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defeat, Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum is still perfectly chaste, but will be wooed
mercilessly this weekend. The Stingers host, on consecutive nights, the defending World
Hockey Association champion Houston Aeros and the formidable Minnesota Fighting Saints.
Both were earlier victims of the Stingers, who are 5-0 in the Coliseum, but coach Terry
Slater warns, "These will be totally different games." The Aeros unlike last time, will bring a full complement of Hoes - Gordie,
Mark and Marty - all healthy and rested. The Saints, who employ Wayne Connelly, Dave Keon
and John Garrett, won't be surprised anymore that the Stingers are so good. "I think
we caught them off guard last time." Slater admits. "You have to expect they'll
[play differently. They'll be treating us like a good, tough hockey club and not an
expansion club. This is going to be a good test for us."
For the Saturday night game, Papa Gordie will be more fit than his
last visit here, when a groin muscle problem restricted him to about six shifts - and one
assist. In fact the 47 year old marvel emerged from his injury to go on a scoring spree,
seven points in three games, and at last report led his team. And this time son Mark will
be available. The high scoring younger brother of Marty was left in Houston last time with
leg trouble of his own.
"I said at the time we played Houston here that it was the
worst game I'd ever seen them play". Slater says, "They were flat; they were
hurt; they were tired. They'd been on the road for a week or more. They've had time to go
home and get the underwear cleaned now and they're coming in here with a couple days rest
and everyone healthy. Mark us a potential 40-goal scorer so you know how they missed him.
And Gordie when he's had some rest will be going like a 20-year-old. It will be a totally
different team."
At the same time, Slater says "I have to worry a little about
my team. We've had a full week off which can help you or hurt you. It can leave you awful
sluggish. That's what happened to us last time. When you don't play for awhile, you lose
sharpness. Your passing isn't as good. We can't sleep through this game."
Sunday at 7:05 p.m. the Stingers' begin their rematch against the
perennially strong Fighting Saints, a team they downed, 6-4 last month in St Paul. "I
think they weren't expecting that much of this team, being an expansion team,"
declares Slater. "They didn't think it would be so hard. We caught them off guard. We
kept getting goals and by the time they decided they better wake up, it was to late. It's
a much better team that they showed us there. But this time we have a couple advantages,
too. We get them at home and also, after that Saturday game, we ought to be back in the
grove and skating well. It's a good time to play them. We've played awfully well at
home," Slater continues. 'We've scored a lot of goals, though we've given up a lot of
them too. These two games are going to tell us how good we are at home." Once again
Slater says he will go with his 20-year-old rookie goalie Norm LaPointe, in Saturday's
game at least.
"This is not to say that Serge Aubry couldn't play or won't
play some," Slater emphasizes. "We're going to go on a schedule with the two of
them, alternating them. LaPointe deserves to start some games. He's played in three now
and gotten better each one." The gentle-natured young Quebec native gave up just two
goals in last Sundays victory over New England, and one of them was accidentally knocked
in by his own defenseman Mike Pelyk. "He's got great reflexes, he's cool and he wants
to play," explains Slater. "Some rookies you've got to insert right away, even
in the big tough games like these." |
