Penguins prepare for Ice Storm wars
North Stars needed victories to get fans back
By REG CURREN Canadian Press
Nothing draws a crowd like a winner — it’s a cruel fact about professional sports that the red-hot Minnesota North Stars know a lot about.
A mediocre team that drew an average of 7,838 disinterested fans in the NHL regular season has averaged 14,670 crazies during its fairy-tale mn toward the Stanley Cup.
This is a crowd’s crowd — loud, sometimes boorish, partisan and always having a ball. The crowd starts roaring before the national anthem and continues unabated until the final whistle blows.
Does it have an affect on the teams playing
at the Met Centre in Bloomington? You bet.
The North Stars have been nearly invincible on home ice, racking up a 19-2-2 record since Jan. 17, including four wins over the defending Stanley Cup champion Edmonton Oilers.
Minnesota clinched the Campbell Conference with a 3-2 win Friday night in Game 5 in Edmonton. The North Stars will face the Penguins on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. The Penguins ousted Boston in six games with a
5-3 win Saturday.
“It all boils down to: you’ll take a winner,” says longtime North Stars fan Tracy Bishop, who joined hundreds of other rowdies outside the arena at pre-game tailgate parties
before Game 4 last week.
“You can do all the other stuff, like trying to give away the money during the regular season, they can do all that. But when it gets down to winning, nothing substitutes.”
Stormin’ Norman — North Stars owner Norm Green — helped out, offered another beer-guzzling fan as a cool drizzle whipped across the parking lot. It wasn’t much of a night for an outdoor party, but these fans didn’t mind.
“I’ve talked to (Green); he’s real pleasant with the fans,” said Eric Anderson, who has followed the North Stars for years.
“They (the Minnesota fans) are great,” Muckier said after a 5-1 loss in Game 4.
PITTSBURGH (CP) — Operation Ice Storm has entered the ultimate theatre of NHL operations.
Bench general Bob Johnson and captain Mario Lemieux are preparing the Pittsburgh Penguins for battle against the Minnesota North Stars, who have hefty weapons of their own, in the Stanley Cup final beginning here Wednesday.
Operation Desert Storm, the successful military campaign in the Middle East earlier this year, inspired some Penguins fans to hang an Operation Ice Storm sign in the Civic Arena on Saturday night when their heroes defeated the Boston Bruins 5-3 to win the Wales Conference championship.
After losing the first two games to Boston, Johnson’s troops rolled over the Bruins four straight. It was quick and decisive.
“After the second game in Boston (a 5-4 overtime loss) we thought we could win the series,” said right winger Mark Recchi, who scored the winning goal at 15:40 of the third period in the series clincher. “We outplayed them then came back home and we were confident we could take them....
“We’re going to keep going at it We want to win so bad. We’re going to do anything it takes to win.”
Boston coach Mike Milbury called the Penguins “one of the most talented teams in hockey. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go all the way.”
Pittsburgh missed the playoffs seven times in the previous eight years, including last season. Lemieux, Troy Loney, Phil Bourque and Bob Errey are survivors.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this and I’m going to enjoy it,” said Lemieux, drafted in 1984 to lead the team to glory but until now never supplied with enough competent foot soldiers. “It’s a great feeling to finally be on a winning team.”
Loney has seen four head coaches and three general managers since joining the team in ’84.
“There were years when you’d wonder if it’d ever get better,” said Loney. “But the last two or three years, everything started coming together.”
Said Bourque: “This makes it all worth it There were nights here when there’d be 6,000 people in the stands — and half of them had bags over their heads, when the coach wouldn’t talk to the players and when it was down to the minors, back up, down to the minors.”
In front of more than 16,100 noisy supporters Saturday, including an Elvis impersonator and two gentlemen leading cheers in tails and tophats pretending to be penguins, Pittsburgh fell behind 2-0. Boston got goals from Cam Neely and Ken Hodge to silence the crowd, but the goals merely served as a wakeup call for the Penguins.
“That actually gave us some spark because we didn’t have anything going,” said goaltender
Mario Lemieux greets Mark Recchi after scoring the fifth goal.
Tom Barrasso. “It was almost a blessing. ”
Larry Murphy and Phil Bourque scored before the second period ended and Gordie Roberts, with his first goal of the playoffs, gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead at 10:08 of the third. Don Sweeney tied it again, but Mark Recchi’s goal at 15:40 on a great pass from Roberts, and Lemieux’s empty-nctter with 28 seconds left, ended Boston’s season.
