It takes guts to challenge a 242-pound southpaw who most of last year cut a swath through the NHL heavyweight division. 

So Georges Laraque tipped his hat yesterday to a game Jason Simon. 

"I don't know any other guys in camp who would do something like that,'' said Laraque, who accepted an invitation from the six-foot-one, 220-pound Simon yesterday in training camp. 

Simon, who picked up 419 penalty minutes in 60 West Coast Hockey League games last year, wanted to get it on during the skating drills, but Laraque told him to wait. 

"He came up to me during the drills and asked me if I wanted to go,'' said Laraque. "I said wait until the (scrimmage), it'll look stupid if we do it now. He said, 'No, I want to go now.' " 

The two had to be separated, but Laraque understood where the challenger was coming from. 

"It's pretty obvious that a guy like that (applying for the tough-guy job) is going to go after me. And I know from being in that position that he wants to get it out of the way right away.'' 

So they did. They lined up across from each other for the opening faceoff of the Blue-versus-Copper scrimmage game and squared off before the puck was even dropped. 

Laraque won in convincing fashion, but said it was a lot tougher than it looked. 

"He's one of the strongest guys I've ever fought, very strong arms,'' said Laraque, who rained left hands on Simon. 

"He didn't want the refs to break it up. He has a lot of stamina and he knows how to fight. He never let me get in a really good position. I was drilling him, but I could see he was waiting for an opportunity to clock me good, so I had to be careful. 

"I respect guys like that.''

When Dave Semenko was ruling the NHL with an iron fist all those years ago, it got to a point where he didn't even have to throw a punch to get his point across. 

His resume had so many broken challengers on it that the league's troublemakers simply left him alone, avoided eye contact and grudgingly obeyed Sammy's Law: hands off the stars. 

And that meant Gretzky, Kurri, Anderson and Coffey were free to do their thing. 

That's what Georges Laraque is shooting for. He wants to be a nuclear deterrent - a force so devastating and unforgiving that opponents wouldn't even dream of crossing the six-foot-three, 242-pound southpaw's line in the sand 

"If you don't want to fight me, fine, just make sure you respect my team,'' said Laraque, who wears Semenko's No. 27 as a tribute to the former undisputed heavyweight champ. "Then I won't have to come after you. 

"Otherwise I have a job to do. I want to make sure that all the players on this team stay healthy and that nothing outrageous is going to happen to them. I want everybody to know that if you do something stupid, I'll do something about it.'' 

It might have been open season on Edmonton's skilled players when Louie DeBrusk masqueraded as a policeman from 1991 to 1997, but those days are over. 

Word of Georges Laraque is getting out in a hurry. 

"It's almost like guys in the league don't want to fight him any more,'' said teammate Rem Murray. 

"And he's only been in the league a year and a half.'' 

Not even. Laraque has a grand total of 50 NHL games under his belt (39 last year and 11 the year before that). 

But he's been around long enough to make the heavyweight division stand up and take notice. He made the highlight reels by destroying Rob Ray, manhandling Tony Twist, cutting up Dave Morisette and working over Stu Grimson. Now his reputation precedes him to every NHL rink. 

"He's already established how tough he is,'' said Weight. "He's probably one of the most feared guys in the league. And he's done that in a very short time. By the end of this year he'll be among the top two or three (heavyweights in the league), if not No. 1. I don't want to put too much pressure on him, but he's a really intimidating factor out there.'' 

And it's no coincidence that his smaller teammates have been breathing a lot easier since the 22-year-old Montreal native arrived on the scene. 

"One hundred per cent,'' said Weight, who in past seasons took more abuse than should have ever been permitted. 

Now it's the exact opposite. Opponents can't even look at the Oiler captain funny without Laraque raining vengeance on them. 

"This is the first time in my life that I've actually had to rein a guy in,'' said Weight, adding he's had to tell Laraque that it isn't necessary to pummel everybody who takes 
the body. 

"I pride myself in being able to take a hit. So Georges is learning the difference between giving a guy a nudge or a talking to or dropping the gloves.'' 

Laraque has always been incredibly tough, but it wasn't until he shored up the rest of his game - namely skating and defence - that he stuck with the Oilers. 

"He had to develop certain aspects of his game so he could play up here and he's done that very well,'' said Murray. "He's unbelievable on the forecheck and does a great job down low in the other team's zone. Week to week he gets better in his own zone. 

"He's becoming a really positive part of our team.'' 

Laraque isn't satisfied with just being a tough guy. And neither are the Oilers. They want him to be an everyday player who does just as much damage with his punishing forechecks as with his fists. 

"Kevin Lowe, Craig MacTavish and Ted Green are really working on teaching him how to play good defence, how to make the simple plays and how to become a good player,'' said Weight. "And he's getting there fast.'' 

