By ED WILLES
Vancouver Sun

Edmonton Oilers Georges Laraque left delivers a solid left to the nose of Vancouver Canucks Mike Brown (27) during a first period scrap in a preseason game in Vancouver Tuesday Sept. 24, 2002. Both players received major penalties for fighting.

This time of year, when they're fighting for recognition, fighting for respect, but mostly just fighting, aspiring tough guys will recite the legend of Chris Tamer the way aspiring starlets recite the legend of Lana Turner.

Tamer, to the uninitiated, was a relatively unheralded Pittsburgh Penguins farmhand who was called up from the IHL in the mid-90s and soon found himself swapping knuckles with Chicago's Bob Probert.

Probert was then one of the most feared heavyweights in the league. Tamer, for his part, was not. But that all changed about the time a Tamer right connected with the point of Probert's jaw.

With that one fight, the blueliner made his reputation and his career. He also gained lasting immortality with all those trying to find their way in this most unusual of callings.

"It's a no-win situation for the established guys," said Canucks walk-on John Craighead, a forward with a fighter's dimension, when asked about the inevitable training camp battles between hopefuls and heavyweights.

"But it means a lot to the other guys. You go with a guy with a reputation, you land a lucky one and all of a sudden you're signing a big ticket."

Or picking up some of your favourite teeth.

"If the veterans didn't give me a chance when I came into the league, I wouldn't be in this position," said Edmonton's Georges Laraque, the acknowledged heavyweight champ of the NHL.

"Most of the time when a young guy comes up to you, you have to do the same thing. It's part of the job."

And part of the code. You don't have to explain either to Laraque.

Tuesday's preseason game between the Canucks and Oilers was, mercifully, devoid of the usual preseason elimination bouts which have little to do with the game and everything to do with making a name. True, Laraque and the Canucks' Mike Brown tussled in the first period but that had more to do with the Canucks' lacklustre effort than Brown's concern over his reputation.

"There's no point," Laraque reasoned before the game . "The team knows what I can do. His team knows what he can do.

"Mike's proven himself. We both know it's exhibition. I know he's not going to do anything out there. Donald [Brashear] might. [If you think that's a shot, you're right. Laraque and other heavyweights revile Brashear for his failure to adhere to the fighters' code.] But not Mike."

The same, however, cannot be said for a legion of wannabees who populate NHL camps this time of year.

The hockey archives are full of stories in which the up-and-comer approaches the established knucklehead and begs for a fight. It happened again during last weekend's exhibition tilt between Ottawa and Toronto. And, unlike Brashear, you can never accuse the Leafs' Tie Domi of not honouring the code.

During the game in question, the Sens' Wade Brookbank spent most of the evening trying to goad Domi into a scrap. Brookbank, who accumulated 337 PIMs in the minors last season, is auditioning for the job of Sens enforcer Chris Neil, who's out with a broken leg.

After some resistance, Domi gave the kid his chance.

"It's hard when he's in the same position I was as a young guy," Domi said. "I tried picking fights as a rookie but the veterans laughed at you."

"It depends who the guy is," said Laraque. "If he's close to making the team, you give him his shot. If it's just some guy who's not going anywhere, why bother."

Still, if the apprenticing thug really wants to test himself, there are foolproof ways of insuring a fight. This too is part of the code and it applies equally in the preseason and the regular season.

"If a guy really wants a shot at Domi just take a run at Mats Sundin," said Craighead. "Then you'll see the real Tie Domi. You'll learn about the job description in great detail."

And in this job, there's no substitute for first-hand experience.

By PAUL COWAN, EDMONTON SUN

Edmonton Oilers tough guy Georges Laraque is spearheading a campaign aimed at cutting the number of cases of shaken baby syndrome. 

The new Capital Health initiative features posters of Laraque holding six-week-old Benjamin Preboy in his arms; the headline reads: "Are You Tough Enough To Be Gentle?" 

"Georges was perfect for this because he is the toughest guy in the Oilers and a role model for the males aged 18 to 25 who are in one of the groups we are trying to reach," explained Dr. Lionel Dibden, medical director of the Child and Adolescent Protection Centre at the Stollery Children's Hospital. 

"We hope the image of a tough hockey player being so gentle with a baby will get our message across." 

Laraque also appears in a video urging people who may become frustrated by a baby's screams to put the child down in a safe place and leave it for a few minutes. 

New parents are to be given the Take a Break, Don't Shake package highlighting the dangers of shaking a baby. 

In the past three years, 15 youngsters have been admitted to the Stollery with shaken baby syndrome. Five died. 

Dibden said several of the survivors were badly brain-damaged. "The 15 cases I mention were the ones that were so blatant as to be unmistakable but there have been many more where shaken baby syndrome is suspected," he said. 

As well as launching the poster and information campaign, the Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Project focuses on helping social workers, child-care providers and cops identify and, if necessary, investigate cases. 

"This is a wonderful initiative," said Edmonton police deputy chief Mike Bradshaw. "It is a crime which affects the most valuable and innocent members of our community.

Thurs, Oct 10, 2002
By ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI -- Edmonton Sun

 The radio call-in junkies have been chanting it for years. 

 Give Georges more ice time. 

 And every time he raises the intensity and the decibels with a determined forecheck, the armchair coaches at Skyreach Centre shout for it, too. 

 His backers have actually called the Oilers' office on his behalf, pleading with the club to expand his role. 

 Georges Laraque has even lobbied for it, and at times shown glimpses of being ready. 

 Well, now it's show time. Mike Grier is out and Georges Laraque is in. It's not just idle chat or wishful thinking anymore; the trade has been made, the stage is his. 

 "When they made that trade it meant they're giving me a big chance,'' said Laraque, in the final practice before tonight's home opener against Philadelphia. 

 "Going from 10 minutes a game on the fourth line to 16 on the third line is huge. It's almost double. I'm not Mike Grier, but I kind of have to replace him.'' 

 Replace Mike Grier? Gulp. This is about the time a guy's inner voice tells him: careful what you ask for because you just might get it. 

 The expectations that come with this promotion are huge. All of those backers, all of his critics and all of those opposing coaches looking to capitalize on a weakness will be watching his every shift. Can the big guy really do it, or is this just another tough guy wishing he could be an everyday player? 

 "It's a lot of pressure,'' said the 25-year-old right-winger. "Everybody is really going to be watching me now to see if I can compete with those guys or not. Every practice now I have to be more serious. I have to really improve every day so I can keep up.'' 

 It's nothing new in Laraque's evolution as a hockey player. In his early Oiler days, he had to show them something every day in practice just so he could get out of the press box and into the lineup. 

 And the closer he gotto the game, the more he realized just how far away he was. 

 "I used to play three minutes a night, and I remember watching the players, seeing how fast they were ... how terrible I was. My D would sneak out on me and I wasn't fast enough to catch up. I was like, 'Oh my God, everybody is so fast. Everybody is so good. #%$@.''' 

 He's come a long way since then, but in many eyes he still hasn't arrived yet. So in a lot of ways this season is a fork in the road for big Georges - the year he either takes that next step in his evolution or settles in as a better than average fourth-line heavyweight. 

 After all, this is not the first time he's begun a season with high expectations and ample opportunity. After posting a career-high 13 goals and 16 assists in 2000-01, he was supposed to be an unstoppable power forward last year - and boldly predicted a 20-20-20 campaign (goals, assists and fights). 

 He came to camp heavy, slipped to five goals and reached his low point when they sent him home from practice for being overweight. 

 He did get in 25 fights, but most of them pointless gladiator matches that had no affect on the game. 

 "I slipped down,'' he said. "To everybody, it was a setback. We missed the playoffs by two points last year. What if I had four more points. That might have given us a game or two and made a difference.'' 

 That's when he finally realized that if he really wanted to continue his development, he had to be a lot more serious about it. 

 "Toward the end of last year, I had a long talk with the coach. He basically told me that if I showed commitment, coming to camp more in shape, I could play more minutes. He said 'Listen, if you want it, it's yours. But you have to work hard in the summer and come to camp and take it.''' 

