| Watching
Blaine Stoughton fly up and down the ice at Northland Ice Center Wednesday during a
Cincinnati Stingers scrimmage game, his curly blonde hair trailing in the breeze as he
scored five goals, it was hard to imagine that in five regular season games he hasn't
found the net. But Stoughton, who knocked in 52 goals last season, has had only three
points on three assists this year as the Stingers have struggled to a 1-4 record to
begin the 1977-78 World Hockey Association season. Stoughton's
scoring drought seems to parallel the team's difficulties, but the former Toronto Maple
Leafs winger isn't pushing any panic buttons just yet. Panic just doesn't fit into his bag
of tricks. Stoughton came to Cincinnati last year with a reputation as something of a bad
boy. He had his moments in Toronto, usually off the ice, and the word went around that he
was trouble. Whether those rumors had any basis in fact is irrelevant now, because the
24-year-old native of Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, proved he could play the game with anyone
last season.
Stoughton, who is really called by his given name but rather the
nicknames "Stoughter" and "Stash", has a carefree manner that
disguises his determination on the ice. He appears to do things with just as much effort
as is required but always manages to be in the right place at the right time. He's a
two-way hockey player but his defensive capabilities are usually overlooked because of his
outstanding shots. The muscular right winger has his owns thoughts on why this season has
started so slowly for him. "I really haven't felt that sharp out there (on the ice)
yet," he explained following the scrimmage in which the Stingers' French Canadian
contingent was soundly thrashed by the non-French squad, 11-1. "I think the trip to
Prague did more harm than good, as far as I'm concerned. I felt good when I came to camp,
but when we got back from Europe I was down. It was a depressing trip for me."
He said the emphasis during the European camp was on defense,
something the Stingers lacked last year and the element which coach Jacques Demers intends
to instill in the players this season to complement the awesome offensive power. 'I was
thinking defense all the time," Stoughton explains. "Now, I'm thinking defense
first and scoring second. I'm not forcing the play enough to get the shots, which is my
game. I have to start thinking more about scoring."
He gave quite an exhibition during Wednesday's scrimmage, shooting
from both sides, on the ice and in the air, to claim five of the 11 goals scored by his
side. "If felt good out there," he said of the scrimmage, "but it doesn't
mean much. We've lost three games by one goal and I didn't score in any of those games. If
I had scored a goal it would have been a tie game. I'm not concerned personally but I
don't want to think the team is losing because I'm not scoring."
The Stingers meet the Winnipeg Jets for the second time this season
Friday night, and Cincinnati's first appearance this year in Winnipeg might just mark the
start of Stoughton's scoring. Last year he scored six goals in three games at Winnipeg
Arena, including four in one game off goalie Joe Daley. "I get up for the games in
Winnipeg," said Stoughton. "I have a lot of friends and family around there and
I played a lot of junior hockey there. They have fast ice there and I like it."
Along with the people who cheer for him, Stoughton has plenty of
people in Winnipeg Arena who don't have any use for him, booing him every time he skates
onto the ice. He likes that, too, and it usually helps to pump him up for the game. Debing
the bad guy appeals to Stoughton's sense of humor, which can't be described as black but
it about as dry as the Sahara Desert. His wit keeps a smile on everyone's face during the
often tedious road trips. As to his lack of c\scoring so far, he takes an optimistic view.
"It will come," he remarked casually. "I'll get the confidence and they'll
start going in." To copy an oft-used Stoughton quip, when the pucks start going in
the net "we'll all be laughing." |
