| Paul
Hoganson smiled as he sat in the Cincinnati Stinger dressing room following a practice
session. "It seems like I've tried to quit this game three or four times in the last
couple of years," he remarked. "Maybe somebody's trying to tell me I should in
hockey." Hoganson has logged more travel time than Lowell Thomas in the past two
seasons while playing his trade as a professional goaltender. He just signed on for his
third stint with the Stingers. "I had made up my mind that I was finished with hockey
when the Stingers talked to me last week," said Hoganson, who played with Cincinnati
for parts of the last two seasons. He had jumped around
between the majors and minors quite a bit in the past, playing with New England and
Cincinnati among others. But this year started badly and became progressively worse for
the eight-year pro. Hoganson was dealt by the Stingers to the Indianapolis Racers last
season, played well for Indy and beat the Stingers twice in the playoffs. His reward was a
cold shoulder from the new Racer management this season.
"Before the season my attorney contacted Ron Ingram (Indy coach
and player personnel director) about a contract and Ingram told him the Racers didn't want
me," said Hoganson. "Then John Brophy called me and said he wanted me in
Hampton," Brophy is coach and general manager of the American Hockey League (Va.)
Gulls. Hoganson went to Hampton as a free agent and Brophy indicated be would use Hogie as
his No. 1 goalie. That was before he found himself with three goalies from major league
teams including the Stingers' Norm LaPointe. "I don't blame Brophy," Hoganson
said. "He just had too many goalies and there was no place for me. I didn't get a
contract."
At that point Hoganson returned to Cincinnati, a town he adopted as
his home. "I just resigned myself to the fact I wasn't going to play hockey any
more," he said. "I came back to Cincy and figured I'd try to find a job here. I
didn't do anything for about a month." Then, out of the blue, Hoganson was contacted
by John Murphy who had formed a team in San Francisco to compete in the new Pacific Coast
League. San Francisco needed a good goaltender and Hoganson was offered what he called
"a decent deal." "I didn't have anything planned for the next three moths
anyway," he said with a grin, "so I went to Frisco. But they didn't come through
with any of their promises."
Hoganson once again found himself in a bad situation. He explained
that the entire operation was "run like a real bush league." That included a
lack of funds which had the players hoping for paychecks from one week to the next. They
paid us by the week," said Hoganson. "I was given a contract but I never signed
it. The competition was pretty much Mickey Mouse and it got to where some of the teams
were going with high sticks and a lot of fighting to attract crowds. A lot of the players
decided that was the end."
Hogansons was one of those. He told Murphy he was leaving last week,
planning to come back to Cincinnati. Then fate stepped in again. "I got a call from
Jacques (Demers) and he asked me what I was doing," the goalie said. "It was
pure coincidence. I told him I was coming back to Cincinnati and he said he wanted to talk
to me about a job." The Stingers signed Hoganson last Saturday for the remainder of
the season. Cincinnati needed another goalie in a hurry because the Stingers front office
knew Michel Dion was going to be suspended. With rookie Mike Liut recuperating from knee
surgery, that felt the Stingers with one goalie, LaPointe.
Hoganson is quick to praise Cincinnati. He likes the town and
although he has come close to retirement more than once, he would like nothing better than
to continue playing hockey here. Right now his future hands on his performance in the next
few games. Demers feels he has the ability to come through in a big way for the Stingers
as the team battles for a post-season playoff berth. That's just what he did for Demers
and the Racers last year.
The Stingers now have four goalies under contract, more than they
have ever had in the past. Liut showed remarkable ability and poise as a rookie before his
injury, and it may be an interesting battle for the two spots on the team when he is back
to full strength. Unless he runs into an injury or some other natural disaster, Dion will
remain Demers' No. 1 goaler.
NOTES - The Indianapolis Racers hot a taste of what the Stingers
went through on Thanksgiving night when the Birmingham Bulls did their goon act two nights
in succession. Indy, however, didn't let it bother the style of play and blitzed the
Bulls, 6-1 Sunday night at Market Square Arena...in the first period of that game 16
players went to the penalty box, including Dave Hanson who picked up 17 minutes....Bulls'
owner John Bassett coached the Bulls Sunday because coach Glen Sonmor was under a
three-game suspension as the result of a brawl in Birmingham Saturday night. |
