’t win the Calder Trophy, but that doesn’t lessen what the Chicago Blackhawks think of their rookie left winger. Moreau’s 15 goals were fourth on the team and he was growing more every day into the role of power forward. Down the stretch as the Hawks were fighting to make the playoffs, the 21-year-old Moreau had five goals in an 11-game stretch. “He’s getting better and better as the season goes on,” said coach Craig Hartsburg. “He’s a steady player, strong along the boards and he goes to the net. He’s there night after night and his confidence is growing.” Hawks’ captain Chris Chelios calls Moreau a “young Bob Gainey,” the Hall of Famer with whom Chelios played on the Montreal Canadiens. “Ethan is exactly like Gainey,” Chelios said. “Those wrist shots…

Feisty Bassen battles back after overcoming setbacks

Bob Bassen has always had a strong faith-in God, in his beliefs and in his playing ability. So it’s no surprise the feisty center has come back from injuries in the past two seasons to become an important part of the Dallas Stars’ success this year. While it may not be surprising, don’t think for a minute it was easy. Bassen had two significant injuries in his first two seasons with Dallas. During his first training camp, he wrenched a knee and had to have major surgery that kept him out for all but 12 games. By the time he returned, the Stars were, for all intents, eliminated from the playoffs. So he worked hard over the summer, came to training camp in shape and was one of the team’s best pre-season performers-until…

Fedorov likes switch to ‘D’

You could excuse Sergei Fedorov for feeling a little put out after being moved from center to defense in the final weeks of the season. He is, after all, a former Hart and Selke Trophy winner. Only Fedorov doesn’t mind the switch. In fact, he was embracing it. “I wasn’t doing great in the regular season,” Fedorov said. “This brought me back to life. It’s kind of rebellious and I like that.” Fedorov, who had 29 goals and 62 points in 72 games, was paired with veteran Larry Murphy and coach Scotty Bowman feels the two complement each other well. “It works because we can have one guy who can go and the other guy can be the safe guy and stay back,” Bowman said. It’s somewhat ironic that Murphy, acquired in a trading deadline…

GM Sather’s playoff vow comes true

Glen Sather made the promise and his team kept it for him. The Edmonton Oilers ended a four-year post-season drought and soaked in the glow of a playoff berth this spring. “I’m glad that happened. I would have had to eat a lot of crow this summer,” said Sather, the confident GM and president who last spring guaranteed Oiler fans and anybody else who asked his team would be playing post-season games this year for the first time since 1992. A 2-2 tie with the Vancouver Canucks April 3 secured a berth in the Western Conference. “I think the hockey club deserves to be in the playoffs,” said coach Ron Low. “They’ve worked hard all year and deserve to be there. It would have been a shame not to make it.” And Sather has tried…

Panthers rise to challenge

John Vanbiesbrouck figures all the Florida Panthers needed entering the playoffs was a little adversity-and a motivational speech from coach Doug MacLean. Vanbiesbrouck called a speech given by MacLean before the Panthers’ April 6 meeting against the Washington Capitals “real strong.” During the speech, MacLean told his club he didn’t care whether it finished fourth, fifth or sixth in the Eastern Conference, as long as it began to play better during the final week of the season. The Panthers not only responded with a 3-3 tie against the Caps, but scored four third period goals April 9 to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2. It was the first time in 26 tries this season the Panthers had come back from a third period deficit. After seeing his team sleepwalking through the final weeks…

Primeaus blood brothers after regrettable battle

He doesn’t have a ‘C’ or ‘A’ on his sweater, but down the stretch, center Keith Primeau was the unabashed leader of the Hartford Whalers. He scored big goals. He dished out big hits. And he was even willing to drop the gloves and fight a loved one if that’s what it took to win. Late in the second period of a 4-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres April 7, goalie Sean Burke was run by a Sabre. Primeau sped into the fray and grabbed the player and pulled him to the side. It was Primeau’s younger brother, Wayne, who swept in and tried to jam in a rebound. The two men skated out by the faceoff circle, dropped the gloves and a fight ensued. Although there weren’t a lot of major blows…