If he keeps developing the way he has, it could be scary. 

"When you have one of the toughest guys in the league who can play fourth line, 10 to 15 minutes a game, and not hurt you defensively, you have an invaluable piece,'' said Weight. 

"And that's what Georges is quickly turning into.''

CHICAGO -- It wasn't much of a battle on the ice, but the war of words has definitely escalated off it.

Donald Brashear had a message for the young man who has become the king of delivering his own personal agendas in the media regarding fighting.

"That's the kind of guy that doesn't have much experience when all they think about is fighting," said Brashear when asked his opinion of George Laraque's brashness.

"I've got beyond that point where I just get on the ice and fight because I can play hockey. He's just a new guy and he can barely play the game," spat Brashear. "That's his job so he's trying to find ways to get into a fight."

Laraque took the assault on his hockey abilities to heart here yesterday, firing a verbal volley back at the Vancouver Canucks tough guy, who he previously hailed as the NHL heavyweight champ.

It's more like chump now.

"OK, I play seven minutes a game and Donald plays 20. I've got four points, you've got five points. I'm plus-one, you're minus-five, so figure it out Wayne," he said in a stern message to Brashear, complete with the wisecrack about being Gretzky.

As far as previous respect goes, that's out the window.

"I don't respect him anymore for judging me, and the other thing now is I respect more a guy like Bob Probert who never in his whole career backed out on anybody, even at the end," said Laraque, who faces Probert and the Chicago Blackhawks here tonight.

"Everybody wanted (to fight Probert) and still do. Donald, in his prime, is starting to refuse everybody."

Brashear failed to accept Laraque's challenge in Vancouver Thursday and their tussle Saturday was likely best described by the way the officials handled the matchup, assessing two-minute minors for the hugging session.

"There are different ways of doing it," said Brashear of challenges. "You've got to make it happen on the ice. He's a little inexperienced, but he will learn that as he goes.

"We've already fought three or four times anyways, so I've got nothing to prove. Plus, sometimes it's a waste of time. I'll do it when the need is there, I don't do it just for fun anymore or to make a name for myself.

"I've got a name already. That's his job now. I can control my destiny if I want to fight him or not."

Brashear, who played 18:52 Saturday (but was averaging 12:18 of ice time a game), finished the night minus-one. Laraque played 7:55 and finished even.

"He doesn't play the game all that much, he doesn't get out on the ice that much," said Brashear. "Right now I'm a leader on this team.

"I get out there and sometimes kill penalties. I have other jobs to do, too."

Edmonton Oilers coach Kevin Lowe stuck up for his young prospect.

"Georges has come a long way, but we have some players that have a chance to play a little more right now. I don't know if Brashear is going to get a chance to play all that much when they get all their (injured) players back," shot Lowe, standing up up for his sophomore.

Laraque himself is livid that Brashear would make such an unfounded comment.

"I'm so surprised, I can't believe it. Especially when it's someone who has the same job as you," he said of the veteran Canucks enforcer.

"He judged me by the fact that I'm a tough guy and because I'm not playing a lot. He says I can't play the game. I have no respect for that."

Georges Laraque had a smile on his face and a spring in his step as the Edmonton Oilers skated at a suburban rink Sunday. 

Laraque, 23, likely enjoyed the finest game in his brief Oiler career in Saturday's 5-4 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes and he didn't punch anybody out. 

It was quite a turnaround from 48 hours earlier, when he and the rest of the Oilers were lousy in an 8-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. 

After a heart to heart talk with coach Kevin Lowe Friday afternoon, Laraque dominated physically against the Coyotes, delivering the kind of performance the coach thinks him capable of. 

"He expects a lot from me, but I know now, with what I did in Phoenix, I can add more aspects to my game," Laraque said. 

"I'm just going to keep playing the same way. When I do that, it creates good things for the team." 
Laraque hasn't been a physical presence often enough in Lowe's opinion, and he shared that view, once again, with the six-foot-three, 245-pound winger in the wake of the loss to the Kings. 

The Coyotes paid the price for it. Laraque knocked defenceman Todd Gill senseless with a clean hit and he did likewise to Stan Neckar. Later on, he clubbed Radoslav Suchy to the ice with a gloved punch to the head in a rare display of nastiness. 

"I can do much more on the ice, more for the team," Laraque said. "Not just fighting. 

"You can intimidate more with hitting than just fighting. That's what I'm trying to do now." 

If Laraque had half of the mean streak and intensity Lowe did in his days as a player, opponents would be scared out of their wits. 

All Lowe asks is Laraque play a more abrasive game, that he take advantage of his size and strength 
because nobody can handle him one on one if he decides to crash and bang. Nobody. 