 So he knocked off about 15 or 20 pounds, helped along, ironically, by Grier, and came in at 245. 

 "It's unbelievable the difference it's made on the ice,'' said Laraque, who's been told to pound opponents with the body, and let the fights come to him. "Losing the weight was hard, but it's worth it.'' 

 It's worth it because being a good hockey player means more to Laraque than being heavyweight champ ever did. For all of the accolades that come with being the toughest man in the league, it is still a very lonely job. When the roar goes down after a fight, it's you, sitting quietly by yourself in the penalty box - "just watching the other guys play hockey'' - and when players and coaches huddle-up to talk power play or game day strategy, tough guys are politely excluded. 

 "You're off by yourself, away from it. Practising by yourself. You're not involved. You're just watching everybody else. 

 "And when you lose a game you know there's nothing you could have done. All you do is fight. If there's a big game coming up, you can't say that I want to make a difference in this game because all you can do is go out and fight a guy who isn't playing anyway.'' 

 Now he has a chance to do more, to be more involved. To be a hockey player who can fight instead of a fighter who can play a little hockey. It's the opportunity every tough guy in NHL history has dreamed of, but one that few could make happen. 

 "It's very exciting,'' said Laraque.. "My friends, people I talk to, everyone who's heard about it is excited. When I first came into the league I never thought I'd get into this position. Never. Now I have and I have to take advantage. I have to seize it.

Joanne Ireland, Journal Hockey Writer 
The Edmonton Journal 

Friday, October 11, 2002

The evening began with illusionists, soon upstaged by a pair of tricksters, capable of turning a deck of cards into a sideshow.

But that's not where the magic ended. Before the night was through, the Edmonton Oilers managed to turn a 2-0 third period deficit into a 2-2 tie.

"It didn't look like we were going to get any offence then, boom, we get two and the momentum totally changed," centre Todd Marchant said after his team opened its 24th regular season against the Philadelphia Flyers.

It was Marchant and Ethan Moreau, and their new linemate Georges Laraque, who got the Oilers going before a soldout crowd at Skyreach.

At 12:43 of the third period, after John LeClair had scored a pair, Laraque flipped a loose puck past Roman Cechmanek. 

Four minutes later, Anson Carter turned a power-play opportunity into the tying goal. 

The power-play units had gone 0-for-8 before the winger scored.

"Georges is a catalyst and tonight it was obvious he wanted to play," said Marchant. "I told him before, they're showing a lot of confidence in him as a player and he has to return it by going out and performing, not only in games but in practices. It means every day.

"He's done that and we hope that it continues. It's a long season and it's difficult to do that but you have to give your best effort every night."

Laraque, shifted up to the third line after the Oilers traded Mike Grier to Washington, almost got another before the teams headed to overtime but his shot slid wide. 

"When you're down 2-0, you really want to do something to get the momentum back," he said. 

"When I got that goal, it was a big relief and it gave me a lot of confidence knowing that our line got a lot of chances. It was clicking and that's a good sign."

It was a good sign because all the talk this off-season was that Oilers had to generate more goals and for two periods they had only 16 shots to show for their efforts against a team that plays a lot like the team coach Ken Hitchcock's left behind in Dallas.

For Laraque, it was the first regular season goal he's scored since Jan. 12. He finished the season with five.

"I'm excited about the new role I have on this team and to be able to contribute in the first game is something to look forward to," Laraque said. "That tie was huge, it almost feels like a win."

"Georges really changed the momentum and complexion of the game," said coach Craig MacTavish. "He, Todd and Ethan really came out assertively and were committed to getting pucks to the net and ended up getting the first goal.

"Georges just continued to play well at both ends of the rink."

In the second period, LeClair took a pass from Marty Murray, who put in an impressive night's work, and put the visitors up 1-0. He got his second at 11:12 of the third.

"It's always important to get these points," said Oilers goalie Tommy Salo. "It's good to get one right away."

The Oilers now visit Nashville, Dallas and San Jose before returning to Skyreach on Oct. 19.

"It's tough to say character tie, but that's what it is," said Marchant. "When you're down 2-0 midway through the third period and you go out and get two goals ... against a team that's supposed to contend in the east you have to take that as a positive."

Sat., Oct 12, 2002
By ROBIN BROWNLEE -- Edmonton Sun

NASHVILLE -- Their relationship is one forged in fistic fury, the belief that there is a code among NHL enforcers that must be followed and respect for a job well done. 

Georges Laraque of the Edmonton Oilers and Stu Grimson of the Nashville Predators are not only tough, powerful men cut from the same cloth, men who have dropped their gloves and pounded each other countless times in the name of the game, they are friends. 

It troubles Laraque, then, to know that Grimson will not be in Nashville's lineup against the Oilers tonight. That in all probability, the man known as the Grim Reaper during his 14-year NHL career as a respected enforcer, might never play again. 

KNOWS HE PLAYED A PART IN IT 

Worse yet, Laraque knows he played a part in the post-concussion syndrome that has Grimson facing retirement, that the punishment he handed the Reaper here last Dec. 8 might mean the end. 

That, Laraque never wanted. 

"I love the guy," said Laraque, who will take some time to talk with Grimson today and see how he's doing. "We had so many huge fights and we'd still talk. 

"He'd say, 'How are you doing, kid?' Stuff like that. He'd be all friendly and stuff. He has always been a great guy, no matter what happens out on the ice." 

Grimson, 37, and Laraque went at it last December like they'd done so many times before. This time, Laraque landed maybe six or eight unanswered left hands, leaving Grimson out on his feet. 

While Grimson actually saw action in two subsequent games, something wasn't right. He missed Nashville's final 51 games of last season, and still suffers painful headaches and nausea. 

"I feel so bad," Laraque said. "He helped me so much when I was trying to make it. He told me not to feel bad about it. This is a guy who came back from that Dave Brown fight when he got his face broken. How much character do you have to have to come back from that like he did?" 

In all likelihood, Grimson's condition today is as much a product of his days skating the beat and the accumulated damage he absorbed, as it is the clubbing punches Laraque landed. Still, there is little comfort in that for the big-hearted Oilers behemoth. 

"Georges was good enough to reach out to me and say that he felt responsible," Grimson told the Tennessean. "I tried to reassure him that in our jobs, this is a risk we all assume when we're in the lineups. I certainly hold no ill will toward Georges." 

GRIMSON OBLIGED 

It was Grimson, playing with Anaheim, who answered when a young Laraque, looking to make a name for himself, came calling during the 1998-99 season. "Can we go?" Laraque asked respectfully. "Sure, kid," said Grimson, who could have turned up his nose at the unproven slugger. 

"As an older guy, he didn't have to do it," Laraque said. "I was just trying to make a name for myself. He could have told me to work my way up the ladder and come back later, you know? 

"To take on up-and-comers like that, you have to have respect for him. I will never forget our first time. He punched my helmet so hard it went 30 feet in the air. He broke it." 

These days, Laraque's ability to play the game is growing as fast as his reputation as the NHL's most feared heavyweight did when he was working his way up the ranks. 

Laraque has been promoted to third-line duty alongside Todd Marchant and Ethan Moreau. Still only 25, Laraque's game has grown in leaps and bounds - Laraque, who scored the Oilers first goal Thursday in a come-from-behind 2-2 tie with Philadelphia in Edmonton's season-opener at Skyreach Centre. 

"He's the kind of guy who can comfortably play 15 minutes a night," Grimson said. "He's done what he had to do to get into the lineup, but now he's solid in the offensive and defensive zones." 

While Laraque's career is blossoming, Grimson faces the end. Laraque, who spent time with Grimson at NHLPA meetings in Montreal last summer, and even met his family, takes no pride in that. 

"He's the friendliest tough guy I have ever talked to," Laraque said after a 45-minute practice at Gaylord Entertainment Centre yesterday. "We are guys who are trying to take each other's head off out there, but it never mattered. 