Habs finally get healthy, then injuries strike again

Nightmare on St-Antoine Street appeared ready for its second run in Montreal this season-just as the Montreal Canadiens were about to embark on the playoffs. The Canadiens led the league in man-games lost to injuries or illness with 356, but were nearing full strength when the team was felled by a new rash of casualties. Defenseman Peter Popovic and center Marc Bureau were hurt in the regular-season’s final week. In a 72-hour period, Popovic suffered bruised ribs while Bureau fractured the index finger on his left hand. Both players were expected to miss at least the first round. With one game remaining, the Canadiens had not officially wrapped up a playoff spot. They also did not play a single game this season with a full roster. Popovic had missed only one game this season,…

Life looks up for McKenna

This is no tall tale. Steve McKenna of the Los Angeles Kings insists he’s a legitimate 6-foot-8, unlike some NHL players who would have to stand on a stack of phone books to reach the height that’s listed next to their name on the roster. “On skates and with a bucket (helmet) on my head I may be tipping seven feet,” said McKenna, who weighs 245 pounds and was promoted from the Phoenix Roadrunners of the International League March 23 and is believed to be the tallest player in IHL and NHL history. McKenna, a Toronto native, signed with the Kings as a free agent last May after playing at Merrimack College. He’s one of many youngsters who got ample playing time as the Kings, long eliminated from the playoffs, wound down their…

Four straight not in cards for Brodeur

It was just a warm-up for the post-season, but the New Jersey Devils could not wait to test the hot goaltender theory in the playoffs. Martin Brodeur made a valiant stab at becoming the second goaltender in modem NHL history (post-1943) to record four consecutive shutouts, although he came up short in that bid and lost his chance at winning 40 games this season when the Tampa Bay Lightning buzzed his crease for a 2-2 tie April 8. “For sure Marty is the kind of goaltender capable of dominating in the playoffs,” said center Doug Gilmour. “From what I’ve seen of him, he has been consistent through the whole season and in order to have any success in the playoffs, you have to have a consistent goaltender.” Brodeur was unbeatable during a three-game…

Season rates as success in Ottawa for a change

For the first time since the rebirth of the franchise, the Ottawa Senators had a successful season. Not only did the team make strides in the standings, team president Roy Mlakar said the first playoff chase in club history paid dividends by boosting revenues to help Ottawa improve next season. The Senators sold out the 18,500-seat Corel Centre for the fourth straight game for the first time this year in the final game of the regular season, April 12 against the Buffalo Sabres. The race boosted average attendance more than 1,000 per-game in the last two months of the year. With two games left, the Senators were in a battle for a playoff spot, but were certain to avoid last place overall for the first time since they joined the league in 1992-93. “It reminds…

Tommy hit on Island

Tommy Salo began the season with a 2-12-1 NHL record, but had a breakout year to help the New York Islanders stay in the hunt for a playoff spot until their 80th game. With two games remaining, Salo had started 25 straight games. He had a 2027-8 record with a 2.82 goals-against average and 90.4 save percentage. The Islanders were eliminated from playoff contention when they lost a home-and-home series to the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 and 3-1 April 7 and 9. Salo was their best player in each game. “Tommy has been that way every game,” said Islanders’ coach Rick Bowness. “He has given us great goaltending…helped keep us in the hunt this long.” Salo’s agent, Rich Winter, said in the previous two seasons the Swedish goalie had pressed when called up from…

Season one big pain for enforcer

Last spring, Shane Churla was one of the New York Rangers’ best forwards in the playoffs, which was as much an indictment of the rest of the forwards as it was a compliment to Churla. But this season could not end quickly enough for the Rangers’ tough winger. It has been nightmare after nightmare. “There haven’t been too many highlights in my year,” Churla said. “It has been a year I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemies. Well, maybe a few of them.” In the pre-season, Churla broke his hand in a fight. In November he broke his orbital bone in another fight. In December he returned, with orders not to fight, and was injured in, you guessed it, a fight. Two games later, still under orders to not fight, he got into…

