| The door
that did not open Wednesday opened Thursday, and there was Terry Slater. "I just
didn't want to talk to anyone," said the Stingers' coach, thus explained why he
barred newsmen from the locker room after Wednesday night's 6-4 loss to Cleveland. "I
was mad, I was upset and I was just physically beat. I talked to the players for a few
minutes and I just didn't have anything left inside. I thought I might say something that
was wrong and I don't like to do that. I like to be able to think what I'm saying." Slater laced up his skates and pulled on a sweater, preparing for an hour
ling practice Thursday at Riverfront Coliseum. The frustration of the last two games
lingered. "I'm trying some different lines today," he said. "Some people
who played well earlier are letting up now and some other are playing better. I think a
change of lines would help. I've got to do something." It isn't just losing to
Quebec, 9-, and then to Cleveland, that bothers Slater so much, although he hates to lose.
"The main thing is we're still not playing the system," he
whines. "We have a system but the guys are being too individualistic. We're not
cooperating and working within the system. "It really bugs me that we lose to
Cleveland line that, because they're right behind us (in the standings). If we win that
game, we're six points ahead and they have to win four games more than we do to catch up
and go ahead. But we lose it and now they're two points behind and that's all. So what we
have to do now is stop worrying about every game," coach continues. "We've been
running along in the East Division like the race horse that's always looking over its
shoulder. We're always looking to see how the other East team did....how we stand. Well
now we've got to stop that. We've got to look at every game we play, one at a time, no
matter who it's against. We have to stop worrying about the standings and just win every
game we can."
Slater's reorganization for Thursday's practice included the
break-up of the French Line Rookie left winger Claude Larose was removed and replaced by
Rick Dudley. "Larose has let up," Slater admits. "I don't know if it's the
all-star business or if he's getting hit harder now or if it's just been a ling season for
him. You know he's used to the juniors. I'm not so sure it wouldn't be better to just spot
him now." The line's center, Jaques Locas, is "playing very well now I think
most every game," says Slater. So he'll add Dudley, who's also hot. This may not be
an immediate improvement, however, since Dudley could be suspended at any time for
jostling a linesman. "No word on that yet," Slater sighs.
Another new line he's trying is Bryan Campbell with wingers Bernie
MacNeil and Murray Myers. He also has Gene Sobchuk with brother Dennis and right wing
Frank Beaton. The Sobchuks scored three goals and contributed two assists in the loss to
Cleveland and the coach says, "They seem to be coming on. Dennis has been scoring
goals (four in the last three games) and Gene is really working hard digging the puck, and
that's what we want. And they've been backchecking, too. But it goes back to the same old
problem. We're inconsistent. We can't keep two lines or three lines going well. We're up
and down. The players get discouraged, like young players do and then it makes everything
worse. I don;t know if they're getting tired yet, but I'll tell you, it's been a long
season for me already....trying to keep everyone boosted up. It's rough on me and I just
get so physically and mentally beat, like after the game, that I just don't want to see
anymore." |
