The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 38

NHL SENDS CEREBRAL MESSAGE Policing head shots in the NHL is becoming a problem for on- and off-ice officials, Stu Hackel writes at habsinsideout.com SPO RTS I I THE GAZETTE I MONTREAL I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2010 I EDITOR: STU COWAN 514 987 2475 I scowanmontrealgazette.com K52 Standing Pat BX1 NHL Sl QMJHL B2 On the Tube B1J The Warmup BU Scoreboard BIS Baseball 815 NFL B16 Soccer 616 CFL B16 CIS Roadrunner's No. 12 jersey from seminal Summit Series holds special IMPACT Officials' bitter pill tough to swallow Players lament poor quality of refereeing in semifinal loss 1dOTUGHTST0aY Marc Juteau, of Classic Auctions, i- lJ JS. i i i IMPS I Il -v T', 1 displays Yvan Cournoyer's 1972 Team Canada sweater that is DAVF SIOAWAY THE GAZETTE part of a auction, which closes Nov. 19. Hockey history on auction block place in fans' hearts ing about it 38 years later." Cournoyer's jersey is not unlike many he wore with the Canadiens.

Its body and arms are chopped short, the lining in the shoulders torn out. On the red maple leaf crest is a diagonal black slash from the tape of a Russian stick that tried to hook him to mere conventional speed; there is red board paint on the arms and the V-neck is torn with wear. "I always modified my pants, elbow pads, shoulder pads," Cournoyer said. "(Canadiens trainer) Eddy Palchak would give me my pants with a pair of scissors. I was well known for Fixing my equipment the way I felt best with it." Please see AUCTION, Page B13 11 II H.r'i'.r Nov.

16, with bidding typically reaching the boiling point near its 9 p.m. close. There's more to Cournoyer's jersey than its role in hockey's most dramatic hug the Canadiens' former captain and 10-time Stanley Cup champion scored the game's tying goal minutes earlier, setting the stage for Henderson's spine-tingling winner. "You see more of my sweater than Paul's," Cournoyer joked yesterday of the jersey that bears the No. 12 and bold CANADA across its back.

"I was lucky enough to score the tying goal and help make the play with Phil Esposito for the winner. "But the win was the main thing. If we had lost that series, I don't think we'd be talk I ThenI watch the video," VV Yvan Cournoyer said, "I'm still afraid to lose." And then the keg of skating dynamite they nicknamed the Roadrunner settles in his cigar lounge north of Montreal and looks at the photograph on the wall, arguably the most famous image in hockey history, and he realizes he'll win forever. His back to Denis Bro-deur's Nikon, Cournoyer has his arms wrapped around the waist of an exuberant, stick-overhead Paul Henderson, the latter having just scored the winning goal in Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the U.S.S.R. Russian netminder Vladislav Tretiak is beaten, flat sale organized by Montreal's Classic Auctions.

Goldhar and Henderson will take the sweater on a cross-country trip beginning in January to share it with Canadians who lived the moment or know it only by lore. Now, the second-most famous jersey in Canadian hockey is on the auction block Cournoyer's No. 12, the other sweater in the nation-lifting instant frozen by Brodeur, one of hockey's greatest and most prolific photographers. Cournoyer's jersey has been consigned to Classic by its local owner, who purchased it in 2002 from the Canadiens Hall of Famer in an auction of his memorabilia. The auction closes RANDY PHILLIPS THE GAZETTE The Impact, still smarting over the controversial end of its league-title reign, has begun to focus on a new season next year.

Montreal was eliminated by the Carolina RailHawks in the return leg of the USSF Division-2 Pro League two-game, aggregate-goal semifinal, losing 2-0 in Cary, N.C., Sunday and the series on aggregate, 2-1. The decisive goal by Tom Heinemann in the 89th minute was scored with the RailHawks' forward clearly offside by several yards, but was allowed to stand. Meanwhile, a goal by Impact reserve forward Marco Termi-nesi early in injury time was nullified by a late offside call by the linesman. "It's always frustrating to lose," head coach Marc Dos "It'sfrustratitifj because I thought the refs had an impact. Impact nead coach Marc Dos Santos Santos said yesterday.

"It's tough to lose because, when you're the Montreal Impact, the only good result is to win championships. "We feel we had everything to win a championship. I felt that the group (of players) was growing and getting stronger. It's frustrating because and again it's not the only excuse -1 thought the refs had an impact in the second leg." Goalkeeper Matt Jordan said it was the first time in his 14 years of professional soccer he'd seen a game decided in such fashion. "It was very strange, obviously very controversial, and a bitter pill for us to swallow," he said.

"But at the end of the day, that's life and that's sports, and it's not always fair." Jordan contended that because the league lacks status in North American soccer specifically behind Major League Soccer in terms of importance, the result is sub-par officiating. Many have complained about it for years. Please see IMPACT, Page B16 1 after 38, 43 or bo months DAVE STUBBS on his back as back-checking wingerAlexander Yakushev peels off to the right. A gloomy crowd looks on from behind the wire screen that serves as glass in Moscow's Luzhniki Spoils Palace, stunned by the unthinkable that has come with 34 seconds left to play on this September night. In June, commercial real-estate developer Mitch Gold-har paid $1,275,707 U.S.

for the Henderson jersey in a combination that's going to have some chemistry," said Martin, who has used Benoit Pouliot and Travis Moen in that position without seeing any results. "It's that time of year when we're trying to find the right person to play there. It's part of the process. We have some good people and we'll look at them." Getting the Gomez line going is important because Martin seeks right fit for Gomez-Gionta line Habs coach experiments with Pyatt, Darche there is a fine margin between winning and losing, and there is only one productive line. Each of the Canadiens' five games this season has been decided by one goal.

But Gionta followed Martin's lead and said there's no reason to panic. "I thought Moen did a good job with us," he said. "(Pyatt) obviously is a pretty quick player who knows the game pretty well. I think (Martin's) trying some things. Please see HABS, Page B12 I.VIUVWUtJIf V.

nckiw Drr fmm JOHN MAHONEY GAZETTE FILE PHOTO Tom Pyatt, pursued by Habs assistant Kirk Muller, spent practice time yesterday with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta. PAT HICKEY THE GAZETTE Tom Pyatt is the latest player to audition for the left-wing role on the line with Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta. Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin alternated Pyatt and Mathieu Darche in the spot yesterday as the team practised in Brossard after two days off. "We're trying to find a I 1 see dealer tor details jr-. A 1 iTft IMr-rl WE v'VK.

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