Lock Monsters drop Leafs again.
by Alex Pufhal
The Lowell Lock Monsters won another game tonight. They defeated the St. John's Maple
Leafs 4-2 in St. John's. The win may be nice but I don't think anyone in the room cares
about it right now. Lock Monster D Jeff Libby was seriously injured in the 2nd period
after a collusion with St. John's Mark Deyell. Deyell's skate caught Libby on the side
of the head and he was down for a long time. When he got up, there was a lot of blood on
the ice.
Maple Leafs Media Co-Ordianator Chris Schwartz released an update about 8:50pm ET that
said that Libby was at a local hospital but may have lost total use of his eye.
The incident was entirely accidental, Libby was down on the ice after breaking up a
play and Deyell ran into him.
Otherwise it was a very good night for the Lock Monsters who defeated the Leafs for the
2nd straight night and have now won 4 of their last 5 games on the road. They got goals
from Steve Webb who has been snake-bitten so far early in the season and he finally nailed
his first of the season. Jeff Ware tied the game for St. John's, his first professional
goal.
Lock Monsters D Ray Giroux picked up his first professional goal in the 3rd period, Deyell
then scored for the Leafs, Dean Malkoc then scored what proved to be the game
winner late in the 3rd. Evegeny Namenstikov closed out the scoring with an
empty net goal.
Lowell Sun:
Lock Monsters prevail again; Libby hurt
Lowell 4, St. John's 2 Sunday, November 08, 1998
ST. JOHN'S,
Newfoundland -- Defenseman Dean Malkoc broke a 2-2 tie with his first goal of the season
late in the third period and the Lowell Lock Monsters went on to a 4-2 victory over the
St. John's Maple Leafs in American Hockey League play last night.
The win was
overshadowed by a serious eye injury to Lowell defenseman Jeff Libby, who was cut by a
skate. Libby, a second-year pro from UMaine, remained in the hospital last night as the
team flew home for tonight's game against Portland.
Steve Webb
and Ray Giroux also scored their first goals of the season for Lowell. The Monsters and
Maple Leagues were tied 0-0 after one period and 1-1 after the second period.
With 5:40
left to play, Malkoc scored an unassisted even-strength goal to give Lowell a 3-2 lead.
John Namestnikov sealed it with an empty-netter that he scored from beyond center ice.
Lowell, which
went 0-for-6 on the power play, is 9-4-1 and in second place in the Atlantic Division.
Marcel
Cousineau once again was the winning goalie for Lowell, making 22 saves as the Lock
Monsters outshot their hosts 41-24 before 3,136 at St. John's Memorial Stadium.
Zdeno Chara,
Lowell's 6-9 defenseman, got into his second fight of the weekend. Observers scored both
fights as wins for Chara.
The Lock
Monsters and Portland Pirates lock up in a 5 p.m. game today at Tsongas Arena.
St.
John's Telegram
For Sunday, November 08, 1998
Injury to Lowell player
makes win insignificant 11/8/98
By ROBIN SHORT Telegram
Sports Editor
Lowell completed a
two-game American Hockey League sweep of the St. Johns Maple Leafs Saturday night
with a 4-2 victory at Memorial Stadium, but the Lock Monsters werent in a
celebrating mood following the game.
Their thoughts were with
teammate Jeff Libby, who was rushed to hospital after being cut on the eye by a skate.
Libby, a 24-year-old
defenceman from Waterville, Me., was trailing the play when the Leafs Mark Deyell
was upended by a Lowell player. Deyells skate came up and caught Libby in the eye
area.
The Lowell player,
bleeding profusely, immediately left the ice.
"Its the most
tragic thing Ive seen here," said Maple Leafs team physician Dr. Dick
Barter. "And it was a freaky play, absolutely freaky."
Barter said Libby was
scheduled to undergo surgery late last night, but the prognosis isnt good.
"Well have to
wait and see, but the chances of him getting his sight back are about 10 per cent.
Its a very bad injury. The eyeball was cut," said Barter.
The tragic incident ruined
what otherwise was a successful return to Stadium ice for Lowell goaltender Marcel
Cousineau.
Cousineau, a three-time
Molson Cup winner for the Maple Leafs, made his first appearance in St. Johns after
signing with the New York Islanders as a free agent over the summer.
"It puts things into
perspective," Cousineau said. "But when I have a bad game and I come home and my
baby (20-month-old Alex) is crying, I hold him in my arms. That puts things into
perspective too.
"Its not a
pleasant thing to see when something like this happens, whether its your teammate or
not. All our prayers are with Jeff right now."
Friday night, Cousineau
turned in a first-star performance stopping 39 Leaf shots as the Lock Monsters cruised to
a 7-1 victory.
The win Saturday was
Cousineaus AHL-leading ninth victory.
"Im happy these
games are over with," he said. "It was different playing here wearing something
other than a St. Johns Maple Leafs uniform. At one point during Fridays game,
a blue and white jersey was in front of me. I almost yelled at him to get out of my
way."
Steve Webb, Ray Giroux,
Dean Malkoc, with the winner, and John Namestnikov, with an empty-netter, scored for the
Lock Monsters. Jeff Ware and Deyell replied for the Leafs.
With Saturdays loss,
the Leafs stretch their winless record to five games, dating back to a 5-1 loss to
Syracuse Oct. 21.
In those five games, the
Leafs have scored only six goals. And while Deyells fourth of the year came on the
power play, St. Johns has been a pitiful four-for-44 with the man advantage at
Memorial Stadium this season.
"We had our scoring
chances, especially in the second period," said Leafs coach Al MacAdam. "But our
shots were high over the net. When you have four goals in four games, you have to hit the
net."
Despite the loss, MacAdam
did take some consolation in the fact it was a much better effort than Fridays
embarrassment, the Leafs first game following a 12-day break.
The team, he said, played
with more heart Saturday, made less mistakes and was much more into the game, "in
terms of doing what theyre told to do."
But hes still not
happy with the Leafs woeful power play.
"We got a power play
goal, but Im not relieved. One in six is not good enough," he said.
"Weve got
players on the power play who are quality players in this league. But if theyre not
going to get their chances, not going to out-battle, not going to out-hustle, not going to
out-smart the opposition, theyre not as good as they think they are.
"Their eyes are not
lighting up. Theres not enough kill in their eyes."
The Leafs play host to New
Haven Tuesday and Wednesday at the Stadium.
LEAFLETS
Rookie Marc Robitaille
started for St. Johns Saturday and turned in another solid performance, stopping 38
shots to earn second-star honours. Francis Larivee got the nod Friday but was pulled in
favor of Robitaille after allowing the first four goals ... The weekend series was
Deyells first action after missing four games with a shoulder injury ... Defencemen
Marek Posmyk (shoulder) and Shawn Thornton (back) were weekend scratches ... Wares
goal was his first as a professional ... Veteran Dane Jackson scored twice for Lowell
Friday, while singles came from Vladimir Chebaturkin, Dmitri Nabokov, Warren Luhning, Sean
Haggerty and Ryan Huska. Lonny Bohonos replied for St. Johns ... Malkoc was the
first star Saturday, while Huska was voted third star. The three stars Friday were, no
surprise, Lock Monsters: Cousineau (1), Jackson (2) and Nabokov (3)