Winning a Title--Now That Would Be Thirtysomething

The National Hockey League expanded into Florida this year, but it is the International Hockey League Gulls who have taken on the identity of that state.

Think retirement.

Think retirement home. Think the Sports Arena, which turns into an old folks’ recreation center this winter as several hockey players have come here for the twilight of their careers.

Memo to the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, who provide the opposition in Friday’s season opener (7 p.m.) at the Sports Arena: Please go easy on the Gulls, because these brittle guys might bruise and break easily. Remember to respect your elders.

Gull management cringes when the term “minor league” is used, and it’s no wonder why after looking at the roster built by General Manager Don Waddell and Coach Rick Dudley. They probably prefer the term “Senior Circuit.”

Of the 24 players on the Gulls’ roster, 10 are 30 or older.

They even have a 27-year-old “rookie,” Russian defenseman Andrei Iakovenko.

Henceforth, there will be a two-minute warning at the end of each period so Gull players can catch their breath and reload on prune juice.

“We have a lot of older guys on this team,” observed recent signee Hubie McDonough, who, at 29, is one of the younger Gulls. “The Phoenix players were even kidding us during our two exhibitions last week. They kept saying, ‘Don’t hit the old man.’ ”

The Roadrunners were referring to defenseman Lindy Ruff. He’s 31. But they could have been referring to almost anyone the Gulls pushed onto the ice with instructions to do their best impersonation of Gordie Howe, who played into his 50s:

Goalie Rick Knickle, 32; defenseman Sergei Starikov, 33, and Gord Dineen, 30; left wings John Anderson, 35, Larry Floyd, 31, Perry Anderson, who will turn 31 next week, and Steve Martinson, 33; and centers Scott Arniel, 30, and Mitch Lamoureux, 30.

Those encroaching on 30 include: defensemen Don McSween, 28, Dale DeGray, 29, and Alan Hepple, 29; left wing Robbie Nichols, 28; and McDonough.

So what’s with Waddell and Dudley, anyway? Has senility set in? Even the Houston Aeros brought in Howe’s sons to counterbalance their fading star. Even Jimmy Connors resorted to playing a woman to prolong his career, and, well, Atlanta’s first choice for its starting goalie probably won’t be Manon Rheaume.

But the Gulls have their own logic. It goes something like this:

Most minor-league teams want to develop young players for major-league teams. The Gulls simply want to win, and the best way to accomplish that is through experience.

It’s just that experience usually is weighted by age.

But age in this case does not mean decrepit. The Gulls actually will be one of the hardest-hitting teams in the IHL. Dudley, who debuted in the NHL as a player only because he was really strong, really mean and could use his fists better than he could his stick, insists that his players bring similar qualities to the Gulls, although always qualifying such statements with “but they have to be able to skate, too.”

To ensure that his players can take the league’s green talent and see to it that youth is wasted into the boards, Dudley has put the Gulls on a daily weight-training schedule.

They will continue it through the season.

The hope is not only to get that added oomph into forechecks but also to maintain stamina throughout the game and the long season.

“By the end of the year,” Ruff said, “we’ll be able to leap small buildings in single bounds.”

Ironically, weight training in hockey is something of a novel idea.

“In some NHL training camps, there is no weight training at all,” Ruff said. “But in this day and age in hockey, you have to do everything you possibly can to get an edge. We have a very grueling schedule (with 11 stretches of three games in three nights), and on those third nights, all our work is going to pay off.”

There is no doubt about that among the Gulls. They are not bashful when it comes to talking about their chances this season.

“Last year we were pretty good,” said goalie Knickle. “We were a good team and about half way through the season we thought we could beat anyone. This year we’re already thinking long range--we have a good chance of winning it all.”

It is Knickle’s intention to limit opposing teams to no more than two or three goals a game. Last season, only one IHL goalie, Kansas City’s Arturs Irbe, finished with a goals-against average under 3.00 (2.46).

This year Knickle feels he can accomplish Irbe-like numbers because of the defense in front of him.

“It’s as good of a defense you’re going to have outside the NHL,” Dudley said matter-of-factly. All of which could make Knickle’s life all the more stressful.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure on me,” Knickle said, noting he is expected to keep the score low, “because we have the best defense in the league.”

