Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Shoots and Scores by Bathroom Readers’ Institute Page A

returned to the Blueshirts and played in three games against the army club, two of them won by the 228th, which rank among the most violent matches ever played. The battle was ended when the battalion was shipped overseas to fight with guns, not hockey sticks.
    * * * * *
    PUT UP YOUR DUKES
    â€œTwo people fighting is not violence in hockey. It might be in tennis or bowling, but it’s not in hockey.”
    â€”Gerry Cheevers, former
NHL goalie/coach
    â€œIt’s not who wins the fight that’s important, it’s being willing to fight. If you get challenged and renege, everyone wants to take a shot at you.”
    â€”Barclay “Barc the Spark” Plager,
former St. Louis Blues defenceman
    â€œEither you give it right back or the next thing you know everyone and his brother will be trying you on for size.”
    â€”Doug Harvey,
former Montreal Canadiens defenceman
    â€œWhat are you, the fight doctor now or something? You’ve never been in a fight in your life, so what are you talking about?”
    â€”Rob Ray, former Buffalo Sabres forward,
to a reporter after Ray was pounded
by Edmonton’s Georges Laraque

THE FABULOUS NINES
    Rocket Richard and Gordie Howe were two great stars in a glory era of NHL history.
    T hey were as different as two men could be in approach, temperament and style but Rocket Richard and Gordie Howe remain to this day etched in the memories of most hockey fans—even those who never watched them play. The legends of the two fabled number nines are familiar to everyone with even a faint interest in the game, the way Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle are to baseball devotees. Comparison of the two is one of hockey’s most intense arguments, ranking with baseball’s Ted Williams or Joe DiMaggio. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux inspired similar discussions for a later generation but while Gretzky broke Howe’s goals and point records, Lemieux’s career was hindered by a lengthy list of injuries.
    ROCKET IS BETTER
    Richard was the electric performer, high-strung and seemingly ready to explode with a dazzling goal or violence at any second—perhaps the NHL’s most mercurial performer ever. His ability to produce goals, both on slick, deft skating and stickhandling moves or using his strength to get to the net, especially in crunch situations, was remarkable.
    GORDIE IS BETTER
    Howe took a relaxed approach, executing the most difficult moves with ease and grace. His natural instinct allowed him simply to show up where the puck was most likely to appear. His toughness was legendary, his retribution for fouls against him swift and hard, especially those delivered with his famous elbows. The game appeared easy for Howe, who really was a hard worker but always appeared nonchalant on the ice because of his great physical talent and ability to read the play and react to it much more quickly than others.
    WHAT RED SAID
    Referee Red Storey, who officiated many meetings between the two great players in the 1950s, offered perhaps the most-quoted analysis of the two exceptional right-wingers. “I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Rocket vs. Gordie argument was the busiest in hockey history,” Storey said. “I was asked for my opinion often and I told everyone who asked that Rocket Richard was the greatest goal-scorer and most exciting player the world has seen. Then I would say that Gordie Howe was the greatest player in history. They were two very different people and no one had the talent of Howe and no one had the scoring ability of Richard. I don’t think I pleased everyone, but that was how I felt.”
    A KING’S RULING
    The great general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, Frank Selke, was careful in assessing the two great wingers, treading carefully because Richard had led the team to extraordinary success. But after Richard retired, Selke discussed them in an interview. “Gordie Howe is the finest all-round player