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November 28, 1997
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.
What you need to know about the 1997-98 season
Timing everything In football, it’s the hurry-up offense. In hockey, we’d settle for some offense or a little hurry up. The lack of goals is well known, but it was taking longer to score less. Average length of game last season: two hours, 39 minutes. After 247 games this season: two hours, 43 minutes. Rough on ref The referee players most like to dislike (unofficial poll) is veteran Kerry Fraser, but they can’t decide if it’s because he calls ‘em by the book or he’s a stickler for having every hair in place. Interesting to note that on the same weekend as the Chris Simon-Mike Grier incident, Calgary’s Theo Fleury was simply ejected by Fraser for a five-star nutty that, one player said, included repeated gutter references to one’s sexual preference.…
Crease crashers should get major
How long will it take before the NHL rule makers wake up, smell the stench and toss out this absurd crease rule? We have seen pretty goal after pretty goal called back because some player inadvertently had a toe in the crease, with no goalie interference. Surely something reasonable can be done to protect goalies without limiting offensive output. My suggestion is an automatic five-minute major for contact with the goalie with rapidly escalating suspensions for further infractions. Nobody wants to be shorthanded for five minutes and coaches would very quickly refrain from goalie-running tactics. Terence Bowden,Toronto, Ont. No surprise here When I saw The Hockey News’ latest prediction for Canada’s Olympic team (THN, Nov. 21), I was not surprised to see Steve Yzerman absent. Seeing the likes of Michael Peca and Joe Nieuwendyk rated ahead…
Lumberjacks’ long road trip earth-shattering experience
A head of state and state of emergency injected a large dose of turmoil into an arduous sevengame road trip for the Cleveland Lumberjacks. The Lumberjacks endured a 14-hour flight from Houston to Quebec City on the last leg of a cross-continent tour. Part of the reason for the lengthy excursion was a 90-minute delay circling above Newark, N.J., because a plane carrying U.S. President Bill Clinton was in the area. Their relief at finally being on solid ground wasn’t long-lived. The Lumberjacks-along with the Quebec Rafales and spectators at Le Colisee-had their world rocked Nov. 5 by an earthquake that measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale. It occurred at 17:57 of the third period with Cleveland up 6-3. “When it first started shaking, no one really knew what was going on,” said Rafales’…
Winless skid has coach concerned
They were the words of a desperate man. And as they emerged from the mouth of Edmonton Oilers’ coach Ron Low, they must have sounded foreign and despicable, something akin to his frugal GM Glen Sather uttering the phrase “unrestricted free agent.” The Oilers had gone winless in six road games, then came home to Edmonton Coliseum and left a worse smell there than the Canadian Finals Rodeo had done while the Oilers were out of town. They lost 6-4 to the Carolina Hurricanes Nov. 12, a team that had exactly one road win before the Oilers lumbered around the ice, merely going through the motions. “There may have to be a change of style, a trap initiated or a 1-4 (system),” said Low, who was openly worried about the security of his job,…
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