Player of the Game Hockey - NHl 1967/68, March 24th

Sunday 24th March 1968
The win streak finally ends at ten games but Montreal extend their unbeaten run to fourteen with a tie in Chicago who are undefeated in their last six. Martin (14) scored twice for the Blackhawks, tying the game at 1-1 at bringing them back to 3-2 down on the powerplay after H Richard (16), Savard (4) and Backstrom (21) manafactured a 3-1 lead for the Canadiens. Mohns (22) and Mikita (39) gave Chicago their first lead in the final period, but a last minute equaliser from Duff (27) with fifty-four seconds to play resulted in a share of the points.

Detroit continue their surge up the East Division standings by hammering Boston to take their fifth win in eight games, equaling the Bruins' points total in the process. A Delvecchio (24) hat-trick, a brace from Ullman (21) with an assist, and a goal and two helpers from Howe (41) sealed the big win for Detroit; F Smith (21) scored the game-winner while his team were shorthanded. McKenzie (33) and two from  Esposito (29) were all that Boston could muster, leaving them with a single win in six.

After twelve without a win the Maple Leafs make it back-to-back victories, creating a three-way tie for second place in the East after edging the Rangers. Two goals from Conacher (12), both set up by Pulford, were all that Toronto needed with Ratelle (31) scoring for New York with a goal to make it 1-1 in the first period. It's a sixth loss after nine without defeat for NYR, and the first loss of the season for netminder Simmons,

In the battle for playoff spots in the West Pittsburgh overtake the North Stars for fourth place as Minnesota have just four wins in their last twenty-three games. Price (3) and Dillabough (3) made it 2-0 for the Penguins, Boudrias (25) brought the visitors back into it. Bathgate (24) and Andrea (13) then scored unassisted to give Pittsburgh a third win in their current four game unbeaten streak.

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
MON	@	1	2	1	4
CHI		1	1	2	4

MON Vachon (22-7-3 .906) 24/28, Powerplay 0/0
CHI DeJordy (24-13-10 .898) 28/32, Powerplay 1/2

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
BOS	@	1	0	2	3
DET		1	5	1	7

BOS Cheevers (22-18-6 .896) 38/45, Powerplay 1/8
DET Edwards (15-19-9 .892) 30/33, Powerplay 2/9

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
TOR	@	1	0	1	2
NYR		1	0	0	1

TOR Gamble (13-12-4 .909) 21/22, Powerplay 0/0
NYR Simmons (5-1-4 .910) 20/22, Powerplay 0/4

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
MIN	@	0	1	0	1
PIT		2	1	1	4

MIN Bauman (7-9-76 .889) 32/36, Powerplay 0/0
PIT Bassen (11-10-5 .907) 16/17, Powerplay 2/8

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	71	43	19	9	95
Boston Bruins	71	36	26	9	81
Detroit Red Wings	71	34	24	13	81
Toronto Maple Leafs	71	35	25	11	81
Chicago Blackhawks	71	30	30	11	71
New York Rangers	71	26	32	13	65
West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
St Louis Blues	70	30	30	10	70
Philadelphia Flyers	70	29	33	8	66
Los Angeles Kings	71	28	34	9	65
Pittsburgh Penguins	70	26	31	13	65
Minnesota North Stars	71	23	30	18	64
Oakland Seals	72	16	42	14	46

Controlled Chaos - Mile High Open, Heat One

Mile High Open - Denver, CO
Heat One
Bambi Rogers, Will Murphy, Dick Garrett, Ben Hadsell, Randy Tondreau, Billy Edgington, Jess Yates, Tom Gariepy, Randy Corson, Darryl Lozier, Steven Redden, Will Thompson

Randy Tondreau (6th Tampa Open, 3rd Firecracker Open, 7th Alamo Derby) started out in a rampancy, just moving to the side in order to hit an adjacent Billy Edgington at the very start, and then blindsiding Ben Hadsell twice in quick succession before he was called off by the race officials and disqualified for and unsecured tank.

That would be the only elimination through the first six minutes, but it was not the only dramatic event as Steven Redden was clobbered by Darryl Lozier at the start resulting in a fire that was quickly extinguished. With all this going on there was some real action happening on track with Hadsell taking his two shots from Tondreau while Edgington hounded Rogers, and Lozier went from Redden to Yates all while the pack squeezed the standings leader.

One of those individuals who were out to take down Lozier was Randy Corson. Corson (5th Frostbite, 5th Tampa, 6th Alamo), who also struck Edgington, Thompson and Murphy, was triple-teamed in the third minute of heat one by Murphy, Garrett and Hadsell to set him off on an unsaveable path to eleventh.

Frostbite Winter Nationals champ Ben Hadsell (3rd Tampa, tied-2nd Summer National Derby, 2nd Texas Nationals) stalled after his contribution, thanks in no small part to Tondreau's swift attack early on, and then Darryl Lozier, the four-time event winner (Tampa, Jersey Derby, Big Apple Smash Up, Alamo) and championship leader went down in ninth place after taking seven hits, two each from Gariepy and Corson, while the Canadian tackled Redden, chased Jess Yates for another two hits, and then finished off with a shot on Rogers before finally striking Redden once more.