"Being a tough guy is a tough job, but you can respect each other, and that's what I try to do now with the other guys. Everybody who knows Stu thinks he's a great guy. I look forward to shaking his hand and asking how he's doing." 

BAD BOYS 

Laraque made the grade in a hockey supplement done by the daily newspaper in Nashville, the Tennessean. Under the headline, Five Top NHL Villains, beat writer John Glennon gives the nod to the dastardly fivesome of Tie Domi, Donald Brashear, Bryan Marchment, Laraque and Peter Worrell.

Jim Matheson, Journal Hockey Writer 
The Edmonton Journal 

Thursday, October 24, 2002

Oiler GM Kevin Lowe doesn't feel he got the necessary response from his tough guy Georges Laraque after Avs' defenceman Derek Morris punched Mike Comrie twice in the face early in Wednesday's game in Denver.

Morris didn't get a penalty and Ethan Moreau later squared off with the Colorado player. 

"Georges is too honourable a guy sometimes," said Lowe. "It would be in his best interests sometime to watch Tie Domi out on the ice.Tie is a great policeman."

Domi probably would have got in Joe Sakic's face and said, "Look, if anybody on your team takes a poke at Comrie, I'm going to be looking at you'' -- a message from a heavyweight that you can hit a star hard, but don't take any liberties with him. 

Like onetime Oiler Lee Fogolin, who one night went over to Dennis Polonich on a faceoff when the Detroit Red Wings played the Oilers, and told the feisty guy to not even think of taking a shot at Wayne Gretzky. Polonich listened up.

Laraque, the reigning NHL heavyweight king, can't find many takers and he's an easy target of the refs. But, Lowe, who's from the old school, was a little unhappy with his guy. 

Laraque didn't feel any fistic fury was in order. 

"Derek Morris is never going to fight me. I'm better off trying to play the body on him hard, but he wasn't out against our line very often," said Laraque. "I'm worried about taking a penalty and putting our team in bad trouble."

"I could chirp at guys but I don't think they're scared of that. We're men now. It's not like junior," said Laraque, who's not a big fan of Domi's tactics. 

"The way I can get back at players is by really hitting them (with a check)."

Chris Zdeb, Journal Staff Writer 
The Edmonton Journal 

Monday, November 11, 2002

Journal Stock
Oilers star Georges Laraque in a poster for Capital Health. 
 

It's a riveting image: muscular Edmonton Oilers enforcer Georges Laraque gently cradling a baby against his bare chest. 'Are you tough enough to be gentle?' reads the poster's slogan. 'It only takes a moment. Take a Break -- Don't Shake'

It's part of the latest information campaign by regional health, police and child protective services to educate parents and caregivers about the dangers of shaking a baby.

There's an estimated three to five cases of shaken baby syndrome per million people in Canada, but authorities suspect more cases go undiagnosed or unreported.

Which babies are most at risk? Who is more likely to shake a baby? We asked Dr. Lionel Dibden of the Stollery Children's Hospital's Child and Adolescent Protection Unit for some answers.

- What is shaken baby syndrome?

"It's what we call the group of injuries that result from a child having been violently shaken. The kind of things we see are centred around the brain."

What type of injuries? 

"Brain injury is one. There's bleeding around the brain, bleeding in the back of the eyes -- damage to the retina can be severe enough to cause blindness, and brain swelling. There can be rib fractures if the child is being held by the sides and squeezed while being shaken; little fractures at the ends of long bones if arms or legs arms are flapping around."

How common is shaken baby?

It's one of the leading causes of accidental death in children under a year old. In the last three years, but not this year, there were 15 cases of shaken baby syndrome in the Capital Health region. Five of the babies died."

Are some babies more at risk than others?

"Shaken baby syndrome has been documented all the way up to the age of five years, but the vast majority are less than six months old. Six months to two years of age is the next big peak. It is very unusual in children older than the age of two years. The most vulnerable babies tend to be irritable, cranky, miserable, difficult -- colic being the common factor." Who is most likely to shake a baby?

"Young males, 18 to 25 with anger management problems are the most common perpetrators. That said, males or females of any age of parenting are at risk." (Parents are the shakers in 62 per cent of cases; mother's live-in boyfriend; 20 per cent; non-relative caregiver; 14 per cent; step parent, three percent; other caregiver, one per cent.)

Is the shaker usually alone when the assault happens?

"Commonly. Somebody who is isolated, unsupported, inexperienced in taking care of a baby." 

Can a baby be shaken and not be injured?

"We see the very worst cases in hospital who die or have serious injury so the threshold for admission to hospital is frequently the measure of the prevalence. But some people have acknowledged shaking their baby many times before the time that brings them to the hospital."

What are the stats on injuries?

"Of the ones we see in hospital, about a third die, a third have serious consequences and a third leave looking quite good, but there is a concern that those children later go on to have more subtle difficulties in school, behaviour and learning."

Do injuries stem from the brain being knocked around inside the skull?

"Basically we're talking about the brain experiencing forces as a result of a back and forth motion -- acceleration, deceleration, that sets up what we call shearing forces in the brain, the membranes that cover the brain and the blood vessels that cover the brain and into the central vein. The shearing forces are what cause the damage to the brain." There is some evidence to support the theory that the damage occurs at point of impact, when a baby is tossed into a crib after shaking, jolting the brain movement to a sudden stop."

What kind of shaking are we talking about?

"This is not an injury that occurs in normal every day play activities with the baby. We don't encourage people to throw their babies up and catch them, but people do do that and it doesn't cause the syndrome. Jiggling baby on your knee for example, this does not cause shaken baby syndrome. It is a violent act that any bystander would recognize as being bad for the baby. Usually, the baby's head goes back and forth and side to side. The back of the baby's head touches the back, the chin touches the chest. The adult equivalent would be a whiplash injury, and that's what it was originally called."

Why are children so vulnerable to this kind of injury?

"There are several different reasons. The first is related to the age and size of the baby and the relatively huge size of the perpetrator. The question is always can an adult have this problem too? If you were shaken by a 2,000-pound gorilla you'd probably have the same injuries. The second thing that makes babies more vulnerable is that there is much more water that makes up a baby's brain than an older person's. So if the myelin or scaffolding that helps support brain cells or axons is absent, as it is in a baby, the cells move about more in the jelly-like consistency. Shearing forces can cause the nerve cells to be torn breaking communication with the brain. The initial damage to the brain is compounded when oxygen and blood supply to the brain is reduced or stopped entirely."

Why are babies shaken?

"It's usually when they're crying and the caregiver has done everything that they usually do to get them to stop and they haven't stopped. There's the image of a baby in a crib crying and crying and crying and you've tried everything and you put your hands on them and you say 'Just stop this screaming!' And the baby when you do that stops crying. Hopefully you've just startled them. On a more serious end, you actually disrupt things a little bit in their heads so they stop crying. Some children fortunately have no injury, they don't suffer any adverse effects and unfortunately, sometimes that leads to the next series of shakes because the initial shake is mild, stops the baby crying and the caregiver gets the impression that this may be a useful strategy."

Don't parents/caregivers realize shaking a baby is dangerous?

"In court cases where crown prosecutors have participated, they tell us the common defence used by perpetrators is 'I didn't know shaking would hurt the baby.'"

But shaken baby syndrome is a form of child abuse.

"It is, but it's somewhat different to other forms of child abuse in that it's mostly not a pattern that is embedded in a family for generations and it's not going to take an enormous amount of effort to break it. It is most commonly a one-time kind of event, which is why we thought a prevention program would be helpful."

Is shaken baby syndrome preventable?

"It's totally avoidable, 100 per cent avoidable and really, easily avoidable. It doesn't require a rocket scientist."

What can you do instead of shaking to stop a baby from crying?

"Take a break, step out of the room, leave the baby safe in the crib and give yourself a breather -- 10 minutes, to regain your composure, which is really what you require when you take care of a baby, especially when they're cranky and miserable. Don't shake if you're frustrated, because the next time you do it, it's a little harder." We know there are some cases where the baby has been shaken multiple times before they actually come with a devastating injury. 

