| There's no
place like home, but the Cincinnati Stingers haven't seen much of theirs lately and coach
Jacques Demers is looking ahead, hopefully, to the next few weeks of the World Hockey
Association season. The Stingers, who host the Indianapolis Racers tonight (7:35 p.m) at
Riverfront Coliseum, have just four away games in the next five weeks. And Demers is
looking forward to settling into the Coliseum and racking up a few victories. "We
don't feel like we're at home," said Demers Tuesday, following a practice session at
the Coliseum. "We haven't had a home stretch. We play a game here and then it's
goodbye and we're on the road again." Demers would like
to develop the type of atmosphere at Riverfront he enjoyed at Indianapolis' Market Square
Arena for three seasons. The Racers were very hard to beat on home ice, and the Stingers
were perhaps the most consistent victim. "I'd like to see the fans get more involved
here," the Stinger coach explained. "We started that at Indy and there were
times when the crowd won games for us. When we were a little flat the fans would get nolay
and encourage us. I think the fans could win games for us here."
Demers alluded to the same subject last week when the Stingers
played Houston here and less than 6000 people turned out. More importantly, the crowd was
so quiet you could hear the players shouting all night. "You don't always have to
have a big crowd to have a good crowd," Demers continued. "If you have 12,000
people and they don't make any noise, the players feel it. I want the Cincinnati fans to
make plenty of noise and get involved with the team."
He emphasized the players react to the crowd, and a quiet crowd can
product a slow game. "It's important for the players to feel welcome when they're
playing at home," Demers said. "I'd like to see the fans give the players a big
greeting when they go on the ice." Demers pointed out that Indianapolis wasn't
exactly heaven his first season there. "That first year the atmosphere was
dull," he said. "But we convinced the people to get involved and it really made
a difference." The Stingers play six at home and three away the remainder of December
and have just one road games in the first seven to open 1978. Demers said this put the
team "in a good position to gain some ground. We should get stronger playing at
home."
The Stingers brought up another winger from the minors, this time
for a two-game tryout. Brian Coates has been playing with the Hampton (Va.) Gulls this
season but he's no stranger to Demers. Coates, 6-feet and 195 pounds, played for the
Stinger coach and Chicago Indianapolis. Demers plans to start Coates tonight against Indy
on the line with Robbie Ftorek and Jamie Hislop. Dennis Sobchuk will be out of action for
about 10 days while his wrist heals, and Demers is planning to dress Paul Stewart tonight,
so another player will sit out.
Michel Dion, who stoned the Racers the last time the two teams met,
will start in goal tonight. He probably will go again Thursday in Birmingham as Demers is
expected to save rookie Mike Liut for the Russian game Saturday. Liut played a spectacular
game against Russia in Prague, Czechoslovakia, during the Stingers' training camp there
and was named the most valuable goalie in the tournament. |