And it is that final hit which prevented Steven Redden (tied-2nd Valentine's Day Massacre, 3rd Indy Nationals) from at least reaching the consolation heat. Redden, who misses his seventh straight final due to injuries and missed opportunities, was lucky enough to keep moving after his fire, but was rather inept throughout the rest of his heat with just three hits in eight minutes, with a miss and a period where he circled the track looking to avoid any contact.

Bambi Rogers, survivour of a stall and double-hitter of both Gariepy and Murphy, moves into the consolation heat along with Billy Edgington who stalled out after blindsiding Thompson twice either side of a double-tap on Rogers.  

Jess Yates barely survived a long stall early doors to tackle Thompson (2), Gariepy (2) and Edgington (1) with hits, and finally Dick Garrett lost out on a final battle with Will Murphy after his heat-leading ninth hit connected with an opponent. Hadsell and Yates were repat customers for Garrett, but he only struck Murphy once early on in retaliation to a shot from his rival who was not so forgiving, hitting him two more times at the end to finish the job.

Tom Gariepy marches on to his eighth final despite being a victim of eight hits and a pair of stalls. Part of the wrecking crew that took apart Darryl Lozier, Gariepy then had a back-and-forth battle with Thompson who won out with three hits to one at the end.

Will Murphy, in his eleventh final but just his third in the last twelve weeks, all three coming in the past six rounds, also went to war with Thompson only to come away with runner-up position. With eight hits on four vehicles, with four on Garrett and two on Yates, the ninth place man in the standings did a good job avoiding trouble, taking just five hits throughout.

By eliminating three of his final four opponents Will Thompson takes his fourth heat win of the year and will take part in a final where Darryl Lozier will be absent for just the third time this year. Taking eight hits, two of them surprise attacks by Edgington, Thompson threw his weight around with eight shots of his own. His luck was there also as he missed a target on one occasion but no harm was done, and he suffered a stall he was able to re-fire quickly.

Race Result
1. Will Thompson
2. Will Murphy
3. Tom Gariepy
4. Dick Garrett
5. Jess Yates
6. Billy Edgington
7. Bambi Rogers
8. Steven Redden
9. Darryl Lozier
10. Ben Hadsell
11. Randy Corson
12. Randy Tondreau

Controlled Chaos - Mile High Open Preview

Rob Remaley remains the lone absentee but the nine-time finalist is one week closer to his return in four weeks; Tommy Miller continues to deputise in his place.

Five of the top ten, including championship leader Darryl Lozier, go together in heat one. Will Thompson, Tom Gariepy, Will Murphy, and Ben Hadsell are the others who will be looking to bounce back after all five have missed at least one final recently.

Heat two has Joe Ramage who, after winning the Alamo Derby, has zero points in the last two weeks despite qualifying for the final in Cincinnati. Scott Hutchins also goes here and he has just two finals, both third place finishes, in the past nine weeks.

Finally the winner of The Ohio Derby Andy Bing is in heat three along with Norm Gibson, who has three finals in the past month and is 7.5pts back of Bing, and Jamie Eilers, who has failed to qualify for five finals out of the last eight events.

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby Standings

The top trio in the standings remain static as only Joe Ramage qualified for the final in Cincinnati, just one of three drivers in the top ten to do so, but all could manage was a pointless eleventh place. Andy Bing, celebrating his third event win this season, moves up three spots into fourth, just five points back of third place Ramage and 39.5pts back of leader Darryl Lozier.

John McCrory's finish in runner-up spot for his second podium finish this year bumps him up the table, and Norm Gibson, claiming his seventh podium and second third place finish in three weeks, keeps hold of sixth position by virtue of leaping past Tom Gariepy.

Name	Pts	Derby Wins	Heat Wins
Darryl Lozier	155.5	4	4
Will Thompson	127.5	1	3
Joe Ramage	121	2	1
Andy Bing	116	3	3
Scott Hutchens	113	1	3
Norm Gibson	108.5	2	1
Tom Gariepy	105.5	2
Jamie Eilers	96	2	2
Will Murphy	94		2
Ben Hadsell	83.5	1	4
Chris Henton	71	1	1
Leo May	70		3
Steven Redden	57.5		1
John McCrory	57.5		1
Lynne Higgins	54		3
Darrell Andresen	52		6
Rob Remaley	45.5		2
Ricky Grimes	44	1	2
Matt Welliver	41.5	1	3
Sam Harbin	35		1
Danny Krol	31		3
Jess Yates	30		2
John Ruiz	29	1	2
Randy Corson	28		2
Bobby Gallagher	27		2
Charlie Clayton	27		2
Dick Garrett	27		1
Don Davis	25		2
Bob Alexander	22		2
Randy Tondreau	22		1
Reggie Banks	21	1
Jason Ingle	20.5		2
Timmy Barnes	11		1
Ed Smith	6		1
Philip Ruffin	5
Bambi Rogers	5
Kenny Rose	2		1
Billy Edgington	2
Tommy Miller	0

Player of the Game Hockey - NHl 1967/68, March 23rd

Saturday 23rd March 1968
AFter back-to-back wins it's a third straight defeat for the Flyers as Los Angeles takes the win and moves within a point of Philadelphia. Rochefort (21) scored first for the visitors at 3:10 in the opening period, but B Smith (20) had the Kings even 2:11 later. The second frame was scoreless but the third was all LA as R Lemieux (9) and Robinson (12) scored with the man advantage, with Irvine (22) grabbing his goal in between as the Kings have just one loss in five.