November 28, 2002

EDMONTON (CP) -- Edmonton Oilers forward Georges Laraque was taken to hospital Thursday but was not seriously injured after being involved in a traffic accident. 

 The right-winger winced with pain as he was fitted for a neck brace and transported by ambulance following the collision. 

 Laraque, 25, was released from hospital after being examined and will be evaluated by team doctors Friday to see if he will miss any playing time, the Oilers said in a news release. 

 Laraque's sports utility vehicle apparently collided with a van in west Edmonton at around noon local time. 

 A mother and daughter who were in the van were also taken to hospital with neck injuries, sore chests, cuts and bruises and were later released, the Oilers said. 

 "He's banged up and a little sore, but George is going to be OK," Oilers coach Craig McTavish said of Laraque. "He's just worried about the other two people in the accident and very concerned about their health." 

 Police gave no indication on whether charges would be laid. 

 The six-foot-three, 240-pound Laraque has one goal, one assist and 32 penalty minutes in 18 games with the Oilers this season. 

 This is the Montreal native's fourth full season with the NHL club.

The Edmonton Journal - Saturday, November 30, 2002

CREDIT: Chris Schwarz, The Journal 

A day after a car accident, Georges Laraque was back at work at Oilers practice Friday morning. 
 
 

Able to skate but unable to say too much, a subdued Georges Laraque left the practice ice on Friday morning and talked briefly about his Thursday car accident.

Edmonton Oilers winger had been alone in his sport utility vehicle, heading east, when he was in a collision with a mother and daughter in a northbound Jeep.

Sore and shaken, all three were able to walk away.

Police have not laid any charges. The accident is still being investigated.

"I could be better but all I'm worried about is how they're feeling, and I'm relieved that they were both able to walk away from the hospital," Laraque said.

"I hope whatever soreness they have right now is going to go away."

Laraque is expected to be in his usual spot tonight alongside Mike York and Josh Green.

Getting back into a game may be the best remedy for him, said head coach Craig MacTavish.

"It was a bad day yesterday," Laraque continued. 

"It's in my mind for sure. Hopefully, time will help me forget. ... It was very tramautizing."

Laraque said he was going to get in touch with the women today.

MacTavish spoke to them when they were released from the hospital.

"It's certainly one of those instances that could have been a lot worse," MacTavish said. "They were all very fortunate."

The coach went to the hospital when he had heard there had been an accident. 

Laraque's teammates were making phone calls as soon as they saw the news on TV.

"It could have been so much worse," teammate Anson Carter said. 

"We were fortunate Georges is OK and we're fortunate to hear the two ladies are OK, that everyone walked away in relatively good shape."

By ROBIN BROWNLEE, EDMONTON SUN

Physically, Georges Laraque escaped a potential tragedy Thursday with soreness and stiffness. Emotionally, the big Edmonton Oilers winger is still hurting. 

Laraque was back on the ice with teammates at Skyreach Centre yesterday morning, a day after being involved in a two-car wreck on the outskirts of the city that sent him and two Edmonton women to Misericordia Hospital. 

"I could be better, but I'm worried about how they're feeling," a subdued Laraque told reporters after practice. "I'm relieved they were able to walk away from the hospital." 

ALL TAKEN TO HOSPITAL 

Laraque, 25, Doris Bourassa and Kathrine Larson were taken to hospital by ambulance after a collision at the intersection of 184 Street and 111 Avenue at 11:30 a.m. 

Laraque was travelling east on 111 Avenue in a BMW sport utility vehicle when he collided with Bourassa and Larson, travelling north on 184 Street in a Jeep Cherokee. 

Both vehicles were extensively damaged, with the Cherokee rolling into a ditch before coming to rest on its wheels, but all three occupants were treated at hospital and released within hours. 

"He was pretty stiff and sore yesterday, but he came in and he felt OK today. It was good to see him out there," said coach Craig MacTavish, who spent Thursday afternoon at the hospital. 

"It's certainly one of those instances that could have been a lot worse. Georges realizes how fortunate he is to be able to walk away from that. Not only him, but the other two people involved." 

Laraque, fitted with a collar to stabilize his neck at the scene, skated a full practice yesterday despite some stiffness. He's expected to be in the lineup against the Colorado Avalanche tonight. 

That likelihood, however, was not first and foremost on Laraque's mind yesterday morning in the aftermath of a wreck that could've been much, much worse. 

"I was lucky," Laraque said. "It was just a bad day. All I'm worried about is how they're doing and stuff. I just hope whatever soreness they have right now, that it's going to go well. 

"It could've been worse. It was a bad day, and it's in my mind for sure. Time will help to heal things. We're all fortunate we all came out well from that. 

"Hopefully, they're going to get back to 100 per cent soon." 

MacTavish and Oilers vice-president of public relations Bill Tuele spoke briefly with Bourassa and Larson upon their release from hospital and Laraque intended to contact the women yesterday. 

A BAD SITUATION 

"It's a bad situation," MacTavish said. "They were all very fortunate they were able to walk away from it ... it's definitely had a pretty dramatic effect on (Laraque) from the conversations I've had with him." 

City police continue to investigate the mishap. West Division patrol officers are handling the case and expert collision investigators have been called in to assist. 

The accident may be reconstructed to help police figure out what went wrong. 

By ROBIN BROWNLEE, EDMONTON SUN - December 02, 2002

Between his car wreck late last week and his tumble into the end boards in Saturday's 1-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Skyreach Centre, Georges Laraque will likely make more visits to the hospital in a week than he has in a decade. 

The Edmonton Oilers' tough guy, who took 15 sutures in his left elbow against the Avalanche, didn't skate at West Edmonton Mall yesterday because he had to be at Royal Alexandra Hospital for intravenous treatment to guard against infection. 

It's a process Laraque has to repeat every eight hours until the team's medical staff determines he's not at risk. He had the procedure Saturday night, then again yesterday at 8 a.m. before leaving the mall just before noon to go under the needle again. 

"It's the worst week of my life," Laraque said. "It's a bad gash. It was pretty much exposed (during the game) and there's a lot of swelling. I have no range of motion." 

Rushed to Misericordia Hospital Thursday morning after a two-car collision in west Edmonton and later released with little more than a stiff neck, Laraque's elbow might prove to be more problematic - it will likely keep him out of the lineup tomorrow against the Minnesota Wild. 

Laraque, who finished Saturday's game, had surgery on the same elbow two summers ago to remove an infected bursa sac. The last thing he needs is infection to take hold again. 

"When I got the hit, it was sore, but I didn't know I was cut and bloody," said Laraque. "When I got to the dressing room, it started leaking out of my underwear." 

By ROBIN BROWNLEE, Edmonton Sun

 Georges Laraque's lacerated left elbow will keep him out of the lineup against the Minnesota Wild tonight and there's a distinct possibility intravenous treatments to battle infection could keep him at home when the Edmonton Oilers open a three-game road trip in Tampa Bay Thursday. 

Laraque, who sustained a laceration that required 15 stitches in the first period of Saturday's 1-0 win over Colorado, was kept off the ice again yesterday and Oilers medical trainer Ken Lowe says ongoing treatments might require that Laraque stay behind when the team jets to Florida tomorrow morning. 

"We don't know yet, but there is that possibility," Lowe told The Sun yesterday afternoon. "We're letting that decision be made by the physicians as to how the elbow is before we take off." 

Laraque, 25, had blood drained from the elbow yesterday and will continue to have intravenous treatments every eight hours to battle infection. Team doctors David Reid and Boris Boyko will assess Laraque and decide if he should travel, but Lowe said yesterday the treatments could continue through Thursday. 

"We have to monitor him very closely," Lowe said. "Dr. Reid and Dr. Boyko will make the decisions. Hopefully, he'll be able to travel with us, but if they feel they want him to have the intravenous longer, we'll leave him back and he can join us at whatever time they recommend." 

If cleared to play Thursday, Laraque could rejoin the Oilers in time for Saturday's game with the Florida Panthers. The final stop of the trip is in Atlanta on Sunday. 