"A lot of those things Georges did last night he's been doing for us this year," Lowe said. 

"The one thing he's changed by the coaches talking to him is he's trying to get the puck to the net. He's doing that better. 

"A lot of things I talked to him about the other day was about his (physical) presence." 

If opponents don't like Laraque leaning on them, so what? What are they going to do, fight him? 

"There's no doubt in my mind he's the heavyweight champ of the league," Lowe said. 

"But he can expand on that part of it." 

The results Saturday were evident. 

Laraque and linemates Jim Dowd and Boyd Devereaux had a fine game and had plenty of room. 

None of the Coyotes wanted anything to do with Laraque. 

"We get lots of room, eh? That's good," smiled Laraque, who is capable of doing likewise every game, if he will only set his mind to it. 

"We dump the puck and the defence, well, they don't want to get hit, so we get the puck. It's unbelievable the room we get, and I don't get crosschecked as much. 

"We're a fourth line, we should be a spark for the team."

Fans of the sweet science may be eagerly anticipating tonight's Oilers/Maple Leafs matchup for one simple reason. 

With Georges Laraque and Tie Domi in the lineup for their respective teams, it's hard not to picture the ultimate showdown for the NHL's heavyweight championship. 

Two of the league's most highly regarded pugilists set to tango - the carved-from-granite Laraque versus the hard-headed slugger Domi. 

MAYBE THEY WILL, MAYBE THEY WON'T

It seems like such an obvious highlight to this game, but Laraque, somewhat surprisingly, is taking a wait-and-see attitude about the impending tilt. If a scrap comes together, fine; if not, then there's other work to be done. 

I fight if there's a need to. I never think when I go into a game if I'm going to fight or not," said Laraque, who has gone long stretches this season without any challenges. 

"It used to get in my head - I used to think like that when I was a rookie - but I don't think like that any more. I was putting too much pressure on myself and I wasn't able to play because I was too worried. Now I don't care if it happens. I just go and see how it all feels. Sometimes you feel like you want to go whether there's a purpose or not." 

There's no doubt Laraque will answer the bell if Domi or anyone else weighs in with an offer. After all, he does relish his role as one of the premier tough guys in the league, but with a year of major-league fisticuffs under his belt, Laraque is bit wiser when it comes to starting an all-out ruckus. 

"A lot of people ask me if I think I'm the heavyweight champ, but it doesn't matter if you're No. 1, 2, 3 or 1,000," he said. "If you do a good job, you're still a factor out there and people will know if they screw around with your team, whether you're the toughest guy or not, you're still going to show up and be there. 

"Even if you get beat up every time, you know that guy is going to keep coming after you, so the result doesn't really matter. It's more important in the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) because there's a belt, but there's no belt in the NHL." 

His teammates know Laraque is the beat cop when trouble's brewing and everyone got a glimpse of what else the chiselled six-foot-three, 240-pounder is capable of doing Tuesday against Dallas. The popular Montreal native was a force with over 10 minutes of ice time banging bodies and cycling the puck all around the Stars net. He was the major reason the Oilers took a 1-0 lead as his imposing wall in front of Ed Belfour allowed Jason Smith's wrist shot to find the corner of the net. 

LOOKING FOR COMPLETE GAME

That's the kind of complete game the coaches are looking for from their enforcer - one where he can strike fear into the opposition with all the elements that his physique presents. 

"I've just tried lately to take the puck to the net instead of hanging on to it too long and not doing anything with it, and it seems to work," said Laraque, who has been alongside Boyd Devereaux and Jim Dowd of late. 

"The coaches told me I should go to the net or give it to the D and then go right back in front to create more chances than just hanging on to the puck. 

"I'm just trying to screen and if there's a rebound, I'm right there to jump on it. Every time the defence shoots, if you can hide the goalie, he'll never be able to see anything. That's the way I'm going to score."

The game is tied, the Detroit Red Wings are the visitors, and there's less than four minutes left in regulation time. 

On a lot of teams, the fourth-line enforcer would already be in the dressing room with his skates off. Feet up, watching the conclusion on TV. Might as well get an early start on that post- game beer for all the ice time he's going to see. 

On Sunday night, with everything on the line at Skyreach Centre, Georges Laraque and his linemates were out there in the waning minutes, pressing for a win. 

And it's not the first time Kevin Lowe has given them a chance to win - or lose - a tight hockey game. And it won't be the last. 

"They deserve it, first and foremost,'' said the Oilers head coach. "They're so dominating right now. Secondly, they've proved to us that they are reliable. And thirdly they just might get it (the winning goal). They've been on the cusp for quite a while. 

"Everybody on the bench, the entire team, recognizes that those guys have been giving us a chance to win on most nights, so they deserve it more than anybody.'' 