There was no separating the Penguins and the North Stars, leaving Minnesota in fourth spot in the West, a point ahead of Pittsburgh who remain on the outside. Despite ending up with their third tie in a row, taking their undefeated streak to five games, Minnesota led twice with M Hall (8) scoring twice, Balon (12) the other goal in Maniago's fiftieth game in goal for the Stars. For the Pens, who are unbeaten in three after going winless in five, go the game to 1-1 just fifteen seconds into the middle frame when McDonald (15) scored unassisted, and then Ubriaco (12) gave Pittsburgh the lead before the intermission; K McCreary (15) was then on hand on the powerplay to make it 3-3.


Another win for for Montreal gives them eleven straight as they sweep aside the Red Wings who suffer their first defeat in nine. G Jarrett (35) for Detroit scored first and then D Roberts (7) nailed his powerplay opportunity to make it 2-2 after the Habs took the lead through Lamaire (22) and Provost (14). After that it was all Montreal with Ferguson (15) scoring a pair with Duff (26) and Backstrom (20) also getting on the board.

With the Flyers defeat St Louis were able to re-stretch their lead in the West to four points, thanks to a four-point effort from J Roberts (19) who scored two on the powerplay with two assists. Berenson (16), B McCreary (24), Melnyk (20) with his game winning goal, and Sabourin (21) who conspire to end the Blues three game skid. For Oakland, who had goals from Ehman (20), Burns (15) and T Hampson (16) to make it a 4-3 game in the final period, have just two wins in eighteen attempts.

After struggling of late the Toronto Maple Leafs bounce back with a vengeance to claim their first win in nine games, taking it out on their opponents of the day from New York. It was only 2-0 after two periods, Walton (31) and F Mahovlich (27) scoring in each frame, but an offensive explosion in the third had the Leafs looking rampant. F Mahovlich (29) went on to complete his hat trick, and Ellis (31) added to his two helpers with a powerplay effort. Keon (14), Pappin (12), and Stanley (5) added to the goal fest. The Rangers suffered a heavy loss to make it five defeats in a row; only Hadfield (2) scored for them to make it 5-1 at the time.

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
PHI	@	1	0	0	1
LAK		1	0	3	4

PHI Parent (19-21-6 .898) 23/27, Powerplay 1/4
LAK Sawchuk (7-14-4 .889) 22/23, Powerplay 2/7

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
PIT	@	0	2	1	3
MIN		1	1	1	3

PIT Binkley (15-20-8 .903) 24/27, Powerplay 1/8
MIN Maniago (17-21-11 .899) 21/24, Powerplay 0/4

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
DET	@	1	1	0	2
MON		1	3	2	6

DET Crozier (14-4-4 .911) 42/48, Powerplay 1/3
MON Worsley (21-12-6 .912) 25/27, Powerplay 0/0

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
StL	@	4	0	2	6
OAK		0	2	1	3

StL Hall (21-19-7 .893) 29/32m Powerplay 2/10
OAK Hodge (13-32-11 .896) 33/39, Powerplay 0/0

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
NYR	@	0	0	1	1
TOR		1	1	6	8

NYR Giacomin (21-31-9 .886) 32/40, Powerplay 0/5
TOR Bower (22-13-7 ..916) 24/25, Powerplay 1/2

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	70	43	19	8	94
Boston Bruins	70	36	25	9	81
Detroit Red Wings	70	33	24	13	79
Toronto Maple Leafs	70	34	25	11	79
Chicago Blackhawks	70	30	30	10	70
New York Rangers	70	26	31	13	65
West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
St Louis Blues	70	30	30	10	70
Philadelphia Flyers	70	29	33	8	66
Los Angeles Kings	71	28	34	9	65
Minnesota North Stars	70	23	29	18	64
Pittsburgh Penguins	69	25	31	13	63
Oakland Seals	72	16	42	14	46

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby Final

The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Final
Chris Henton, Charlie Clayton, Norm Gibson, Sam Harbin, Andy Bing, Danny Krol, Lynne Higgins, Matt Welliver, John McCrory, Joe Ramage, Reggie Banks, Ed Smith

The opening three minutes of blindsides, stalls, and a duel-crusade on Chris Henton all ended in a crescendo of five eliminations, starting with Danny Krol (8th Valentine's Day Massacre, 4th Jersey Derby, 3rd Summer Sizzler) who took just a single hit from Joe Ramage, followed up by two ill-conceived shots of his own on Harbin and Ramage to end his final early.

That sequence played it's part though as Joe Ramage (1st VDM, 1st Bryan Family Open) finished pointless for the second time in his nine finals as the one shot from Krol did the lion's share of damage while Harbin played his part again by riding a hit from Ramage, knocking the attacker out of proceedings.

Reggie Banks (1st Firecracker Open, 11th Alamo Derby) takes home a point after missing his intended victim, smashing his vehicle in to the wall. His demise started when Krol, before he made some rash misjudgments, caught Banks on the blindside and pushed him off kilter for his attack run.