Brian Swanson is the likeliest candidate to draw in for Laraque tonight. Jason Chimera is also available.

Friday, December 13, 2002
By ROBIN BROWNLEE, EDMONTON SUN

 A bad wrist. A bad wreck. A bad elbow. 

There hasn't been much in the way of good news for Georges Laraque this season, but the Edmonton Oilers tough guy is looking to change his luck, starting tonight when he's expected to return to the lineup against the Colorado Avalanche. 

Laraque will be activated from the injured reserve list today after missing five games with a lacerated and infected left elbow, the latest in a series of mishaps he's endured this season. 

"I've had some bad luck," Laraque said. "I want to get back and I look forward to that. It's going to take me a while to get back to the level I've been at because I've been out for so long. 

"My best part of the year is always the second half of the season, so I look forward to it. With how it's been, it's almost like a new season for me." 

Laraque, 26, who missed just eight games in his previous three seasons, has already missed 10 games. A sprained left wrist, suffered against the New York Islanders Nov. 8, kept him out of the lineup for five games. 

Involved in a serious car wreck Nov. 28 that didn't keep him out of action but certainly shook him up, Laraque fell into the end boards against the Avs Nov. 30 and suffered a 15-stitch cut to the elbow. He has missed games against Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Florida, Atlanta and Carolina since then. 

"Everybody says bad luck comes in threes," he said. "I've had my three strikes and I hope that's the end of it. I'm going to build from that and try to contribute as much as I can." 

When the Oilers departed for a three-game road swing to Florida and Georgia last week, Laraque stayed behind to undergo intravenous treatments to battle infection. The treatments required him to report to hospital every eight hours. Not fun. 

His recovery has been eased somewhat by the team's success without him. The Oilers won four of the five games Laraque just sat out. They went 3-2-0-0 during the first five-game stretch he missed with the sprained wrist. 

"It's been tough, but not that tough because we've been winning," Laraque said. "When you're not winning, you want to be out there trying to change things up, but things have been going very well for us. It's nice to see the guys playing so well." 

Laraque has scored 1-1-2 and has 32 penalty minutes in the 19 games he's played. He'll add some needed size up front with back-to-back games against Colorado and Vancouver. 

"Georges is going to be a game-time decision, but everything looks like it's going to be a go," coach Craig MacTavish said yesterday morning. "We look at the opponent. We make a decision as to who we feel is going to be best suited to playing against the opponent. 

"Obviously, it's going to be a very rough and physical couple of games here on the weekend, so we want some guys who are going to be able to handle the rough going." 

Tuesday, December 17, 2002
By ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI, EDMONTON SUN

MINNESOTA -- When young fans are turning away in horror, you know you've got a hockey face. 

Heck, even Georges Laraque is grossed out by what he sees in the mirror these days. 

The tough guy's lip and nose are a swollen mess after a run-in with Mattias Ohlund's skate blade on Saturday. He might as well have a couple of bolts sticking out of his neck. 

He needed six stitches in the lip and 10 on the inside of his nose to repair the long, deep gash. This, after taking 10 needles inside his nostril to freeze the tender area so a doctor could go to work. 

It only hurts when he laughs. Or breathes. 

"One nostril is shut because of the stitches, so it's kind of hard,'' he said after practice yesterday in Minnesota. "Plus with my asthma ... but I still have the other nostril and my mouth to breathe with.'' 

He says the needles to freeze the nerve-filled area in his nose were the most painful thing he's ever felt. 

"The 10 pokes inside your nose and stuff, the pain, I was screaming. It was unbelievable.'' 

Laraque went to hit the Canucks' defenceman and didn't know until watching it on film later why he wound up gushing blood. 

"When he landed on his back his skates went up in the air. I bent over a bit and got it right in my face.'' 

It's been that kind of a season for Laraque. Bad things are supposed to happen in threes, but he's already at four and counting. 

He missed five games with a jammed wrist, then he was involved in a highly-publicized traffic accident, then he slammed into the boards for 16 stitches that are still in his elbow. Now this. 

"My most frustrating year ever. Something is happening every week. I'm just waiting for the next thing to happen.'' 

He'll play tonight, but the area is very swollen and tender. The slightest face wash or elbow could tear the whole thing open again. 

"You wouldn't want to be the guy who elbowed him,'' said head coach Craig MacTavish. 

Laraque isn't worried about re-injury. He's got nature's built-in defence: "For one thing, they're not going to want to look at me,'' he said. "They'll look at me and turn away. Yesterday I went to the store, a kid recognized me and wanted my autograph. I looked over and he (recoiled) and ran away.'' 

USE THE FOURTH, LUKE: At least Laraque's line is going well. The trio of he, Jiri Dopita and Jason Chimera have scored three goals in the last two games, including Laraque's tying goal in the third period against Colorado and Chimera's OT winner in the same game. 

"I've been happy with that line, it's played really well for us,'' said MacTavish. "Chimmer has added a lot to the speed and quickness factor; how quickly he gets to the forecheck for those guys. Once you get the puck turned over, both Jiri and Georges are two of the toughest guys in the game to knock off the puck. 

"They've really played well, Jiri and Georges together and I think Chimmer now adds a dimension of a guy who really gets in there on the forecheck and takes the body hard, a lot of energy.'' 

Chimera knows the ins and outs of Dopita's game pretty well, they both spent three weeks together with the Black Aces, waiting for their chance to get back in the lineup. 

"I was out for three weeks, he was out the same,'' said the 23-year-old Edmonton native. "I think you build a little bit of chemistry in practice because you play together every day.'' 

It seems a good fit - the speedy Chimera races in and forces the turnover, then the second wave of Laraque and Dopita arrive to battle down low. 

"When you're a fourth-line guy like me you have to go out there every shift and try and prove what you can do,'' said Chimera. "You never know when you're going to get another shift, so you have to go out there as hard as you can and play each one like it's your last.'' 

Get close enough for any of Laraque's misfortune to rub off and you never know. 

"That's the only good thing (that's been happening lately),'' Laraque said of the fourth-line trio. "Hopefully I don't give them any bad luck.'' 

Tuesday, December 31, 2002
By Robin Brownlee, The Edmonton SUN
(exerpt from his game write-up)

Word before the game was Phoenix toughie Darcy Hordichuk wanted to come calling on Georges Laraque. File this one in the be-careful-what-you-wish-for file. When the leather dropped 4:16 in to the game, Laraque poked Hordichuk in the eye trying to pull off his helmet, swelling his right lamp shut. When they emerged from the sin bin after serving two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct and the gloves came off again, Laraque fed the kid from Kamsack, Sask. enough left hands to take care of the rest of his face. No contest.

By JOANNE IRELAND
The Edmonton Journal

Getting Georges Laraque out of the corner is no easy task.

Getting him to go to the net hasn't been so easy either.

But it all finally fell into place Monday night at Skyreach Centre, in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a game the Oilers would go on to win 8-5. Laraque scored twice, with his second of the night standing as the game winner.

"The coaches have told me year after year to take the puck to the net," Laraque said. "Finally I got it into my head and it worked out. I really saw how beneficial it can be."

His was just one of many notable performances on a night when the Oilers pumped in eight goals, their highest offensive output since Oct. 28, 1998. 

Todd Marchant was an offensive spark, scoring twice and assisting on Ryan Smyth's power-play goal. 

Smyth was at his grittiest, effective best, registering a goal and three assists. 

And Tommy Salo was uncharacteristically unsteady. 

He surrendered five goals on just thirteen shots, yet made two key saves against a team that wouldn't quit. 

Salo stopped Andrew Cassels on a second-period breakaway that would have made it 4-4 and he denied Ray Whitney late in the game to preserve the Oilers' two-goal lead.

"Tommy struggled but he made a huge save on Whitney to save the game," Columbus coach Doug MacLean said.

One of the first things MacLean set out to do after he relieved Dave King and appointed himself interim head coach was to instill more confidence in his players. 

In return, they won three straight road games en route to Edmonton -- an accomplishment never before equalled in the club's short history. 