“We got beat by a good
hockey club that’s playing well,” said Boston forward Dave Christian. “It should be a great final.”
Centre Bryan Trottier gets a crack at a fifth championship ring. He won four with the New York Islanders and is back in the final for the first time since ’84.
“This is absolutely fantastic,” he said. “I’m going to jump at the opportunity, like everybody else in this room.
“The excitement of playing for the Stanley Cup is what hockey is all about.”
The Prince George Citizen - Monday, May 13,1991 - 15
Kearns burns former mates
by BILL SEYMOUR Citizen Staff
Mick Kearns left his calling card with his former teammates Sunday as Labatt’s Honda-North shutout Team sport 2-0 in North Cariboo Senior Soccer.
It was the first time the skinny outside left, who played two seasons with Teamsport, faced off against his former club. Kearns’ pierced Teamsport’s defence just two minutes into the second half and connected on a shot against Clarke Jamison for Labatt’s second goal of the game.
The goal was typical Keams as he jumped from the pack and drove through on his own. Ironically it reflected the dogmatic style of play he learned with Teamsport.
“We just kept pushing forward and forward all the time,” said the 25-year-old former Dubliner.
In other games Sunday, it was: Remco 0, Prince George Croatia-Fred Walls and Sons 0 and City Furniture defeated the Kickers 4-0 in Quesne.
In the recreation division Sunday, it was: GGST 6, Green Machine 0; Avco 2, SgL O’Flaherty’s 2 and Steamer’s 1, United 1.
Ian Patton opened scoring for Labatt’s with a goal six minutes after the opening whistle. Keeper Glenn Foerster earned his second shutout in as many games.
Adjusting to the ‘touch ball’ style of play Labatt’s fosters is something new to Keams. The former telephone worker said it’s a change from the European style of game he grew up with.
“I’m not used to it,” Keams said, describing Labatt’s. “They like to take their time and get or-
ganized.
“I just like to get the ball and go like hell.”
Labatt’s coach Orlando Mauro said Keams is a valuable addition to his team since Graham West ended a decade of play with Labatt’s last year to coach rival Remco. Keams speedy response on the field keeps everyone on their toes, he said.
Team sport’s player-coach Terry Wilson blamed a slow response from his club for the loss.
“In the first half we weren't in fast enough,” said Wilson. “We let them play the ball.
“In the second half we created a few chances but they use the ball slightly better than we did."
Remco 0 Croatia 0 Goalie Dina Mastroianni of Croatia and Remco’s Ivan Brkicti both registered shutouts in the scoreless match.
Quesnel 4 Kickers 0 Ian Brown, Kerry Gray, Fausto Mauro and Art Renaud each scored for Quesnel. Brown’s goa came on a penalty shot.
GGST 6 Green Machine 0 Ranjet Ranu and Joga Sandhi both scored twice with singles from George Kaweesi and Jesse Sandhu. Malkeet Gill earned the shutout.
Steamer’s 1 United 1 Joel Wiseman opened scoring two minutes after the whistle for Steamer’s. United’s Chad Henderson replied for the tie.
Avco 2 Sgt. O’Flaherty’s 2 Ken Liedl and Derek Thompson scored for Avco. Al Gains and Vohar Sanniboos scored for SgL O’Flaherty’s.
Olympic team falters
SAN SALVADOR (CP) — Canada’s Olympic soccer hopes suffered a setback Sunday when the national team dropped a 3-1 decision to El Salvador.
The loss drops Canada’s record in CONCACAF Group B third round qualifying to 1-1. CONCACAF is the confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean soccer associations.
Canada will now have to win its last two third-round matches — next Sunday 19 in Trinidad and Aug. 31 at Vancouver against El Salvador — to guarantee a spot in the fourth-round.
A disputed penalty kick goal in
the 79th minute by El Salvador’s Jose Escobar snapped a 1-1 tie and gave the home team the victory. Mark Watson of Vancouver inter-efered with Escobar and he was awarded a penalty kick despite Canada’s protests.
■In Reno, Nev. Doug Muirhead scored three goals in one game as the Vancouver 86ers won both their games Sunday at an international soccer tournament
The six-team tournament continues Wednesday in San Francisco.
The 86ers beat Mexico Selects 9-0 and edged San Francisco 1-0.
Memorial Cup start surprises
QUEBEC (CP) — The Memorial Cup produced a number of surprises over the weekend.