The winner of the Spring Fling Derby Chris Henton (2nd Arkansas Derby, 2nd Bryan, 4th Alamo) was relentlessly pursued by both Lynne Higgins and Matt Welliver who struck him five times between them, the latter with three shots, and then Higgins (5th Arizona, 5th VDM, 4th Arkansas) had her turn as victim with Andy Bing leading the charge with two hits.

Ed Smith (11th Texas Nationals) picks up four points for finishing seventh place, adding to the two points he picked up back in Dallas where he won his heat, and he nearly came away with nothing due to a lengthy stall he suffered against the wall he careened into at the very start of the final. The sharks soon descended upon him once he had re-fired though, eliminating him just prior to Charlie Clayton's (7th Frostbite, 5th Texas, 8th Louisiana Invitational) exit at the hands of Welliver and McCrory who sandwiched him with Clayton looking pretty sharp after five hits on four cars.

After seven finals Sam Harbin (2nd Arizona, 6th Spring Fling, 6th SidelineStrategy.com Derby) picks up his second top five finish of the season. Starting out with a near miss, then a blindside hit on Higgins, Harbin went on to play his part in the early dismissals of Krol and Ramage before going at Norm Gibson twice, then Andy Bing three times; the last of the hits damaging his own car beyond repair after Matt Welliver forced him into the hit at an awkward angle.

In his first final since winning the SidelineStrategy.com Derby, picking up points for just the fourth time in eight finals, Matt Welliver (6th Big Apple Smash Up, tied-7th Texas) powers his way to fourth place with ten hits credited to him. A hat-trick on Henton at the very beginning of the final led into a free-for-all approach as he struck Smith, Harbin, Bing, Clayton, and Gibson once each. With Bing and Gibson hassling him, he ended his jaunt by double-tapping John McCrory before his car finally gave up the ghost.

Norm Gibson (tied-2nd Summer National Derby, 2nd Louisiana) earns his seventh podium finish in his tenth final appearance, all of which have come in the past thirteen rounds. Stalling at the start he quickly re-fired only to slam into a barrier and remain there while Sam Harbin hammered him mercilessly. It was this attack that freed Gibson back into the wild where, after striking Clayton, stalled again briefly before finally engaging Bing and Welliver. He took eight shots throughout the final with the finishing blows coming courtesy of McCrory who made contact three times in a row.

John McCrory's (3rd Seattle Derby, 5th Indy, tied-4th SidelineStrategy.com Derby) assault on one of his two remaining opponents held him in little stead for the win as Bing took advantage of his obsession and hammered him into submission. It was a hit on Andy Bing that began McCrory's tenth final of the year, moving on to Banks before torturing Clayton with a trio of hits to help him on his way out. Sam Harbin took one shot, and then it was the turn of Gibson before McCrory turned into a third hit from the event winner.

After winning out in both Idaho Invitational and Indy Nationals Andy Bing (2nd Seattle, 4th Summer National, 2nd Firecracker Open) celebrates his third first placed result after gaining twenty-four points in the previous nine rounds, including three scoreless appearances. A quick shot on McCrory and then Bing was onto Lynne Higgins, striking her either side of a very short stall, before warring with Welliver and taking down his final opponent with another brief engine stoppage in between not harming his cause of moving up the table to fourth.

Race Result
1. Andy Bing
2. John McCrory
3. Norm Gibson
4. Matt Wellliver
5. Sam Harbin
6. Charlie Clayton
7. Ed Smith
8. Lynne Higgins
9. Chris Henton
10. Reggie Banks
11. Joe Ramage
12. Danny Krol

Player of the Game Hockey - NHL 1967/68, March 22nd

Friday 22nd March 1968
St Louis' grip on the Western Division title remains loose and even their playoff chances are a little in the high after losing a third game in a row, keeping them just two points ahead of the Flyers, six ahead of the fifth place Penguins.

St Marseille (10) got the Blues onto the board first 7:07 into the game with a fight between J Roberts and Kings' Flett moments beforehand. That was just one of twelve shots St Louis fired in on Rutledge whose Los Angeles side moves back up above Pittsburgh and into a playoff spot after their second win in four attempts.

Flett (28) scored on the powerplay before the first intermission and B Smith's (19) unassisted magic was enough to end up as the game winner, but it was not the only tally of the middle frame as L MacDonald (19) and Robinson (11) ensured victory.

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
StL	@	1	0	0	1
LAK		1	3	0	4

StL Martin (9-11-3 .901) 30/34, Powerplay 0/1
LAK Rutledge (21-20-5 .894) 11/12, Powerplay 1/5

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	69	42	19	8	92
Boston Bruins	70	36	25	9	81
Detroit Red Wings	69	33	23	13	79
Toronto Maple Leafs	69	33	25	11	77
Chicago Blackhawks	70	30	30	10	70
New York Rangers	69	26	30	13	65
West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
St Louis Blues	69	29	30	10	68
Philadelphia Flyers	69	29	32	8	66
Minnesota North Stars	69	23	29	17	63
Los Angeles Kings	70	27	34	9	63
Pittsburgh Penguins	68	25	31	12	62
Oakland Seals	71	16	41	14	46

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby, Consolation Heat

The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Consolation Heat
John Ruiz, Leo May, Bambi Rogers, Ed Smith, Joe Ramage, Steven Redden, Bob Alexander, Ben Hadsell, Dick Garrett, Will Murphy, Chris Henton, Randy Tondreau

Continuing his descent down the standings John Ruiz (9th Arizona Derby, 1st Ides of March, 8th Seattle Derby) has qualified for just one final out of the last thirteen, his appearance at the Bryan Family Open resulting in a pointless twelfth position. Obviously a big target as his elimination happened in quick order with nine hits against in less than three minutes.

