| Prague,
Czechoslovakia (Special) - Cincinnati Stingers rookie goaltender Mike Luit, 21, less than
six months removed from Mid-American Conference level hockey, Wednesday was accored one of
the highest honors in hockey. Liut, a second-team all-America player last season at
Bowling Green University, was chosen most valuable goaltender in the Rude Pravo Cup
series. Liut, who was acquired by the Stingers from the New England Whalers for Brian
Maxwell and Greg Carroll, was picked for the award over two goaltenders generally
considered among the top three goalies in the world - Vladmir Tretiha of the Soviet Union
and Juri Jurlholocheck of Czechoslovakia. "Mikes award is
a tremendous thing an outstanding achievement," said Bill DeWitt Jr.,executive
vice-president of the Stingers "Russian and the Czech rank with Ken Dryden (of the
Montreal Canadiens) as the finest goalies in the world today." Liut had an
outstanding performance Monday against the Soviets in his first professional game. The
Stingers lost, 5-2, but Luit stopped 47 shots, including three break-aways. he had allowed
only two goals through the first two periods. Liut's effort impressed Soviet coach Viktor
Tikhonov. When asked whom he would select as the best man on the Stingers' roster,
Tikhonov promptly named Luit.
Czechoslovakia's major newspaper, Rude Pravo, was lavish in its
praise of Liut. A story in the paper reported, "...Goaltender Liut was outshining
himself. His orientation was superb, and he dealt with the most complicated situation.
Though the Russian goaltender hardly had to touch the puck in the second period, no goal
fell. To Luit, the most outstanding personality of the American team, goes the lion's
share for this result."
Liut also distinguished himself during Tuesday's 12-3 loss to the
Czechoslovakians, a game marred by a free-for-all. Liut, a native Weston, Ontario, a
suburb of Toronto, had an opportunity Wednesday to assess his debut against the Soviets.
"I was nervous the first five or six minutes," the six-foot-two, 180- pounder
said. "The Soviets didn't get a lot of shots; they do a lot of passing and then one
breaks through. A goalie prefers a lot of bad shots. It helps get you involved, to get
warmed up to concentrate. But they don't take and shots and that leaves you cold. But I
was able to keep pace with them I guess."
The Stingers were scheduled to depart Czechoslovakia today for
Helsinki, Finland, where they are scheduled to play against league teams on Sunday and
Tuesday. Next Thursday, the Stingers will play Finland's national team. |