But the buzz didn't last long enough to get the Blue Jackets a win against the Oilers, a team that had made some headway on a three-game road swing through California, then fell woefully short in a home game against Ottawa last Saturday.

"It was not the kind of game we wanted to get into," said Columbus's Geoff Sanderson, "then we just couldn't close the gap."

"We made some mistakes defensively that we need to close up," said Marchant. 

"We have to get back to our game defensively but you don't want to corral the offence when it's going like that." 

Marchant has 11 points in his last seven games.

The game was 1:44 old when Rick Nash scored on his own rebound for a 1-0 Jackets' lead. Mike Sillinger, Whitney, Hannes Hyvonen and David Vyborny also chipped in goals.

The Oilers directed 33 shots at Marc Denis and got seven goals by him. Mike York and Anson Carter added to the tally. Marty Reasoner added an empty netter.

Then there was Laraque, who used his size to his advantage.

"I didn't play my best hockey in the first half," Laraque said, "and every game is real important now. And you want to show the coach and management that you belong on a regular line.

"I want to build off these last two games."

His game had to get better. Since returning from an infected elbow, Laraque has not been a factor physically or offensively, and his ice time dropped. He got the message. Two games ago against Ottawa, he was strong along the boards and protective of the puck. This time he was rewarded.

He had scored only three goals in the previous 34 games.

"He's played two good games, now he has to continue that focus," said coach Craig MacTavish. "We've all seen what a benefit, what a contributor he can be to our club when he's ... intense, and that should be his focus going into the next game."

jireland@thejournal.southam.ca

THE GAMERS

* Todd Marchant. Two goals and two helpers. He's got 33 points, only one off what he had all of last year.

** Ryan Smyth. Shook off a sore foot to tie his career high in points with four.

*** Georges Laraque. Two goals, six shots, a fight. Best game he's played all year.

Canadian Press  EDMONTON, Alta.

It was four seasons ago that Edmonton last scored eight goals in a game, but Columbus coach Doug MacLean's thoughts drifted further back.

"I thought Gretzky was coming over the boards. And Kurri. I was looking for them," MacLean quipped after the Oilers outlasted the Blue Jackets in an 8-5 shootout Monday night.

Georges Laraque and Todd Marchant each scored twice and Ryan Smyth had a goal and three assists to lead the Edmonton attack.

"You get on a roll and everybody starts riding the wave," said Smyth, who tied his career high with four points and has five goals and seven assists in his last six games.

"It was a big wave tonight," he continued. "Everybody was contributing and eight goals were nice to see."

Edmonton's last eight-goal outburst was an 8-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Oct. 28, 1998.

Marchant, who also had a pair of assists, tied his career high for points in a game as well.

Mike York, Anson Carter and Marty Reasoner, into an empty net, also scored for the Oilers (21-14-5-5), who are 4-1-1-0 in their last six.

"I don't think any coaches enjoy these types of games," said Oilers coach Craig MacTavish. "In hindsight, it's positive because a lot guys got launched offensively."

Rick Nash, Mike Sillinger, Ray Whitney, Hannes Hyvonen and David Vyborny scored for the Blue Jackets (17-21-4-2).

Columbus, 5-2-1-0 in its last eight, had won a club-record three in a row on the road after coach Dave King was replaced behind the bench by president and general manager MacLean on Jan. 7.

"There were some positives tonight," said Columbus defenceman Luke Richardson. "We kept trying to come back. But we really dug ourselves a hole tonight. The Oilers, were really hungry, and they showed it."

Laraque scored both of his goals in a topsy-turvy second period in which the Oilers scored four of seven goals to take a 6-4 lead.

The Oilers enforcer skated out from behind the Columbus net, kicked the puck to his stick, circled the crowd in front of goalie Marc Denis and picked the top right corner with a wrist shot to put the Oilers ahead 4-2 at 3:17.

Exactly 10 minutes later, after fighting off checkers behind the net for about 20 seconds, Laraque worked his way out front and backhanded in his own rebound.

"It's nice, doing a lot of work in the corners finally paid off," said Laraque, whose fifth goal of the season gave Edmonton a 6-3 lead. "That second goal, I'd have to say it was the hardest-working goal I've ever got. I was exhausted."

Said MacLean: "Laraque was unbelievable. If I get a chance to do a coaching clinic this summer, I'll use him in the cycling segment."

January 15, 2002
By ROBIN BROWNLEE -- Edmonton Sun

 When he puts his mind to it, there's absolutely no stopping him. And no, we're not talking about the driving habits of Edmonton Oilers tough guy Georges Laraque. 

 After a mediocre first half to this season, one in which Laraque garnered more headlines for being involved in a serious car wreck after missing a stop sign than for his contributions on the ice, the hulking right-winger has put together his finest efforts of this campaign in back-to-back games. 

 Laraque, 26, busted out with his most dominant 60 minutes of hockey in five seasons as an Oiler with two goals in an 8-5 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday on the heels of an inspired outing in a 2-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators Saturday. 

 Better late than never. 

 "The second half, it's very important," said Laraque, who scored his fifth and six goals against the Jackets. "I didn't play my best hockey in the first half of the season. Playoffs are coming. There's 37 games left and it's important to bring your best hockey. Every game is very important right now." 

 LITTLE HAD GONE RIGHT 

 Laraque has had little go right this season. He was lucky beyond words to escape the Nov. 28 wreck in West Edmonton with only aches and pains. That incident came after Laraque, who arrived at training camp in September in the best shape of his career at a fit 245 pounds, missed five games with a bad wrist. 

 Back in the lineup after his scare on the road, Laraque fell into the end boards against Colorado Nov. 30 and missed five games with a 15-stitch gash to his left elbow that became infected. 

 When an unproductive and sometimes-listless stretch of games resulted in his ice time being cut drastically by Craig MacTavish during a three-game road trip to San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles, Laraque decided enough was enough. 

 "I'm going to forget about the first half. I had a couple of injuries and it didn't go what well," Laraque said. "I'm going to build on these last two games and keep going." 

 Playing with Marty Reasoner and Shawn Horcoff, Laraque let his actions speak Monday. Two goals, including the game-winner, as he swatted aside Tyler Wright on the end boards, then banged his own rebound behind Marc Denis. Six shots on a goal. A scrap with Jody Shelley, which produced his 600th penalty minute as an Oiler. A plus-two on the night. Unstoppable. 

 "Laraque was unbelievable," Columbus coach Doug MacLean said of the 6-3 goal that stood up as the winner. "If I get a chance to do a coaching clinic, I'll use him in a cycling segment." 

 When Laraque imposes his will and initiates things, when he refuses to let opposing tough guys make him a non-factor by declining fisticuffs and when he decides he's going to take the puck to the net and dares opponents to stop him, he's a different player. 

 REWARDED WITH ICE TIME 

 MacTavish recognized that early against the Sens and rewarded him with 16:45 in ice time. Laraque, who'd been averaging just under nine minutes of playing time, got 11:53 against the Jackets. The challenge for Laraque now is to maintain that intensity, something he hasn't done consistently enough in seasons past. 

 "Really, I've got to keep going if I want to get my ice time," said Laraque. "I have to play hard and deserve it. That was a good enough message for me to finally get back on a good streak." 

By ROBIN BROWNLEE, EDMONTON SUN

A bad wrist. A bad car wreck. An infected elbow. Now, a bad knee - possibly damaged cartilage. 

Anything that can go wrong has gone wrong for Edmonton Oilers tough guy Georges Laraque, who sat out last night's 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators after injuring his right knee stretching in practice Friday. 

It was bad news all around yesterday for the Oilers - already playing without injured Mike Comrie and Janne Niinimaa - as they also hit the ice against the Predators without leading scorer Ryan Smyth, out day-to-day with a sprained right shoulder. 

Bad news, indeed. 

"It's a joke," scowled a frustrated Laraque, who tested the knee briefly yesterday morning, but was in obvious pain. 

"I was stretching and something kind of popped. 