Ben Hadsell (1st Frostbite, tied-2nd Summer National Derby, 2nd Texas Nationals) misses a fifth final out of the last seven after stalling out, and Bambi Rogers (6th Arkansas, 11th Bryan) is absent for a second straight week, this after qualifying for the first two times in back-to-back attempts, when Leo May had his revenge for a blindside hit by Rogers seconds before.

Nine-time finalist Steven Redden (tied-2nd Valentine's Day Massacre, 3rd Indy Nationals) misses out on a sixth straight appearance as another who successfully blindsided May, but it was that surprise hit which resulted in a stall-out, and Will Murphy, who had two finals (6th Firecracker Open, 5th Alamo Derby) in the last four weeks after the four-time podium finisher missed six in a row, became trapped in the barriers where he would remain.

The sneak attacks on Leo May (4th Wisconsin Invitational, 4th Idaho Invitational, 2nd Indy) weakened him enough that both Chris Henton and Randy Tondreau spotted his difficulty and combined their efforts to eliminate their opponent, and then Tondreau (6th Tampa Open, 3rd 3rd Firecracker, 7th Alamo) had no time to react to Henton's attack as the latter man quickly turned on his temporary accomplice.

Dick Garrett (6th Ides of March, 7th Wisconsin, 5th Seattle) has one final appearance (7th Indy) in the last fourteen rounds, this after he barely re-fired from a very long stall early on before Bob Alexander took no prisoners in his triple-attack on the fifth place man, but it was for naught as Alexander (6th Arizona, 3rd Lobster, 9th Texas) had Joe Ramage come around for a second attack of the heat, finishing him off.

Ed Smith qualifies for his second final of the season, a late stall not enough to stop him, as he strikes six different opponents, also extracting himself from an early encounter into the barriers.

Joe Ramage, entering his ninth final and second in three weeks, was more focused in his attacks as he struck Ruiz and Alexander twice each, Henton and Rogers suffering his wrath just the once. Also embedding himself into a sticky position, Ramage did miss a target but, like Smith, was able to free himself swiftly.

Finally, Chris Henton, made it a complete set of finalists who survived encounters with the track scenery when Garrett shunted him firmly into place. Henton's fortune came when Alexander was finished off as time was running down on his being counted out. Tondreau took two shots from him, four others just the one, and Henton himself, entering his ninth final and a season-high fourth in a row, took six good shots.

Race Result
Q. Ed Smith
Q. Joe Ramage
Q. Chris Henton
4. Bob Alexander
5. Dick Garrett
6. Randy Tondreau
7. Leo May
8. Will Murphy
9. Steven Redden
10. Bambi Rogers
11. Ben Hadsell
12. John Ruiz

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby, Heat Three

The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Heat Three
Scott Hutchins, Ricky Grimes, Steven Redden, Joe Ramage, Lynne Higgins, Norm Gibson, Jamie Eilers, Bambi Rogers, Jason Ingle, Billy Edgington, Ed Smith, Matt Welliver

Scott Hutchins (1st Seattle Derby, 2nd Big Apple Smash Up, 2nd Lobster Nationals) sits 42.5pts behind championship leader Darryl Lozier, losing ground as a result of his failure to qualify for six of the past eight finals, and extends that poor run again by striking Steven Redden to earn the fifth disqualification of the week.

Stalling out Jamie Eilers (2nd Frostbite, 2nd Ides of March) misses his fifth out of the last eight finals as the double-event winner at the Summer Sizzler and Summer National Derby events was shunted by Norm Gibson, leaving his opponent helpless, and Jason Ingle (tied-5th Lobster, 7th Louisiana Invitational) received a DQ from race officials after they noticed a loose fuel tank.

Ricky Grimes (3rd Jersey Derby, 3rd Texas Nationals, 1st Louisiana) had a nightmare heat that started with a hit on his blindside by Redden, followed by a disastrous miss that propelled him into the wall where he waited for Joe Ramage to put him out of his misery, and Billy Edgington (9th Firecracker Open) blindsided Bambi Rogers to take himself out, seconds away from a place in the consolation heat, after suffering five hits from the pack.

Joe Ramage, blindsided by Gibson and finished off by Redden; Ed Smith, stalling out while taking five shots; Steven Redden, disqualified for a hit on Lynne Higgins; and Bambi Rogers, missing her target and crashing out after looking dangerous with six hits, all make it through to the consolation heat.

Norm Gibson has not missed more than a single final at a time since his debut at the Big Apple Smash Up, the eleventh event of the season, where he finished seventh. Since then a steady stream of six podiums, two of them wins, have shot him up the rankings into sixth place where, he hopes, he can continue his rise in his tenth final. Taking seven hits, three of them coming from Higgins, Gibson delivered eight shots of his own, two of those revenge attacks on Higgins, on his way to finishing third.

