
April 22



Asked why he occasionally fights in Whalers games, Adam Burt answered with a passage from the Bible. "Colossians 3:23: `Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord,' " said Burt, who has taught at hockey schools for a Christian group, Hockey Ministries International. "And it's part of the game." But more and more of Burt's teammates are turning to Matthew 5:39 and turning the other cheek. Through 36 games this season, the Whalers have only 14 fighting majors, including four in the past 20 games. In his heyday, Torrie Robertson would have 30 fights himself in a winter. "I think the sport is changing," coach Jim Roberts said Monday. "Players [that] teams are carrying for that sort of [thing] are disappearing, too. It's what the NHL has been striving for. They're succeeding."

Jim McKenzie has pounded out two heavyweight victories over John Kordic of Quebec and one against Kelly Chase of St. Louis. Big Ed Kastelic has only played in two games, without a fight.

Burt has fought St. Louis' Brendan Shanahan, Montreal's Kirk Muller and former Whaler Dave Barr of New Jersey. The only Whaler to get hurt was John Stevens, when Brad May broke his nose Dec. 13 in Buffalo. Gone are the days of Kevin Dineen knocking out Mike Milbury. Gone are the days when Mike Foligno hit Scott Young so hard, old scar tissue on the other side of his face broke open. "I don't think you see a lot of fights around the NHL," Roberts said. McKenzie, frustrated by his lack of play, doesn't agree. And NHL statistician Benny Ercolani said NHL fighting majors are up 82 to 773 from this point last year. "It's obvious our team is playing a different style than last year," McKenzie said. "Rick Ley was dump, chase and bang 'em hockey. I fit in perfectly. Now, I don't play much. Eddie [Kastelic] doesn't even get out of the press box. Believe me, it's tough to beat up guys from there." Only Montreal averages fewer than the Whalers' 19.5 penalty minutes a game.

Whalers opponents also are averaging 19.5, a testament to how tame Whalers games have been. Calgary is averaging 37.4. Last season under Ley, the Whalers were third in the NHL at 27.6. When the Whalers acquired Daniel Shank Dec. 18, general manager Ed

Johnston praised him as a "disturber." Shank, who had 278 penalty minutes in the 60 AHL games last season, has been in the lineup the past two games. McKenzie, who has been scratched nine times this season, has not. "Shank is a little better skater to help him get involved in using the body," Roberts said. "If something comes out of that, Shank can handle himself. You strive for some good hits. But it's hard to generate on a consistent basis. It's a puck-movement, flow game today." Roberts wants McKenzie "to learn to intimidate. Obviously, not many want to fight McKenzie. But going in and making a hard, clean check excites your team, too. We want that. Don't let anybody fool you: A lot of this game is intimidation." McKenzie, winner of the Favorite Whaler award last season in a fan vote, says there are only six to 10 players in the NHL who will fight him.

McKenzie feels it's tough to be a heavyweight champ when you fight as often as Mike Tyson. "Some guys sit there all night, jump off the bench, grab a guy and beat him up. I'm not one of those guys. I don't get a thrill out of that," McKenzie said. "But in the course of a game, when there's a cheap shot, a fight is way of letting off tension. And it's a kind of natural high when two guys go at it. Somebody working 9-to-5 may think a broken nose or gash over the eye is gross, but nobody really gets hurt. "Jimmy has talked to me about talking to guys and intimidating that way. It's hard. The rhythm of the game is interrupted by penalties. So you may only play three shifts all night. You're really not into the game. It's frustrating." McKenzie said he sensed intimidation problems once this season, Oct. 27 in Buffalo. "Neither Eddie or I was dressed. [Brad] Miller and [Brad] May were running around and doing whatever they wanted. Nobody was out there to stop them. As a result, they took it to us, 5-1. I know a guy like Rob Ray, I could have my back to him and he wouldn't do anything. But he'd run John Cullen from behind. Teams won't do anything when I'm out there."

Said Burt: "If someone goes after a teammate with a cheapshot or runs our goalie, you've got to drop the gloves. It is an unwritten rule. I don't have a lot of respect for a teammate who wouldn't back me up when push came to shove. If you look at Laurie Boschman and Ryan Walter [Christian athletes], you're confident they'll watch your back for you, too."

The Whalers, who could make another demotion in the next day, sent Michel Picard, without a goal since Nov. 2, to Springfield. "He has to get some confidence back and believe that his shot is a big weapon," Roberts said.

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