The Gulls are loaded with physical, experienced defenders, the youngest of whom is Iakovenko (6-foot-3, 215 pounds), a Russian the Gulls brought over thinking he had little chance to make the club, but who nevertheless has showed enough tenacity to earn a 25-game contract.

With an eye toward defense, the Gulls will offer a dramatically different style of hockey than what they displayed last year with 118-point scorer Dmitri Kvartalnov, 107-point scorer Len Hachborn and 90-point scorer Ray Whitney.

Those three forwards accounted for a combined 130 goals but have since departed. Only one proven goal producer has been brought in to fill the void, John Anderson, who had 95 points last year for New Haven of the American Hockey League.

The Gulls, though, have a plan. They expect to prove correct the theory that the best offense is a good defense.

“Our defense is exceptionally strong,” Ruff said. “And if you have a good defense, you’re not going to spend a lot of time in your own end.”

Added Knickle, “We lost Ray and Len and Dmitri, so we won’t be as flashy, but we’re going to score with good teamwork and good passing and hard work in the corners. We’ll get the hard-working goals, not the pretty ones.”

Dudley is counting on that, and to lead the way, he has enlisted the services of left wing Perry Anderson.

“Perry is about 235 pounds,” Dudley said in his low, quiet voice. “He skates like the wind and he can bang. In fact, Nichols, Arniel, (Dan) Shank--all those guys can bang.”

In the exhibitions at Phoenix, Anderson repeatedly chased the puck into the corner, left a couple Roadrunners there and came out with the puck.

He epitomizes Dudley’s approach to the game.

“If I’m going after a puck in the corner,” said Waddell, a former all-star in the IHL, “and I see Perry Anderson coming in after it, I’m going to want to get rid of the puck as soon as I can. I’m going to move as soon as I can so I don’t get hit.”

Memo to the Gulls: Please go easy on your opponents, these developing players might break or bruise easily. Remember to take it easy on the young.

Gulls Roster

GOALTENDERS

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age ‘91-92 Team Lge W L OTL 1 Rick Knickle G 5-11 170 32 Gulls IHL 28 13 4 30 Bruce Hoffort G 5-11 180 26 Gulls IHL 26 11 9

No. GAA 1 3.46 30 3.62

*DEFENSEMEN

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age ‘91-92 Team Lge GP G 3 Lindy Ruff D 6-2 202 32 Rochester AHL 62 10 4 Andrei Iakovenko D 6-3 215 27 Khimik Soviet -- -- 5 Sergei Starikov D 5-11 215 33 Gulls IHL 70 7 6 Gord Dineen D 6-0 195 30 Muskegon IHL 79 8 14 Don McSween D 5-11 197 29 Rochester AHL 75 6 15 Dale DeGray D 6-0 206 29 Europe Italy -- -- 23 Alan Hepple D 5-10 195 29 Gulls IHL 82 6

No. A PIM 3 24 110 4 -- -- 5 31 42 6 37 83 14 32 60 15 -- -- 23 35 191

*FORWARDS

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age ‘91-92 Team Lge GP 8 Mitch Molloy LW 6-3 212 25 St. Thomas CHL -- 9 Keith Gretzky C 5-9 160 25 Gulls IHL 62 10 John Anderson LW 5-11 200 35 New Haven AHL 68 11 Scott Arniel C 6-1 188 30 Boston NHL 29 12 Robbie Nichols LW 6-1 190 28 Gulls IHL 77 16 Mitch Lamoureux C 5-7 187 30 Europe -- -- 17 Larry Floyd LW 5-8 185 31 Gulls IHL 71 18 Peter Hankinson RW 5-9 175 24 Fort Wayne IHL 75 19 Hubie McDonough C 5-9 180 29 N.Y. Islanders NHL 33 24 Dan Shank RW 5-11 200 25 Hartford NHL 13 25 Perry Anderson LW 6-1 230 31 San Jose NHL 48 26 Michael Brewer C 5-10 185 23 Brown University ECAC 28 27 Denny Lambert LW 5-11 200 22 Gulls IHL 71 28 Steve Martinson LW 6-2 210 33 Gulls IHL 70

No. G A PIM 8 -- -- -- 9 12 19 10 10 41 54 24 11 5 3 20 12 30 35 228 16 -- -- -- 17 18 45 58 18 25 38 44 19 7 2 15 24 2 0 18 25 4 8 143 26 13 34 62 27 17 14 229 28 18 15 279