Lynne Higgins, entering her eighth final this year and third in the last four weeks, battled at the end with Matt Welliver who will also feature in his eighth final but first in five. Higgins started looking bright, avoiding a blindside assault before engaging with the pack, sprinkling hits onto Gibson in between contact with other opponents. Welliver suffered a brief stall midway through the eleven minute heat but, after helping to dismantle Rogers, went all out with three quick hits against Higgins who was unable to mount a response. However, the final hit from Welliver resulted in a dead heat, both drivers sharing a point for the heat victory, taking them up to three heat wins each.

Race Result
1. Lynne Higgins
1. Matt Welliver
3. Norm Gibson
4. Bambi Rogers
5. Steven Redden
6. Ed Smith
7. Joe Ramage
8. Billy Edgington
9. Ricky Grimes
10. Jason Ingle
11. Jamie Eilers
12. Scott Hutchins

Player of the Game Hockey - NHL 1967/68, March 21st

Thursday 21st March 1968
W Maki's (8) game-opening goal for Chicago was cancelled out before the end of the first period by Bruins' Williams (22) before Terbanche (1) registered his first point with another go-ahead goal for the Hawks, and that was followed up by Mikita (38) making it 3-1 in a second period that had two fights: Mohns had his second bout in as many games when he took on Shack of the B's, and Pilote took on McKenzie in the second contest.. Williams would help set up both Westfall (9) and Sanderson (17) as they clawed Boston level again with goals early in the third period, but Nesterenko (11) would claim both points for Chicago, scoring at 17:42 for their fourth win in a row, condemning Boston to a current streak of one win in five games.

Toronto find a new low point in their season as they are shutout in Detroit, leaving them with one win in twelve, and are now two points adrift of the Red Wings who have just one defeat in their last seventeen. G Jarrett (34) and Ullman (20) provided goals and assists as G Gardner stopped fifteen Leaf shots to earn his second clean sheet this season.

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
CHI	@	1	2	1	4
BOS		1	0	2	3

CHI D Dryden (6-16-1 .883) 26/29, Powerplay 0/0
BOS Cheevers (22-17-6 .897) 31/35, Powerplay 1/3

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
TOR	@	0	0	0	0
DET		1	1	0	2

TOR Bower (21-13-7 .915) 21/23, Powerplay 0/0
DET G Gardner (5-1-0 .927) 15/15, Powerplay 1/4

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	69	42	19	8	92
Boston Bruins	70	36	25	9	81
Detroit Red Wings	69	33	23	13	79
Toronto Maple Leafs	69	33	25	11	77
Chicago Blackhawks	70	30	30	10	70
New York Rangers	69	26	30	13	65
West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
St Louis Blues	68	29	29	10	68
Philadelphia Flyers	69	29	32	8	66
Minnesota North Stars	69	23	29	17	63
Pittsburgh Penguins	68	25	31	12	62
Los Angeles Kings	69	26	34	9	61
Oakland Seals	71	16	41	14	46

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby, Heat Two

The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Heat Two
John Ruiz, Leo May, Andy Bing, Bill Malbrough, Sam Harbin, Tommy Miller, John McCrory, Timmy Barnes, Dick Garrett, Will Thompson, Phillip Ruffin, Ben Hadsell

A rough and ready heat started with Phillip Ruffin (9th Ides of March, 8th Big Apple Smash Up) immediately being escorted away when his car caught on fire, and the last remaining competitor without a final appearance Bill Malbrough was next out, but not until the five minute mark, when he missed his first target and was unable to free himself from the barriers.

Timmy Barnes (12th Spring Fling Derby, 4th Smash Up) stalled out in tenth place after he was blindsided by Dick Garrett, and Will Thompson (1st Arizana Derby, 2nd Summer Sizzler, 2nd Bryan Family Open) misses out on a big chance to take advantage of Darryl Lozier's failure to get out of the first heat as his poor choiceon hitting Tommy Miller in a vulnerable spot resulted in the first of seven disqualifications in Cincinnati.

Tommy Miller (13th Bryan) then did exactly what was done to him less than a minute beforehand, John McCrory suffering the shot to his driver's side door, and this allows John Ruiz to move on into the consolation heat. Despite attacking Leo May three times, Ruiz was evicted in seventh place by a combination of May and Andy Bing who had also suffered a shot from Ruiz.

Ben Hadsell had set up Ruiz for his eventual downfall by hitting him twice, but his main focus was on temporary partner against Ruiz, Dick Garrett, hitting him three times as the pair of them went back and forth with Garrett coming out of it in motion.

Leo May and Dick Garrett, however, both miss out on a top three finish. May, leading the field with eight hits, going through Harbin twice before turning on Bing in an overly eager fashion that resulted in a DQ, and Garrett slowing to an eventual halt after his war with Hadsell.

Andy Bing, entering his thirteenth final, was another creature of habit as he attacked Bill Malbrough and John Ruiz twice each, and striking Sam Harbin three times as they dueled in the closing stages.

Even with just six hits to his credit John McCrory had his head on a swivel on his way to a runner-up spot and ninth final this year with five of them coming in the past six weeks, avoiding two attacks in quick succession as Tommy Miller was all over him like a rash, but suffered from the same rush of blood to the head as several before him as, with one hit on Harbin a success McCrory turned to go at him again only to catch him awkwardly and earn a disqualification.