Not everything went according to the expectations of many hockey observers, most notably the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, champs of the Ontario Hockey League, losing back-to-back games.
Few people thought the Greyhounds would open the round-robin tournament by losing 4-2 on Saturday to the Drummondville Voltigeurs, the only non-champion club in the major junior hockey championship.
The Greyhounds bounced back Sunday with a solid effort against the Chicoutimi Sagueneens but still losL 2-1.
The Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League, who are trying to become the first American-based club to win the Cup, hardly looked like champions Sunday in a 7-3 triumph over Dnim-mondville, the Quebec league fi-
nalisL
The biggest surprise of that game was the officiating of referee Michel Lemieux, a veteran of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League who lost control in the second period. He ended up handing out 206 penalty minutes.
Quebec league champion Chicoutimi and Spokane, which is coowned by George Brett of baseball’s Kansas City Royals, are in first with 1-0 records. They play the tournament’s next game Tuesday and in what could be a preview of the Cup final.
Drummondville is third at 1-1 while Sault Ste. Marie needs to win its next game, Wednesday against Spokane, to have any hope.
Another surprise was the mixed greeting offered to the Greyhounds.
Saturday’s game at Le Colisee was the first Quebec appearance by a Sault Ste. Marie team since its municipal government declared English as the city’s official work-
ing language.
Boos rained down on the Greyhounds when they skated out for the warmup Saturday but the crowd seemed more sympathetic Sunday.
That was ironic because the Colisee was filled with hockey fanatics from the Saguenay region of Quebec, an area which is a hotbed of French nationalism.
About 20 buses of fans from the region, 200 kilometres north of the provincial capital, were at the game and they made their presence known. And while they booed the singing of O Canada, they were polite towards the Ontario champions.
All night, the Chicoutimi fans chanted in unison and in English: Go Sags Go. And most of their signs read: Go Sags Go.
Drop Into Sears AUTO CENTRE
Jensen powers winners
I
Yellow head Mack defeated Mr. G 19-4 Sunday in Prince George men’s slo-pitch play at Kenworth Field.
Dan Jensen went four-for-four with four runs-batted-in for Yello-whead with teammate Ken Pederson earning three RBIs in five trips to the plate.
In other make-up games Sunday, it was: Western Staging 13, Video Pop 11 and Yellow head Mack 19, Mr. G4
Don Pearse pitched the victory for Yellowhead, allowing eight hits.
Joe Rea went three-for-four for Mr. G with Norm McFaddan pitching the loss.
Brad MacDonald and Blain Buehler both slammed home runs for Western in three trips at bat. Western earned four runs in the seventh for the victory.
Larry Ostanek homered far Video with Hans Mifick pitching the loss.
Tom Ferris went three-for-three with a home run as Ironhorse edged Teamsport-Runner’s World 9-8. Ironhorse scored five runs in the fourth and two in the seventh for the win.
Nels Erickson went four-for-four i
Sports
with Teamsports including a home run.
Field kills games
A Spruce City Men’s Fastball Association doubleheader between the Quesnel Rangers and the Lad Construction Bulls was postponed Sunday.
Spruce City spokesman Nino Fabbro said early today the Quesnel games were put off because a field wasn’t available. No rescheduled date has yet been confirmed.
Stacy ends drought
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — Hollis Stacy ended a six-year victory drought Sunday with three consecutive back-nine birdies that carried her to a one-shot triumph at the Crestar-Farm Fresh women’s golf tournament.
Stacy’s 3-under-par 69 and 6-under 282 total were good enough to overtake Tammie Green, Elaine Crosby and Patty Sheehan, who all faltered over the last six holes.
Stacy won $60,000.
Chicoutimi plays Spokane at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday on TSN (cable 16).
Cahoon takes fifth in squash
Will Cahoon of Prince George finished fifth overall Sunday at the Canadian junior squash championships in Pickering, Ont.
Cahoon, 13, fell 3-0 to B.C. teammate David Tumer-Meadows in Friday’s quarter-finals. It was his first loss at the championships.
Cahoon said the highlight of the tournament was Thursday when he defeated third-seed Eric Zarcmba of Kingston, Ont.
“I was pumped up for it,” Cahoon said early today. “I knew he was seeded third and it was going to be a good game.”
Following Friday’s loss to Tumer-Meadows Cahoon played the consolation side and finished fifth. Tumer-Meadows finished third overall and B.C. teammate Viktor Berg of Vancouver was fourth.
Top seed Douglas Parent of Alberta won the boys’ 14-and-younger division.
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