The Stingers came out with a quick start over the last place Denver Spurs
when Bernie MacNeil delivered on a sweep at 4:01 with Jaques Locas in on the assist. After
Denver's right wing Ron Delorme was sent to the penalty box at 8:31 for high sticking, the
Stingers took advantage. Dennis Sobchuk went on to score an unassisted goal during the
power play at 9:41. The goal followed a near miss by Spurs left wing Rick Morris, who took
a high shot at close range. The Denver Spurs answered with a goal by center Gary MacGregor
at 16:12. It was his 10th goal on the season. However, it didn't take to long for the
Stingers to recapture their 2 goal advantage after Claude Larose nailed a 25 foot shot at
18:02. The goal was his 12th of the season. With a few seconds remaining in the first
period and a face off to the left of the Stingers net, the Spurs tried to bag a quick goal
by removing their goal tender Bob Johnson. The attempt failed as the draw went to the
corner as time expired.
Denver went on to tie the game up at
10:35 in the second period when left wing Don Borgeson tallied from in front on a shot
that LaPointe appeared to be screened The Spurs followed with another goal at 12:14 when
defenseman Larry Bignoll and left wing Bob Liddington broke in on LaPointe with a short
shot being missed by Liddington. He then retrieved the puck and passed it to Bignoll in
front of the Stingers net for the game tying goal. The period ended with a score of 3-3
with Cincinnati skating to the locker rooms empty handed despite many missed
opportunities. They had three power plays early in the period but the Stingers could not
penetrate the Spurs defense. One power play opportunity the Stingers had a two-man
advantage.
The Spurs finally broke the tie by a
goal from left winger Brian Lavander. Lavanders goal came at 12:52 in the third period.
Don Borgeson added an insurance goal to seal the Spurs victory and hand the Stingers their
fifth straight loss. A loss that came from the worst team in the league.But with the
second place Whalers losing to the Jets by a score of 3-2, Cincinnati yet again maintained
their slim lead in the WHA East.
Terry Slater would go on the record and
say that he blames his vets for the failures in the losing streak. "Look who is
playing well for us: rookies and fourth-line players".
Also on this day:
- The Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Cleveland
Browns 35-23. Click here for
game summary. |