Sam Harbin, winning his first ever heat on his way to a seventh final and just his second appearance in twelve events, was also very alert in avoiding two attempts to hit him from Miller. He struck five cars, Andy Bing's three times, and, if not for McCrory's rash challenge, might well have finished in second place as he was stalled at the time.

Race Result
1. Sam Harbin
2. John McCrory
3. Andy Bing
4. Dick Garrett
5. Leo May
6. Ben Hadsell
7. John Ruiz
8. Tommy Miller
9. Will Thompson
10. Timmy Barnes
11. Bill Malbrough
12. Phillip Ruffin

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby, Heat One

The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Heat One
Jess Yates, Charlie Clayton, Darryl Lozier, Will Murphy, Danny Krol, Randy Corson, Chris Henton, Reggie Banks, Tom Gariepy, Darrell Andresen, Bob Alexander, Randy Tondreau

Randy Corson (5th Frostbite, 5th Tampa Open, 6th Alamo Derby) struck Chris Henton twice, Andresen and Yates once each, before the five hits against him took their toll, and, despit currently sitting fifth in the standings, Tom Gariepy (1st Wisconsin Invitational, 1st Arkansas Derby) is still without back-to-back final appearances with his hit on Corson his only real contribution before he stalled out.

Jess Yates (7th Jersey Derby, 4th Summer Sizzler, 3rd Alamo Derby) sabotaged his own cause early on when he missed his target and crunched into the wall before the pack took him apart, and four-time event winner and championship leader Darryl Lozier gives the rest of the field hope again by missing out on a sixth final this year, his third absence in seven week. While spreading the pain around with five hits on as many opponents Lozier took some very heavy hits in reply, two of which came from  Reggie Banks, and he ends his heat in ninth place.

The streak ends at five finals in a row for Darrell Andresen (4th Indy Nationals, 5th Firecracker Open, 5th Arkansas Derby), his vehicle not holding up to the nine points on contact it participated in, six of which were initiated by Andresen himself, but his loss is Bob Alexander's gain as he creeps into the consolation heat after he and Randy Tondreau took each other out in a brutal battle. Alexander took it to his rival three times while Tondreau came back with a vicious hit on the blindside in between stalling and assaulting Lozier and Clayton with two hits on each.

Will Murphy survived until the eighth hit against him as he tried to take out both Clayton and Banks with a pair of shots on both, the pack descending upon him rapidly at the end with Clayton leading the charge on two hits, and Chris Henton just misses out on an automatic place in the final as Danny Krol finishes the job started by blindside hits from Murphy and Alexander.

Starting out with a stall and then a bad miss that catapulted him into a barrier, Danny Krol then takes his frustration out on five opponents with seven shots finding their mark; Clayton and Murphy taking two. It's back-to-back appearances for Krol after missing five straight and he now makes his way into a seventh final this season.

Reggie Banks was battered in the first half of the ten minute heat as five of the seven hits on him were in the opening four minutes. Surviving that pressure Banks helped get Lozier out of the way with two hits, the latter causing a brief stall, and then battling with Clayton for the heat victory on his way to a third final of the year; all of them coming in the last five weeks.

Charlie Clayton moves above the Firecracker Open champion Banks for the time being after earning his second heat victory this season. Stalling at the start Clayton re-fired and went on to bounce through the pack before settling on Will Murphy, hitting him thrice and badly missing on a fourth attempt. His car was obviously well prepared as his excursion into the wall added to the nine hits he had to take, Murphy, Krol, Banks and Tondreau all coming back for a second shot, but resilience was the word of the day for Clayton who makes it eight finals on the year.

Race Result
1. Charlie Clayton
2. Reggie Banks
3. Danny Krol
4. Chris Henton
5. Will Murphy
6. Randy Tondreau
7. Bob Alexander
8. Darrell Andresen
9. Darryl Lozier
10. Jess Yates
11. Tom Gariepy
12. Randy Corson

Player of the Game Hockey - NHL 1967/68, March 20th

Wednesday 20th March 1968
In a scoreless first period Chicago's Mohns answered the bell, fighting Neilson of the Rangers, despite a wide gap in penalty minutes and reputation. That was enough to spark the Hawks as R Hull (37) went on to register three points, two of them goals, with C Maki (6) also scoring and assisting. DeJordy picked up his third shutout of the season while Giacomin in the New York net lost his thirtieth game, eliminating them from the postseason. Chicago can mathematically qualify for the playoffs but need to win out their remaining schedule and hope Detroit lose their final six outings.

Irvine (21) shorthanded for the Kings and Cullen on the powerplay for the North Stars produced the only scoring of the game, 2:39 apart in the second period. Minnesota are unbeaten in four after back-to-back ties, and Los Angeles are on the outside looking in with just one win in five.

F Mahovlich (26) scored the first and last goals in the game at Montreal, but the Leafs continue their slide with just one win in eleven. G Tremblay (31), Duff and Rousseau (14) turned the game right around before the break and, after Ellis (30) brought Toronto back to within one, Ferguson (13) and two goals from Cournoyer (34) sealed the victory for the hosts. Walton and Stanley for the Leafs joined Montreal's Lamaire, T Harris, and Beliveau in picking up two assists. It's ten straight now for the Habs as they clinch the NHL League Champions banner as the top team in the league.