Murray preaches composure

Franchise players usually don’t have to handle their own retaliation work, but then Eric Lindros isn’t your usual franchise player. In his five-year career with the Philadelphia Flyers, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound center has been able to hold his own with the NHL’s tough guys. Still, the question remains: should the 24-year-old captain spend his time slugging it out with instigators? The Flyers thought they had the solution this season when they put together an enforcer line of Daniel Lacroix, Dan Kordic and Scott Daniels. For the most part, that system seemed to work. But it broke down April 7 in a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Lindros lost his cool twice, breaking right winger Shane Churla’s nose with a high stick in the second period and opening a…

Khabibulin relishes top dog role

He finished the regular season having started 42 consecutive games, but Phoenix Coyotes’ goalie Nikolai Khabibulin acted as if he still hadn’t broken a sweat. “I think I’ll hold up,” said the 24-year-old. “Grant Fuhr played 76 games in a row last season. I hope I play 60-something in a row because that means we will win the Stanley Cup.” The Coyotes will be counting heavily on Khabibulin to lead the way if they are to advance beyond the first round for only the third time in the franchise’s 18-year history. The Bulin Wall, who took a 29-34-6 record and seven shutouts into the Coyotes’ regular season finale against the Edmonton Oilers, nearly did it last year when the Winnipeg Jets pushed the Detroit Red Wings to six games in the opening round.…

Civic Arena fans relatively civil for Lemieux’s Pittsburqh finale

It was almost as if the Civic Arena crowd didn’t know quite how to say goodbye. On April 8, Mario Lemieux played his final regular season home game, just a couple of days after he made official what he had been hinting at all season long: Once the Pittsburgh Penguins are through with the Stanley Cup playoffs, his days as a player are over. “My decision was made last September and it hasn’t changed since then,” he said on the day before his big night in front of the home folks. “That’s why I made the announcement when I did so we can go forward with what’s important and that’s the playoffs. I’ll have a clear mind going into the playoffs and give it. “I’m playing some good hockey, but my mind has…

Hull reaches another milestone with winninoooal in kev flame

Bobby Hull didn’t get to see his son Brett join him in the NHL’s exclusive 500-goal club with a hat trick against the Los Angeles Kings in December, but he reveled in hpino nrpsent for Rrett’s 500th poal in a St. Louis Blues’ uniform. Never mind the Golden Jet didn’t know that the Golden Brett was so I close to No. 500 with the Blues until left winger Geoff Courtnall fished the puck out of the net after the goal. The younger Hull accomplished the feat in a crucial 1-0 win over Dad’s former team, the Chicago Blackhawks, April 9. “I was wondering why he was doing it, but it didn’t take me long to figure it out,” Bobby Hull said. “I said, ‘Son of gun. that’s what it has got to…

Sims accuses referees of unfairness to Sharks

Al Sims held his tongue for nearlv the entire season. Finally, the first-year coach of the San Jose Sharks couldn’t take it any longer. Sims seized the opportunity afforded by a 7-6 overtime victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche April 4 to question the state of officiating in the NHL. San Jose edged Colorado on rookie left winger Stephen Guolla’s goal 35 seconds into overtime despite facing seven Avalanche power play opportunities while getting just three man-advantage chances of its own. “We just want fair officiating,” said Sims, whose club had long since been eliminated from playoff contention. “Yeah, we’re out of it. We’re a lastplace team, but we just want people to be fair. When (power plays) are 8-2 or 7-1 or 9-2 against us, that’s just not fair.” Through…

Cullen’s approach positive as cancer treatments begin

Time and again, he has been doubted. Time and again, he has doggedly proved his detractors wrong. This time, Tampa Bay Lightning center John Cullen faces an obstacle greater than any other he has encountered-non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, detected March 27. And this time, like every other, Cullen senses he will prevail. “I feel great,” Cullen said April 10, speaking to the media for the first time since a cancerous mass was found in his chest. “Some days are better than others. Sometimes it’s hard to get a breath or speak. It really hurts. Other days, it’s fine. Like today: I feel like I could play.” Cullen, 32, has always felt as if he could play; it was just getting others to agree that was difficult. He was overlooked out of Boston University in the…

