Wednesday, October 12th 1977

By Terry Flynn

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Stingers Launch New Season Tonight

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The Stingers improved last year from their initial season, winning more games and making the post-season playoffs - where they lost four straight to the Racers - for the first time. There is reason to believe the team will show additional improvement this season, most particularly on defense and hopefully in the net. While the addition of several players (and the loss of others) will make the Stingers stronger, the biggest single change has to be the debut of head coach Jacques Demers.

Demers, for the last three seasons the ice boss at Indianapolis, brings a new philosophy of hockey to Riverfront Coliseum. New to the Stingers, that is, but certainly not new to him. Everyone seems to have a system these days, and Demers is no exception. However, he has the records to prove his system of playing hockey is successful. Demers believes in preventing the opponent from scoring first and putting the puck in the net second. he points out that you don't have to score a lot of goals if your defense is stingy. To that end Demers has labored long and diligently with his players, acclimating them to a system that calls for more backchecking and defense than many of the forwards had been accustomed to in years past.

Once again the Stingers have the firepower to overwhelm anyone, probably in either league. They are blessed with a group of forwards who can score anytime, headed by center Rich Leduc and winger Blaine Stoughton, who each achieved the 50-goal plateau last year. It was obvious last season, however, that scoring a lot of goals in one game didn't mean much if you coughed up the puck too many times in another. The Stingers lacking defensive stability.

To bolster the defense and give the goaltenders a little help, the Stingers acquired a pair of burly blue liners in NHL veteran Giles Matotte and former Phoenix Roadrunner Serge Beaudoin. Marotte, who last performed for the St. Louis Blues, is a muscular fireplug (5-foot-9, 195  pounds) who has the experience the Stingers have lacked on defense. Beaudoin, a 24-year-old bruiser (6-2, 215) who picked up 136 minutes in penalties last year, is another enforcer but also finished last season with 30 points on six goals and 24 assists.

The goalies are both new this year, and they combine experience and youth in what should be a very interesting package. Ernie Wakely, who will be 37 next month and is entering his 17th year of pro hockey (minor and major league), has been around long enough to know all the tricks. He finished with a 3.09 goals-against average last year playing for a less-than-potent San Diego team. Wakely's backup is rookie Mike Liut, fresh from an impressive college career at Bowling Green University. Liut, who surprised everyone with his performance from the opening of training camp over a month ago, was chosen over second-year goalie Norm LaPointe. LaPointe has been assigned to the Hampton (Va.) Gulls of the American Hockey League. Only one other rookie made the Cincinnati roster, defenseman Craig Norwich. Norwich played for NCAA champ Wisconsin last year and was a top draft choice who came to Cincinnati in the trade that send John Hughes to Houston.

In addition to Beaudoin, Cincinnati picked up a pair of forwards from the defunct Phoenix franchise in center Robbie Ftorek and linemate Del Hall, a left winger. There can be little doubt that Ftorek's presence will be strong plus for the Stingers. He was the league's MVP last year and is the type of complete team player coaches dream about. Having Hall to play on a line with Ftorek again is icing on the cake. The Stingers project an impressive image on paper. With Ftorek, Leduc and Dennis Sobchuk they are perhaps the strongest team in pro hockey up the middle. They have scoring potential and improved defense.

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Wednesday, October 12th 1977

Associated Press

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WHA Launches Sixth Season With High 1977 Ambitions

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Meanwhile, the league raises the curtain on the 1977-78 campaign with the New England Whalers visiting Houston, the Edmonton Oilers entertaining Winnipeg Jets and the Indianapolis Racers meeting the Stingers in Cincinnati. And each game features a rivalry of some sort. The Whalers sighed the three hockey playing Howes - legendary right wing Gordie, talented left wing Mark and defenseman Marty - away from the Aeros during the summer. The Jets, who lost the final playoff series to Quebec, resume their western Canadian rivalry with the Oilers. And Jacques Demers sends his Stingers against Indianapolis, where he guided the Racers through last season.

New coaches also will be behind the bench for the Birmingham Bulls, where Glen Sonmer has taken over for Pat Kelly; Winnipeg, where Larry Hillman replaced Bobby Kromm, and at Indianapolis, where Ron Ingram supplanted Demers. So begins the chase for the championship, which will be settled by a new playoff format this season. The top six teams will make the playoffs, with the first place finisher meeting the six-place finisher, the second-place team meeting the fifth-place team and the third-place team meeting the fourth.

The powerful Nordiques, whose lineup includes league leading scorer Real Cloutier, veteran Marc Tardif and Serge Bernier, open their season Thursday at Winnipeg. The Bulls, salvaged from oblivion when the National Hockey League refused to absorb six WHA franchises last summer, begin their season Friday by hosting Houston. The rebuff of their attempt to join the NHL ranks has helped the WHA, according to league president Howard Baldwin. The WHA trimmed failing franchises in San Diego, Calgary, Phoenix and Minnesota, thereby heightening competition for jobs among the remaining teams and uplifted the caliber of play. Further, the money teams had marshaled to support their NHL applications has returned to club treasuries - improving financial viability.

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