"When I started skating, I couldn't put any weight on it, so I came off and got treatment. I tried again (yesterday), but I couldn't put any weight on my leg." 

Laraque, 26, who'd already missed 10 games with a wrist injury and a lacerated left elbow that needed 15 stitches and later became infected, has had arthroscopic surgery twice previously to have damaged meniscus (cartilage) in the knee repaired. 

"It just flared up again," said athletic therapist Ken Lowe. "He's got some swelling in there. He's got some legitimate complaints. It becomes a pain issue." 

Laraque met with chief of medical staff Dr. David Reid after the game last night and will have an MRI tomorrow to determine the exact extent of the damage. 

"No luck," said Laraque, who missed seven games in December of 1997 after tearing cartilage in the knee. "When it's going good, something bad happens." 

Smyth, who leads the Oilers with 43 points, sprained his shoulder when he hit defenceman Mattias Norstrom in the second period of Thursday's 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings, but finished the game and scored the insurance goal. 

"There's a little discomfort at times, so we're just going to take a rest on it here for a bit and go day-by-day," Smyth said. " It's a huge disappointment, obviously. 

"We're winning, things are going good. You never want to have injuries play a factor in the games. We've some guys here playing well and, hopefully, that can continue ... I hate missing games." 

Smyth will be reassessed before it's determined if he can play in Calgary tomorrow night, although that seems doubtful.

By ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI, EDMONTON SUN, April 14, 2003

You could sense it the minute you walked into the building last night - Skyreach Centre was a powderkeg just begging for a chance to explode. 

But the Dallas Stars played the part of wet blankets to absolute perfection, stomping out any sign of smoke before it could ignite by shutting out the Oilers and keeping their rabid fans at bay for the better part of 43 minutes. 

Then the Oilers took a flamethrower to the place in the third period. 

Georges Laraque at 3:23. BOOM! 

Fernando Pisani at 4:40. BOOM! 

Radek Dvorak at 5:38. BOOM! 

In a series with plenty of third-period fireworks already, the Oilers lit up the Stars with some deafening cluster bombs in the final frame yesterday - lighting up the stunned visitors for three goals in 3:05 of a 3-2 victory. 

"It doesn't matter about budget, nothing matters right now except hard Oilers hockey,'' said Laraque, adding there's no good reason Edmonton can't take a 3-1 series lead tomorrow. "We know that we can beat anybody in our building. It was so exciting to come home and show everybody that we could play those guys.'' 

That they did. 

"We know we beat them now,'' said Dvorak, who scored the winner on a highlight reel beauty. "If we play like we did tonight we have a great chance to go to the second round. We have to keep forechecking, keep hitting guys and keep working hard, that's all it is.'' 

GRITTY COMEBACK 

The same team that looked like it took a wrong turn on the way to the AHL in Game 2 responded with a gritty, stirring performance, coming back twice in the third period. 

"It's always crazy in here come playoff time, but they outdid themselves tonight,'' said head coach Craig MacTavish. "I guess that was a little bit of a by-product of not having any playoffs in here last year. The fans have been waiting a couple of years to get on the paint and really spur the team on - it was a great boost for the hockey club.'' 

It looked like shades of Game 2, when Cory Cross took a roughing penalty at 8:56 and Jason Arnott scorched them on the power play, but unlike the 6-1 shellacking in Dallas, penalties would be few and far between. 

So would goals. 

Marty Turco, shaky in his NHL playoff debut three games ago, was back to his old brick wall of a self, turning in a handful of big saves to keep it 1-0 after Then Laraque scored, and everything changed. 

"The thing about home-ice advantage is you have to score the first goal to get the crowd into it,'' said the big winger, shuffled to a line with Mike York and Mike Comrie. "The crowd was waiting for that goal to burst and we knew that. 

"We were really trying to get the crowd on our side. They gave us wings after that goal.'' 

For 50 seconds. Then Jere Lehtinen's centering pass to Rob DiMaio hit Scott Ferguson in the back and sneaked past Tommy Salo to restore the one-goal lead. And the place fell quiet again. 

"I thought the key to the win was the way we came back after the break on Lehtinen's goal,'' said MacTavish. "It was a pretty disappointing goal after we came back and tied the hockey game. 

"The team really felt like that was a critical point in the hockey game. If we could battle back from that break and we'd be in pretty good shape.'' 

Sixty-seven seconds later, Pisani put a long, lazy wrister by Turco (did we mention these are his first playoffs), and it was all squared up again. 

PLACE WENT NUTS 

And the place went nuts. 

"Everybody was flying after that,'' said Laraque, whose shot also sifted between Turco's legs. "We knew we were going to get a goal.'' 

They got it 58 seconds later, when Dvorak glided over the Dallas blue-line, danced right through bewildered defenceman Richard Matvichuk and put a wrister inside the far post to bring down what was left of the Skyreach roof. 

"That was a great goal,'' said MacTavish. "Todd hit him in full flight and then Radek did the old outside-inside on Matvichuk.'' 

A late penalty kill ended any hopes for Dallas. 

"Huge character that we showed in coming back after a big-time loss like Game 2,'' said Steve Staios. "If there are any non-believers, hopefully they believe us now.''

By TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN, April 14, 2003

Georges Laraque said it was Fernando Pisani's goal. 

Fernando said it was Big Georges's. 

Both agreed on one thing. The goals were big. But almost as big this night was the assist from 16,839. 

The Edmonton fans provided the usual spine-tingling scene, arguably breaking the sound barrier for any building in Stanley Cup playoff history other than old Chicago Stadium before the game began. 

But they eventually needed something to cheer about and the Oilers gave it to them. 

"It was Georges's unbelievable goal,'' said Pisani. 

"That turned the game around for us. The crowd was unbelievable. Even in warm-up it was going nuts. When Georges scored, we were able to ride the crowd from there,'' said the son of local house-builder Cosmo Pisani. 

NO, YOU. NO, YOU 

No, no said Georges. It was Fernando. 

"When he scored ... That goal Fernando scored was huge. 

"We were so excited to get back to Edmonton to feel that crowd and it definitely helped. When Fernando scored it was like an extra player. It was a huge push. Then it really got us going. When Fernando got that goal and the crowd got like that ... we knew after that.'' 

The Stars hadn't accomplished the impossible and managed to take the Skyreach Centre crowd out of the game, but it looked like it could become a possibility when the crowd favourite, big Georges, a guy who had failed to get a shot off on a breakaway earlier in the game, came out from behind the net to tie the game Jere Lehtinen and Pisani traded goals in the next two minutes, Pisani's a shabby five-hole goal on Turco raising the volume on the "Turrrrrrrco, Turrrrrrrco, Turrrrrrrco'' chant to roughly airline take-off levels. 

DROVAK NETS THE WINNAH 

Then Radek Dvorak became the real hero making it three on Turco in a span of three minutes and five seconds, splitting the defence and pulling Kevin Lowe out of his chair in the press box instead of throwing it. 

Three goals on four shots. A come-from-behind 3-2 win in Game 3 against a team which had a 37-1-4 record this year when leading after two. 

Lowe could have had a moment himself this night. He was the GM with the giant-sized gonads to make the trade to get Dvorak for Anson Carter. And it was he who did his level best to take the focus off his team after the 6-1 loss in Game 2 in Dallas. 

But this was a night for his team to enjoy and for them to share with the fans who helped make it happen. 

Turco, as was the case in Game 1, ended up a semi-goat. And Tommy Salo, as was also the case in Game 1, ended up as one of the Oiler heroes. 

"We scored three big goals,'' said Salo. 

"I was happy to keep it so we were never more than a goal behind.'' 

Salo said he used the crowd for all it was worth and isn't sure that the singing of Turco's name got to the Stars' stopper. 

"Usually when they sing your name like that it gets you going. Maybe it made him feel the pressure.'' 

Or maybe not. 

Turco said he loved the experience other than the three goals in four minutes part. 

"What a great atmosphere. It was a lot of fun playing out there. That's what I dreamed about as a kid, playing in that atmosphere.'' 