Cousineau offers hand in St. John’s

Don Beaupre didn’t want the work, but Marcel Cousineau does. With Beaupre, a 17-year veteran, declining to play for the St. John’s Maple Leafs in the playoffs despite playing most of the season in the American League, Cousineau jumped into the breach despite spending most of the season in the NHL as Felix Potvin’s backup. And, it should be noted, he did so despite the fact he won’t be paid for his trouble. “The only thing we’re doing is providing Marcel with accommodation,” said assistant GM Bill Watters. “Otherwise, he’s doing it for his career and his team.” Beaupre declined to compete in the playoffs, citing homesickness for his family in Minnesota and an absence of financial payoff for AHL post-season work. He would have earned about $11,000 for six weeks work, peanuts for…

Renney set for 1997-98

Despite coaching the Vancouver Canucks to their worst regular season in six years, Tom Renney said he has received nothing but encouragement from the hierarchy at Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, the Canucks’ parent company. Orca Bay is owned by Seattle tycoon John McCaw and is run by John Chapple, an American educated at Syracuse and Harvard. “John Chapple, John McCaw and (Canucks’ GM) Pat Quinn all have suggested I persevere and we’ll get out of this,” Renney said during the season’s final week as the Canucks made a late run at a playoff spot “I trust the people I work with and I don’t have to hear them say it all the time. We all know it has been a watershed year. We’ll all review what happened and work to make…

Tocchet shines for Caps, but will he next season?

Right winger Rick Tocchet has looked good in a Washington Capitals’ uniform since being acquired in a trading deadline deal from the Boston Bruins. The question is, how much longer will Tocchet be wearing Washington’s duds? Tocchet, 33, is entering an off-season in which he could become an unrestricted free agent if he chooses. His contract also gives him the option to play for another season at $2.1 million. For Tocchet, the decision will come down to two factors: he wants to play for a contending team and he wants his next stop to be his last. “I’ve made enough money in my career,” Tocchet said. “Obviously you want to be paid accordingly, you don’t want to play for nothing. But I don’t want to be living out of a duffel bag anymore.…

Hulbig makes big strides

The heckling, and the doubts, started during Joe Hulbig’s freshman season at Providence College, when he scored just three goals. Yeah, you’re real good. Some first-round pick. A year later, Hulbig doubled his goal total, which wasn’t hard to do. The critics were even more vocal. How in Glen Sather’s creation could the Edmonton Oilers pick Hulbig out of St. Sebastian’s High School in Needham, Mass., with the 13th overall pick in 1992? “I had some bad games my first couple years,” Hulbig says. “Guys on the ice would be telling me I’m a flop. I’d read things in the papers.” Of course, the Oilers had been down this path before, a path littered with wasted first-round picks. Ever remember seeing Kim Issel or Peter Soberlak wear an Edmonton sweater? How about Jason Soules and Selmar…

Bulldog enforcer makes record book

When the next American League record book goes to press, Dennis Bonvie’s name will appear: Most penalty minutes, one season. With two fights against Greg Walters of the Rochester Americans April 6, the Hamilton Bulldogs’ right winger brought his season total to 501, 10 more than Barry Nieckar of the Saint John Flames in 1994-95. “I didn’t know whether to congratulate him or kick him in the butt,” said Bulldogs’ coach Lorne Mölleken. “He only knows how to play one way and that’s playing all out.” With 501 minutes going into his last two games, Bonvie has been an honest tough-guy. He had no instigating minors and hadn’t been suspended. He led the AHL in majors (35) and minors (73) and had nine goals and 29 points in 72 games. “I’m hoping people will…

Spiders aim to cast web in Victoria for 1999-2000

The suspended San Francisco Spiders franchise has announced a conditional move to Victoria, B.C., in time for the 1999-2000 season. Owner David Pasant suspended operations after the Spiders lost in excess of $6 million in 1995-96, their only season of operation. Pasant’s deal is with Pilot Pacific Development, which has signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Victoria to develop a new 10,000-seat arena complex. Pilot Pacific would get 50 per-cent equity in the franchise and Pasant would get 50 per-cent equity in the arena. There will be three full-sized rinks in the complex, a themed restaurant, large pro shop and sports bar. “I think this will be a sensational market for the league,” Pasant said. “It’s a smaller city than we’ve been going into, but from i a logistics standpoint, there…

