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.
December 24, 1999
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.
Panthers ‘western’ style not a success in the East
A team based on speed and skill, that has trouble with physical teams. The Florida Panthers sound like the typical Western Conference team. Maybe that’s why through mid-December, the Florida Panthers had fared so much better against the top teams in the West than against their peers at the top of the East. After the Panthers rolled into Phoenix and rolled over the Coyotes, who had been hotter than a desert summer day, their record against the West’s top eight teams was 4-1-1-0. Their record against the top eight teams in the East was 1-5-0-1. “I don’t have an answer,” Panthers’ coach Terry Murray said when asked to explain the discrepancy. “Who’s to say?” captain Scott Mellan by said. “We’re a good skating club and there’s a feeling the West is a more wide-open…
Veterans, not rookies, keeping Lakers afloat
Scott Borek finally knows what it feels like to have a bench full of experienced players. The Lake Superior State coach, in his fifth season behind the bench, has 22 of his 28 letter winners from last year back this season. That’s a relief after two seasons in which Lake State relied heavily on freshmen. Predictably, LSSU was under .500 and near the bottom of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings in both of those seasons. But things could be different this year-the Lakers were tied for fourth in the CCHA with a 7-5-0 record (7-7-0 overall). “This was the first year that we returned the majority of our team and we didn’t depend on freshmen to come in,” said Borek, who withstood calls for his head from fans and media during the…
GM Lou Nanne had a ‘Sweet’ tooth for wheeling and dealing
28. Ron Caron (1983-97) The brilliant but temperamental former GM of the St. Louis Blues was banned from press boxes around North America for hurling chairs in anger when a call went against his team. 29. Jacques Plante (1952-75) A brooding, sweater-knitting loner off the ice, Plante was an innovator on the ice. Apart from inventing the goalie mask, he also pioneered the technique of wandering out of the crease to play the puck. 30. ‘Cowboy’ Bill Flett (1963-80) A real-life cowboy, who wore a full black beard and feathered hat, Flett bolted skate blades to a pair of cowboy boots and wore them for old-timers competitions. An imaginative practical joker once put a pet snake in teammate Eddie Mio’s glove and a mouse in his skate. 31. Jim Ralph (1980s) More accomplished…
Goalie Garrett a ‘hot dog’
48. Patrick Roy (1985-present) The quirky future Hall of Famer spent close to two decades talking to his goalposts in both of Canada’s official languages. 49. Harvey ‘Busher’ Jackson (1929-44) Frank Seike claimed Jackson was so fast he could shoot from center and beat the puck across the blueline. Jackson was an NHLer at 18, but didn’t dress for his first game. Leaf trainer Tim Daly suggested Jackson be stick boy. “Pick up the sticks yourself,” Jackson said. “I’m a National Leaguer.” To which Daly responded: “If you ain’t the freshest bloody Busher I’ve ever seen.” 50. ‘Wild’ Bill Ezinicki (1944-55) Swooping, bashing bodychecks gained Ezinicki legendary status around the NHL. He considered bodychecking to be an art form, studying opposing players to determine the best time for contact. Ezinicki also carried…
Made possible with the support of