After two shutout periods the Flyers rounded on Oakland with four unanswered goals to give them back-to-back victories for the first time in eighteen games. Oakland, who have just twenty-three shots combined in their last two games, were undone thirty-three seconds into the final frame when Sutherland (26) scored on the powerplay. Angotti (15), Rochefort (20) unassisted, and Blackburn (8) shorthanded helped give Favell his third clean sheet this year as Philadelphia enjoy shutouts in two games running.

After five games without a win Pisstburgh get back-to-back efforts to move them back into a playoff spot. B McCreary (23) gave St Louis the lead as he scored on the powerplay, but the Blues' third loss in five games came courtesy of two goals from Bathgate (23) and the game-winner from Boivin (7) coming forty-seconds after the first intermission.

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
NYR	@	0	0	0	0
CHI		0	1	2	3

NYR Giacomin (21-30-9 .888) 21/24, Powerplay 0/0
CHI DeJordy (24-13-9 .898) 27/27, Powerplay 1/9

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
MIN	@	0	1	0	1
LAK		0	1	0	1

MIN Maniago (17-21-10 .900) 30/31, Powerplay 1/4
LAK Rutledge 20-20-5 .894) 27/28, Powerplay 0/4

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
TOR	@	1	1	1	3
MON		3	2	1	6

TOR Gamble (12-12-4 .908) 28/34, Powerplay 0/0
MON Vachon (22-7-2 .908) 32/35, Powerplay 2/9

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
PHI	@	0	0	4	4
OAK		0	0	0	0

PHI Favell (10-12-2 .896) 12/12, Powerplay 1/5
OAK Hodge (13-31-11 .897) 27/31, Powerplay 0/4

		1st	2nd	3rd	F
StL	@	1	0	0	1
PIT		1	2	0	3

StL Hall (20-19-7 .893) 26/29, Powerplay 1/3
PIT Bassen (10-10-5 .906) 23/24, Powerplay 1/6

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
Montreal Canadiens	69	42	19	8	92
Boston Bruins	69	36	24	9	81
Toronto Maple Leafs	68	33	24	11	77
Detroit Red Wings	68	32	23	13	77
Chicago Blackhawks	69	29	30	10	68
New York Rangers	69	26	30	13	65
West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts
St Louis Blues	68	29	29	10	68
Philadelphia Flyers	69	29	32	8	66
Minnesota North Stars	69	23	29	17	63
Pittsburgh Penguins	68	25	31	12	62
Los Angeles Kings	69	26	34	9	61
Oakland Seals	71	16	41	14	46

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby Preview

Kenny Rose steps aside as Steven Redden returns from injury, slotting into third heat, but Rob Remaley is still missing for the next six weeks.

Winner of the Alamo Derby Darryl Lozier goes in heat one along with his final opponent of last week: Tom Gariepy. The pair have six event wins between them, and their closest rival in the heat is Will Murphy who, in just his second final in ten weeks, took fifth place in San Antonio.

Will Thompson, missing two of the last three finals, looks to get back at championship leader Lozier as he goes in heat two along with Andy Bing, who has missed out on four of the last seven finals, with two of his appearances yielding no points, and Ben Hadsell who remains inside the top ten but has only two finals in the past six weeks.

Heat three. Joe Ramage and Scott Hutchins, third and fourth in the standings respectively and separated by just eight points, have Jamie Eilers for company. Eilers missed out on the final last week but the two-time event winner had back-to-back appearances in the fortnight before.

Controlled Chaos - Alamo Derby Standings

With a fourth event victory of the season Darryl Lozier increases his lead at the top of the standings from just six points to twenty-eight. Will Thompson, Joe Ramage and Scott Hutchins remain second, third and fourth respectively as they all missed the final in San Antonio, but runner-up Tom Gariepy, the only driver in the top twenty-six who hasn't won a heat, moves into the top five.

Name	Pts	Derby Wins	Heat Wins
Darryl Lozier	155.5	4	4
Will Thompson	127.5	1	3
Joe Ramage	121	2	1
Scott Hutchens	113	1	3
Tom Gariepy	105.5	2
Norm Gibson	98.5	2	1
Andy Bing	96	2	3
Jamie Eilers	96	2	2
Will Murphy	94		2
Ben Hadsell	83.5	1	4
Leo May	70		3
Chris Henton	69	1	1
Steven Redden	57.5		1
Darrell Andresen	52		6
Lynne Higgins	50		2
Rob Remaley	45.5		2
Ricky Grimes	44	1	2
John McCrory	42.8		1
Matt Welliver	31.5	1	2
Danny Krol	31		3
Jess Yates	30		2
John Ruiz	29	1	2
Randy Corson	28		2
Bobby Gallagher	27		2
Dick Garrett	27		1
Don Davis	25		2
Sam Harbin	25
Bob Alexander	22		2
Randy Tondreau	22		1
Jason Ingle	20.5		2
Reggie Banks	20	1
Charlie Clayton	20		1
Timmy Barnes	11		1
Philip Ruffin	5
Bambi Rogers	5
Kenny Rose	2		1
Ed Smith	2		1
Billy Edgington	2
Tommy Miller	0