Gagnon on losing side of marathon this time

If you want to know anything about the two longest playoff games in East Coast League history, just ask Dave Gagnon. The veteran goaltender has played in both the triple-overtime thrillers and knows the ecstasy of victory and the agony of defeat. The most recent marathon was April 2 when Alain Savage of the Hampton Roads Admirals scored 1:31 into the third OT period to give the Admirals a 4-3 victory over Gagnon and the visiting Roanoke Express in Game 1 of their best-of-five first-round series. Six years ago, with Gagnon in net for Hampton Roads, the Admirals defeated the Greensboro Monarchs 2-1 with Dave Flanagan scoring at 5:47 of the third OT in Game 4 of the Riley Cup title series. “The difference?” Gagnon asked. “In ‘91,1 remember being exhausted and after we…

Brickley plays through pain for joy

Butch Goring says it with a straight face: a slow, beaten-up, aging radio broadcaster for the Boston Bruins could have a major impact on his team’s chances for a third consecutive Turner Cup. Goring, coach-GM of the International League’s Utah Grizzlies, added left winger Andy rickley to his playoff roster March 20 even though Brickley spent the season as a color analyst after reconstructive knee surgery in July. “I guess when some people saw that,” Brickley said, “they might have wondered what Butch had gotten into.” Goring insists he didn’t take leave of his senses. Brickley, 35, had a major impact on the Grizzlies’ back-to-back championships. Knee and back ailments made him a physical wreck in last season’s playoffs, but night after night, Brickley was a force. Few players, Goring said, would have…

McCauley sees Red as top gun for second time

Alyn McCauley will paint some apartments for his father’s business again this summer, but he has already painted the Ontario League red. The Ottawa 67’s center is the winner of the Red Tilson Trophy as the most outstanding player. It was the second straight year he topped media voting for the Tilson Trophy. McCauley is only the third two-time winner. The others to accomplish the feat were George Armstrong (1948, 1950) and Andre Lacroix (1965, 1966). McCauley scored 56 goals in 50 games this season and despite missing 16 games, McCauley was third in the OHL with 112 points. Joe Thornton of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds was second in Tilson voting. Scoring champion Marc Savard of the Oshawa Generals was third. “This year I wanted to be more consistent offensively,” McCauley said. “Once…

Cougars enjoy sweet success of playoff payoff

The Prince George Cougars, until recently a Western League doormat, were relishing a remarkable run of playoff prosperity. The sixth-place Cougars advanced to the West Division final after upsetting the top-ranked Portland Winter Hawks and third-seeded Spokane Chiefs. “It is amazing, isn’t it?” Cougars’ owner Rick Brodsky marvelled. “Just don’t wake me up.” Prince George finished in the West Division basement for seven straight seasons before earning the sixth and final playoff spot this season. Prince George (28-39-5) met Portland (46-215) in the first round and won the best-of-seven series in six games. Prince George finished 36 points behind Portland. The Cougars proceeded to the West semifinal against Spokane (35-33-4) and swept the best-of-five series, moving to the division final against second-place Seattle Thunderbirds (41-27-4). “If you had asked me before the playoffs if we’d play…

Foreurs hoping to take Luongo route to final

Roberto Luongo’s stock continues to soar. Luongo, already the top-rated goalie for the NHL entry draft, added another accomplishment to his resume when he almost singlehandedly eliminated the defending Memorial Cup champion Granby Prédateurs from the playoffs. The Val d’Or Foreurs, who finished 12 points behind Granby in the regular season, won the best-of-seven series 4-1 despite being outshot in four games. Vai d’Or wrapped up the series with a 3-2 win April 1 in a game it was outshot 33-23. Luongo had a 2.78 goals-against average and 92.4 save percentage against Granby. Things weren’t going quite as well in the Lebel Division final against the Hull Olympiques. Hull won the first two games of the series 4-2 and 6-2. The Memorial Cup hosts had the most explosive offense during the season, averaging…

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Unaer doesn’t buy reasons for dismissal from Oilers

