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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-11-27, Page 17Black Hawks visit Stephen Township By Fred Groves HURON PARK - Hundreds of hockey fans jammed into the Stephen Township Arena on Wednesday and Thursday to get a glimpse, an auto- graph and even a conversation with members of the National Hockey League's Chicago Black Hawks. The professional hockey team spent a couple of days of rest and relaxa- tion at the Oakwood Inn just outside of Grand Bend and held workouts at the arena in Huron Park. Tuesday the Black Hawks played in Detroit and Friday travelled to Buf- falo for a game against the Sabres. "It was an opportune time to get together as a club. We've made quite a few changes," said coach Mike Keenan. The Canada Cup winning coach is no stranger to this area. "I have some knowledge of the area. I used to teach down at Huron Hockey School and came up to Grand Bend with the rest of the staff." At the arena, fans of all ages hung to the boards and oohed and ahhed at the skating speed and accurate shooting of the pros. While there was about 400 at the arena on Wednesday, the next day numbers swelled to nearly 1,000 as the Black Hawks found themselves surrounded by well wishers and those who were there simply out of curi- osity. The players gave autographs, handed out pucks and even a stick or two. Andrew Bedard of Zurich managed to get hold of a treasured memento from defenceman and former Norris Trophy winner Chris Chelios. Bedard who plays peewee hockey in Zurich, asked for Chelios' stick. "He said you can't have mine but you can have this one," said Bedard holding the stick and a puck. The youngster managed to get his mom's permission to take a little time off of school to attend the once in a lifetime experience. "I asked if I could go. She said why and I said because everyone else is. It's not often a team comes to a small town like this." Chad Desjardine and Allan Jeffrey also of Zurich went seeking auto- graphs and were not disappointed. "I got them when they got off the bus," said Desjardine. Homecoming: It was a homecoming of sorts for defenceman Steve Smith. A former London Knight, Smith's in-laws live in Grand Bend and he owns a condo in the village. He was recently traded from the Edmonton Oilers and has proudly hoist- ed the Stanley Cup above his head. "When we won, teams analyzed their play on how they played against Edmonton. Last year the Black Hawks were the best team over the regular season and now teams are testing themselves against us," said Smith. Mike Stapleton played Junior 'B' in Strathroy and he enjoyed being in the area. "There is no question this is a homecoming. I've been able to visit with family." His father Pat 'Whitey' Stapleton was a Black Hawk and influenced his sons but mom was also there to help. "Mom should get a lot of credit she was always there." Whitey played 10 pro seasons with Chicago and the Boston Bruins. "It was a talent we all had and took advantage of," he said of his father. "But we weren't pushed [into hockey], he helped and gave us tips here and there." At 5'10" and 180 pounds he is not one of the larger players in the NHL. "The smaller player has to use his smarts. Wayne Gretzky and Marcel Dionne are not 6'4". The smaller man can play." Mohawks beat Ingersoll INGERSOLL - Craig Oster scored his ninth goal of the season to lift the Exeter Mohawks to a 3-2 win over the host Ingersoll B's Saturday night. The victory saw the Mohawks win their fifth $raight game and improve their Southern Counties Senior 'A' record to 8-3: After throe games on the road, the Mohawks return to the South Huron Recreation Centre on Sun- day when they host Walpole at 7:30 p.m. In Ingersoll, it was 1-1 after the first period as Exeter's Jeff Shipley got his first of the season from Jeff Warren. It was tied 2-2 after 40 minutes as Oster scored from Joe Scherer. The only scoring in the third was by Oster as he connected from line - mates Greg Snyder and Scherer. Referee Mark Dumesnil whistled nine minor penalties against Exeter and seven on Ingersoll. A lot of pictures were taken and getting a shot with goalie Ed Signing autographs for local hockey fans was Frank Selke Belfour were Sarah Hamilton, left; Bob Hamilton and Ryan Sui- Award winner and Chicago Black Hawks captain, Dirk Graham. liven. We have the perfect Christmas gift idea for you! Enlarge family or team photos to 81/2 x 11 or even six 17 instantly for that special person on your list We can also make_ccpletof your. __ black and white photos for your history buff or for your own nostalgia U 00 • • • • 424 Main Street Exeter 235-1331 • • •• Drop in and see what our canon IJIJLCFILASER CIJPIEB can do for youl 144 \ \ \•.\'‘XS►\. \‘\‘\�\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Coach Keenan stresses defense When you're at the top of the hill, every- sidelines one wants to knock you off. Ain't it the truth Mike Keenan is fully aware of this. As coach of the Chica- go Black Hawks and the gold medal winning Team Canada, he knows everyone is gunning ----- __ _ _ - for him. Last week, Keenan and the Black Hawks made a rather un- expected stop at Oakwood Inn just outside of Grand Bend .A time to relax and look forward to the season. The Black Hawks won the National Hockey League's presi- dent's trophy, accredited to the team which accumulates the most points during the regular season. Just a couple of weeks later, the Black Hawks were eliminated in the Norris Division final by the Minnesota North Stars. "There's not an easy night for us, but we anticipate that," said Keenan Wednesday morning. The night before the Hawks lost a:41 contest to the hosting Detroit Red Wings. "You know what's coming at you. It's a privilege to be at the top of the league," he added. Detroit's win saw them take over first place in the Norris Division from the Black Hawks. Keenan has been on a bit of a hot seat the last year as he has nearly rebuilt the Black Hawks. He was also criticized highly for releasing Steve Yzerman from the Canada Cup squad. He said some people still question the moves in Chicago. "They didn't quite understand why we made the moves when we're a first place team. When you view the overall pic- ture and look at the league in general, you realize you have to get better." Winning the Canada Cup is almost expected of our country- men, Keenan said there was a few surprised folks when they tied Finland. And what about Stevie Y? "That's well behind us. Steve made a contribution to the team. At the time I suppose the easiest thing would have been to select him and put him on the team." Keenan noted that if Yzerman had been on the team, he would have no doubt played in the final game against the United States, especially with Wayne Gretzky injured. Defence is the key: The Black Hawks have one of the best defensive teams in the NHL. That's obvious by who won the big awards last year. Goalie Ed Belfour won both the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender, Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year, and the Trico Goaltender Award for the netminder with the best save percentage. The Trico is amazing, considering Belfour played in 74 reg- ular season games racking up a 43-19-7 record and a 2.47 goals against average which got him the Jennings Trophy. He was also runner-up for the Hart Trophy which is the league MW and the Lester Pearson which Is the MVP voted Awank the Players Associations : , _ - 'Ke's not going to play 1}°iaf't 'any Ct`cau48 missed the first month of the season. What you have to re- member is you are trying to do as well as you can every night and play the best players you have. We feel very confident in Jimmy Waite's ability and he should be able to carry a good portion of the workload as well." Belfour was a hold-out at the start of the season as he and the Black Hawks had to come to contract terms. Chicago also has fine defensive players in Dirk Graham who won the Frank Selke Trophy as the top defensive for- ward. What about Eric? Keenan has got a defensive oriented team but that doesn't mean he is not looking for offensive firepower. Eric Lindros would be a nice addition. "We've inquired about the possibilities of securing Eric's services. I've talked to Pierre Page on several occasions," said Keenan. 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