| The coach
and the captain kissed and made up more or less, and the tempest that erupted Tuesday
night around Jacques Demers and Rick Dudley is being permitted a quick, quite death.
Demers, the Cincinnati Stingers coach, and Dudley, the team captain, had a harsh verbal
exchange Tuesday night following the Stingers 5-5 tie with the Czechoslovakian National
hockey team here. Demers had been unhappy with Dudley's show of temper when the veteran
winger took a misconduct penalty in the Czech game and then broke his stick in the penalty
box. In the aftermath, when both had shouted expletives at the other, Demers declared that
Dudley would no longer be captain. "I lost my cool and he
lost his," Demers said. "But he's the captain. We both came away from our
meeting with the feeling that the incident is closed. It's over and we're going to forget
it." Demers said he apologized to Dudley for expressing himself publicly and
embarrassing Dudley. "I made a mistake there," said Demers. "It should have
been between us, in the locker room, and not in front of the press." Demers
emphasized that at no time did he criticize Dudley's ability as a player, but rather the
winger's temper and reaction to the penalty Tuesday night. "Duds and I have always
gotten along well," Demers said. "I picked him for my all-star team last year,
and I know he'll always give me 150% on the ice. He's the kind of guy I want to build a
team around."
Dudley said the incident disappointed him and "hurt a
little" but he agreed the best path to travel now was to drop the matter and play
hockey. 'I don't think it will hurt the team," Dudley said. "The players realize
this was something between the coach and myself. I was disappointed. I've never been cut
publicly by a coach like that before. I'm an emotional person and I react to things.
That's what I did in the Czech game."
Demers indicated he was upset with the display of temper because he
feels Dudley is one if the most identifiable players on the Stingers and therefore sets an
example by his actions. "He's the captain, and what he does reflects on the
team," Demers explained. "A lot of young kids look up to duds, which is as it
should be. But gives him a responsibility to set a good example."
Bill DeWitt Jr., the Stingers' executive vice president, remained on
the fringe of the disagreement Wednesday, offering some comment when he met with Demers
and Dudley but taking no direct action. 'Jacques is the coach, and he makes the decisions
on who plays and who is captain," DeWitt said. "I back him all the way on that.
I'm glad they got together and were able to settle this thing." With the shadow of
that dispute apparently dissipated, Demers was eager to prepare his team for their
encounter in Indianapolis tonight (8 p.m) with the Racers, a team Cincinnati has beaten
three straight.
Demers will go with Michel Dion in goal against the Racers, although
he wasn't too pleased with Dion's performance against the Czechs. 'He didn't have a good
game," Demers said of his young goalie. "He let in a couple of goals that he
would have stopped another night. But that's going to happen with any goalie. Nobody has a
good game every night and Michel Dion had been playing super for us."
The Stingers are awaiting word on whether rookie goalie Mike Liut
will undergo knee surgery in Toronto. Liut apparently suffered cartilage damage during a
Monday night practice session and if surgery is required, as anticipated, he will miss
about six weeks. Norm LaPointe, who played all of last season and part of 1975-76 with the
Stingers was called up from the Hampton, Va., minor league club to take the No. 2 spot.
LaPointe who lost the job to Liut in training camp hasn't had a good season so far in
Hampton but also has been used sparingly by the Gulls. |