Garry Unger took his firing as coach of the Tulsa Oilers in much the same way he played 914 consecutive NHL games-without sitting down. “I’m upset and disappointed,” Unger said. “I don’t like the way it happened. They’re trying to tell me we had a bad year. We were turning I things around and I thought we were I going in a positive direction.” The Central League’s longest serving coach was dismissed by commissioner Monte Miron April 3 after the I Oilers lost in the first playoff round I for the third straight season. Unger had guided the Oilers since the league’s inception in 1992-93 when he led them to the league title. His career record is 163-135-22, including 30-32-4 this season. Miron said the playoff failures and lagging attendance led to Unger’s downfall.…

Generals, Mallards sweep up

The Flint Generals and Quad City Mallards continued their Colonial I League dominance by sweeping through the first round of the playoffs. Flint, which broke its own league I records with 55 wins and 111 points, I bounced the Utica Blizzard in three straight games. The highlight was a 3I 0 shutout in Game 2 by Igor Galkin. Utica was limited to 10 shots. The defending champion Generals held Utica to six goals in the series. “A lot has been said about our defensemen, but the forwards are really committed to playing in their own zone,” said Flint blueliner Ken Spangler. “That’s a tremendous help.” Quad City goalie Sergei Zvyagin, who set a league record with 42 wins, backstopped all three triumphs in a sweep of the Muskegon Fury. The I league’s…

THE G-MAN

Father knows best. “You can tell by his eyes,” Don Gilmour says. “It’s all in the eyes. It’s why Brian Sutter started calling him Killer. He was the same way as a kid.” Nothing has changed with Doug Gilmour. The most important time of the season is also his best. “It’s playoff time,” Don adds. “You can always tell the playoffs are here by Dougie’s eyes. When he was a kid he always played better in the playoffs and in tournaments. It was like the games that meant the most brought the best out in him.” The NHL playoffs are here and Gilmour has the icy stare of a killer. Some guys grow beards; others wilt under the pressure. Not Gilmour. He takes his game to a higher level. That’s why the New Jersey Devils traded…

Facts can sooil old truths

All playoff broadcasts and stories should come with a warning: beware of myth-information. Certain notions about the post-season that have been accepted as fact over the years aren’t necessarily so clear cut. In our never-ending quest to uncover the truth, we’ve done some extra homework on various schools of thought. Momentum Momentum might mean something to The Little Engine That Could, but its significance is overblown in the NHL. During a playoff series, when a team beats its opponent by a large margin, it’s supposed to carry momentum into the next game. Last year, however, in 11 post-season games when a team won by four or more goals, it won just twice in its next outing against the same opponent. Winning the first game Last year, firstgame winners went 13-2 in 15 series, while…

Playoffs: A to Z

The NHL playoffs come but once a year, just like birthdays. The difference is the playoffs last two months. Whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on your staying power, but we know one thing for certain: You’ll get a lot more out of it if you go in prepared. Did you know, for example, the New Jersey Devils’ Stanley Cup win over the Detroit Red Wings, ending June 24, 1995, is the only final series to actually be played in the summer? Yes, THN’s playoff alphabet soup is everything you need, except the pop and munchies, to hit the sofa in full stride. Here is the A to Z on the race for the 1997 Stanley Cup. Avalanche admiration If playoff excitement is your fancy, this is the only place to…

Network TV coverage of Stanley Cud

FIRST ROUND Conference Quarterfinals Schedule A Schedule B 1. Wed., April 16 1. Thur., April 17 2. Fri., April 18 2. Sat., April 19 3. Sun., April 20 3, Mon. April 21 4. Tue., April 22 4. Wed., April 23 5. Fri., April 25* 5. Sat., April 26 6. Sun., April 27* 6. Mon. April 28 7. Tue., April 29* 7. Wed., April 30 ESPN Up to 10 games. National coverage with local blackouts in effect. ESPN2 Up to 16 games. National coverage. Fox Sunday afternoon games only. Regional coverage of four first-round series. CBC All games in selected series. Canadian teams followed regionally. TSN Up to 14 games. National coverage of American-based teams only. SECOND ROUND Conference Semifinals Schedule A Schedule B 1. Fri., May 2 1. Sat., May 3 2. Sun., May 4 2. Mon., May 5 3. Tue., May 6 3. Wed. May 7 4. Thur., May 8…

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