| You've
heard of the Cincinnati Stingers. Now meet the Cincinnati Stickers. Or maybe the Queen
City Crunchers. The Stingers, weary of being pushed around on the ice by the bugger,
tougher teams in the World Hockey Association, have called up the heavy artillery and
apparently plan to stick with the bug guns for the rest of the season. The Stingers brass
announced Friday afternoon they had signed Willie Trognitz (that's right, Wild Willie) to
a contract for the remainder of the season and will give left winger Bruce Grieg a 10-game
trial. Anyone who follows hockey locally will remember
Trognitz, the big (6-foot-0, 215 pounds winger who was banned from the International
Hockey League because of excessive violence. Willie had a 10-game trial and then went his
way early in December rather than accept another 10-game offer, staying away from hockey
since then. Grieg is a relatively unknown quantity, but he has the physical statistics
(6-4. 217) that the Stingers are looking for right now. The 24-year old forward played
briefly (seven games) with Calgary last year and finished the season in the Southern
League with Greensboro where he scored 10 goals.
Grieg hasn't played hockey since the end of training camp when he
was unable to reach agreement on a contract with the Binghamton, NY minor league club.
What can this pair of heavy weights possibly do for the Stingers, especially with the lack
of playing time? Give them respect, according to Stingers coach Jacques Demers. 'We've
been pushed around, everybody knows it." Demers said "We were intimidated by the
bigger clubs from the start of the season. We won't be intimidated any more."
The Stingers' decision to dredge up minor leaguers with limited
ability to handle the heavy work looks a lot like the move made by the Birmingham Bulls
this year. It's no coincidence that the Bulls are in town tonight to play the Stingers at
Riverfront Coliseum. "Birmingham is one team that really pushed us around," said
Demers, recalling the 12-2 debacle in Birmingham on Thanksgiving night. 'I guarantee we
won't be pushed around any more."
It sounds like a declaration of war, but Demers insists that is not
his intention. "I don't want to make it sound like a challenge," he said.
"We're not loading up just for Birmingham. Every team has its enforcers and now we
have ours. We've tried everything else and now we're going a different route. Demers made
it plan Trognitz, Grieg and Paul Stewart, another hard case signed recently from
Binghamton, won't skate a regular shift. They will be on the bench and their presence is
intended to deter other teams from going after Cincinnati's small players. "I
guarantee no one is going to take a run at players like Robbie Ftorek, Rich Leduc and Ron
Plumb," said Demers. "If they do, the big line will be right out on the
ice."
Demers is adamant that he isn't looking for trouble, just respect.
"I'm not going out there to provoke anything," he said. "I'm not going to
stand for any spearing or gooning. But I want other teams to know we have people who can
go if necessary." The Stingers signing of Trognitz and the return of veteran
defenseman Pat Stapleton means a couple of players will sit out tonight's game and someone
is going to move permanently probably to the minors. "It's regrettable we have to
take this route," said Demers. "because it means we have to sacrifice a couple
of guys from the lineup." He added he wasn't certain yet who would sit out tonight,
but likely candidates are Claude Larose, Dennis Abgrall and rookie defenseman Craig
Norwich.
Robbie Ftorek, the little center who has taken his share of abuse
this year from teams like Birmingham, wasn't ready to take a position on the acquisition
of so much beef. "It's hard to say if it will help us," Ftorek said. "I'll
have to wait and see. If they (Trognitz and Grieg) play smart hockey and do their jobs,
that's fine. If they just go out to fight it isn't going to be beneficial. I don't know
Grieg at all. Willie was with us before and he kept his nose clean. It may arouse some fan
interest and if it helps in that respect it's worth it."
It's ironic that the Bulls come into the Coliseum tonight when the
promotion is Stick Night with hockey sticks given out to all kids 14 and under accompanied
by a paying adult. With the addition of all that muscle and the possibility for fisticuffs
inherent in such a situation, the Stingers might have been better off to have Boxing
Gloves Night. The fans would probably feel right at home. |