Usually you want to scoff at teams which talk about a crowd being their seventh man. But to a man ... 

"Every time we scored a goal, the more and more momentum built with us with that crowd,'' said Todd Marchant of team and fans working in concert. 

"I'd heard so much about Edmonton fans in the playoffs but they were unreal,'' said Steve Staios. "I'd heard about it and seen it on TV. But to experience it "For them to still be there for us in the third period, it was incredible. I can't wait for the next game.''

By ROBIN BROWNLEE, EDMONTON SUN - April 15, 2003

 "I'll be the best player in the series. Watch me." 

Georges Laraque has never been shy about calling his shots, whether he's doing his Scotty Pippen impression with a rolled-up ball of tape in the Edmonton Oilers dressing room, mentally circling the name of a tough guy in the opposing lineup or boldly predicting it's his night to score a goal. 

The hulking enforcer does it so often, frankly, you find yourself nodding and smiling and trying not to laugh out loud. If Laraque really was clairvoyant, he'd be a 30-goal man every season, and he wouldn't always be handing over his meal money to teammates when the tape ball rims out of the trash can. 

But, framed by a season in which little has gone right for him, one in which he's struggled on and off the ice, Laraque is walking the walk after talking the talk in the Oilers' Western Conference quarter-final against the Dallas Stars. 

You said a mouthful, big boy. 

"It means everything to me right now," said Laraque, asked about his post-season resurgence. "I was the happiest guy on the team to be playing Dallas. My best games are always against them." 

Laraque has been at the forefront of a gritty, opportunistic bunch who've built a 2-1 series lead over the Stars going into Game 4 tonight. 

SLAPPED ASIDE ARNOTT 

Laraque, 26, has turned the page on a season of misfortune that started with a frightening car wreck and went downhill from there. And he might have turned this series around when he slapped aside Richard Matvichuk and Jason Arnott before coaxing a puck past Marty Turco to ignite a three-goal outburst in a rousing 3-2 win Sunday. 

"The way it went for me this season, I had a lot of bad luck," said Laraque, who had a career-low 13 points in an inconsistent season punctuated by injuries. 

"I didn't contribute to the team the way I wanted. I really looked at the playoffs to change my season around. If you have a good playoff, everybody forgets about the regular season." 

While Laraque struggled mightily for prolonged stretches, coach Craig MacTavish stuck with him. 

"He's been good for a month now," MacTavish said. "At least since I've been here, he has never shown the level of consistency he's bringing night in and night out now. 

"A lot of it has to do with mental discipline; his ability to focus on fundamental things that he has to do to be successful." 

Whatever buttons MacTavish pushed, Laraque has responded with the best hockey of his career after some of his worst. 

"You always try to push buttons with players, especially guys like Georges," MacTavish said. "He can't ever lose sight of the fact of what a valuable asset he is. You try to prompt him, get him to the point in his career where experience leads to consistency. 

"It's a lot of factors. His teammates helping him, the leaders in here helping him and Georges's willingness, most importantly, to embrace that and carry it out." 

When Laraque reported to training camp at 245 pounds and in the best shape of his career, he talked about being a 20-20-20 man - 20 goals, 20 assists and 20 fights, in case there was any doubt about who wears the NHL's heavyweight strap. 

Then, it all went wrong. He sat out five games in November with a bad wrist. Back for only five games, Laraque was involved in a car wreck Nov. 28. Shaken and bruised, he returned against Colorado two days later, but split his elbow open for 15 stitches and missed five games. In January, he had knee surgery and missed six more games. His confidence, often infinite, waned. 

LOCOMOTION 

"Every time I got to a point I was feeling good, feeling 100 per cent, something bad would happen," Laraque said. "I would get frustrated about my luck. I would think, 'Now what else is going to happen?' It felt like my whole season was screwed up." 

It is, then, satisfying beyond words for Laraque to be contributing now. His goal Sunday was Laraque at his best, a clear-the-track locomotive assault on the net. He's been a dominating physical force and a relentless presence. 

"I finished the season by best way I could, but, mentally, I was so disappointed," he said. "I never worked so hard. I was a factor in some games, but a lot of times I was just crap. 

"Playing Dallas, I could really show what I can do when I put my mind to it. I want to show up when it counts, when it really means the most. This is a chance to redeem myself." 

Laraque's smile is back, so is the goofy Pippen pucker. His glass-rattling goal celebration in the din of Skyreach Centre has been a long time coming. 

"When you score a goal every 20 games, you have to celebrate it a different way," Laraque said. "I celebrate it like it's my last. With six goals this year, I was so happy." 

One last thing, Georges. About Game 4 tonight ... 

"If I say something now, the other team will put it on the wall," smiled Laraque. "All I can say is I'm going to play the hardest I have ever played because I know how much this game means to our team and our fans. 

"I will give everything I have."

By JOANNE IRELAND, Edmonton Journal
 
With just five regular-season games to draw on, is it too much to ask a rookie to step into the lineup and ignite a defective power play?

Is it too risky not to?

"I don't know that there's anywhere to go but up," said Edmonton Oilers coach Craig MacTavish. "We have to get some goals from our power play."

So it was that on Good Friday, on the morning after the Oilers were overpowered by the Dallas Stars to the tune of 5-2 on the scoreboard and 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, that rookie defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron was working on the point on a power play that has been a woeful 1-for-20 in this Western Conference quarter-final series.

Bergeron would replace Scott Ferguson on the blueline if the Oilers elect to follow through on that plan tonight.

The Oilers will also position Georges Laraque in front of the Dallas net.

"With my size, I should be able to fight for position in front of (Stars goaltender Marty) Turco," said Laraque. 

"I'm not going to go on the point or get myself a one-timer on the power play, but I can play in front of the goalie and just try and screen the puck," Laraque said.

"We have to go in there and win some puck battles and once we do that, then we can spread them out a little bit and start to pick them apart," MacTavish said. "Georges is going to be out there because he's had a good playoff series and because he's a big body and he can win battles."

Special teams have been the Oilers undoing. This is why, even before the series began, there was so much talk about the importance of playing disciplined, about staying out of the penalty box, about playing five on five rather than short-handed because of the Stars' ability to strike with a power play that was ranked fifth in the NHL at the end of the regular season.

Yet, through the past five playoff games, the Stars have had 38 power-play opportunities. Seven of their 17 goals have come with the man advantage.

"In the playoffs the power play is a big part," said Sergei Zubov, Dallas's power-play specialist. "We just keep taking advantage when they (get) bad penalties."

The first problem, of course, has been the Oilers' tendency to take penalties. But early in Game 5, the Oilers had almost killed off a four-minute double minor handed out to winger Ethan Moreau for high sticking when Zubov corralled a clearing pass and that, in turn, became a 1-0 lead.

MacTavish said Friday that penalty killing is certainly one more area where the team has to tighten up -- specifically when it comes to clearing the puck. Dallas executes too well to give them second- and third-shot opportunities."

"A lot of times when an opponent feels like they should get it out and they don't, they end up in the net," Dallas coach Dave Tippett said.

- ON THE BENCH -- Dallas centre Jason Arnott, who only played nine minutes in Game 5, will be a game-time decision tonight. He is injured, but the Stars are not saying where. 

"Where would you like it to be?" said Tippett. 

If Arnott does not play, they may move Stu Barnes into the middle. ... Pierre Turgeon, coming off ankle surgery, has been skating but didn't make the trip here. He may be ready for Game 7 if there is one. ... Zubov's four post-season goals are only one off his playoff best , with the 1994 Stanley Cup-winning New York Rangers. "He's probably been our best player the past three games," said centre Mike Modano. ... Brenden Morrow does not have a goal in the series, but he's been a rambunctious pest around the Edmonton net.

"There's a lot more to (being effective than) scoring goals. He's the epitome of that," said Tippett, who's looking forward to seeing the effervescent Skyreach Centre again. 

"The building's electric. It's fun to be in that kind of situation, with that atmosphere, with lots on the line," he said.