It's not a case of charity. If Laraque, Boyd Devereaux and Jim Dowd work hard, they stay in. If they let up, they sit down. 

"On the fourth line you have to make your first couple of shifts good ones or you might not see the ice that much for the rest of the game,'' said Dowd. "The first and second shifts are very important. You create your own opportunities.'' 

So far they have. 

It's the so-called grinders who've been carrying the load during Edmonton's recent homestand. While the top two units have been relatively silent, lines three and four have not. 

MOREAU IS RED-HOT

Ethan Moreau has four goals in four games for the third line and Todd Marchant has a four-game point streak on the go. As for Laraque, Boyd Devereaux and Jim Dowd, they've been playing like a buzz saw. 

The three of them played together in Hamilton briefly, which contributes to the chemistry. 

"We know each other really well,'' said Dowd, who scored the tying goal against Detroit on the powerplay. "Everybody knows what Georges brings. He comes to play every night. And he's taking the puck to the net more and creating things now, not just keeping it along the boards. 

"And Boyd, he has a lot of talent, a lot of speed, good hands. Those guys are going to be good players for years to come if they just keep working hard.'' 

It's an eclectic trio: A 240-pound policeman, a 21-year-old kid who's just breaking in and a 31-year-old veteran with a Stanley Cup ring from New Jersey. But it's working. 

"We all bring little things that make our line special,'' said Laraque. "We have speed, we have hands, we have a physical presence.'' 

And it feels good to know that because they're carrying a healthy share of the load, the coach has faith in them. 

''We know that if we play hard we're going to get more ice time,'' said Laraque. "So every shift we try to do something to force them to put us back on the ice. We try to be a spark to the team on every shift.'' 

They are seldom pretty, but they're always pretty tough to play against. No matter how many stars a team has, they're not going anywhere without a handful of grunts. 

OVER THE EDGE

"A lot of times, especially when you get to playoff time, you need your third and your fourth lines, your grinders, to help you win,'' said Mike Grier. 

"Those are the guys who really seem to put teams over the edge. Dallas got Mike Keane and guys like that and it really helped them out. 

"We've been able to chip in the odd goal lately and that takes a little bit of pressure off of Douggie's line and Rem's line. Douggie's line carried us there for a while, they were scoring all our goals. 

''It's good to take a little bit of pressure off them so they don't think they have to score every night for us to win.'' 

Lowe still needs a lot more production from the first two lines than he's been getting lately (they didn't score a single even-strength goal in Edmonton's three-game "credibility'' series with Dallas, Toronto and Detroit), but he's not getting too worked up about it yet. 

He knows these things go in cycles sometimes. 

"We expect more out of them, there's no doubt about it,'' he said. "But that's the beauty of a team, when the first and second line aren't scoring, the third and fourth line picked it up. 

"It's not a question of we did it and you didn't. It's a statement that we're all in this thing together.''

VANCOUVER (CP) -- Oilers tough guy Georges Laraque thinks Canucks winger Donald Brashear is a sissy.

He still thought that after the two fought three seconds into Tuesday's game. 

"I still don't have any respect for him," Laraque told the Vancouver Province. "He talks like he's Wayne Gretzky. I tried to get him to go again but he said his team misses him when he's off the ice for five minutes. He has the same job as me. He should do it." 

Responded Brashear: "I don't care what he says. Georges is a young guy who doesn't know what's happening in the league yet. I gave him his chance. I'll go with him again, but on my conditions, when I feel like it. I don't get involved in a fight every time a young guy wants to." 

Before the game Laraque, 24, issued challenges to Brashear, 29. 

"We hate each other," Laraque said when asked why he wanted to fight. "People assume that we respect each other because we're black. We don't."

TAMPA BAY -- What was Donald Brashear doing dusting off his hands and gesturing to an imaginary title belt around his waist after his non-event with Georges Laraque? 

The two squared off three seconds into the game and nothing happened. They wrestled, Brashear landed three harmless noogies on Laraque's helmet, and they fell down. 

"It wasn't even a fight. I don't know why we even got five minutes,'' shrugged Laraque, who is pretty much disgusted with the whole Brashear facade. 

"I have no respect for that guy. He's not a tough guy any more. He's had about five fights all year. You can't call yourself the champ when you only fight five times.'' 

Laraque said Brashear preys on aging gunslingers like Bob Probert and Marty McSorley but is too chicken to get it on with anybody in their prime. And when he does, he just hangs on and throws those little rabbit punches. 

"He could hit me a thousand times like that and it wouldn't hurt me.''

Sometimes heavy lifters put down the pianos and get a chance to play them. 

Just ask Georges Laraque. 

When Edmonton Oilers coach Kevin Lowe put Laraque with Doug Weight and Bill Guerin on the No. 1 line for most of the game against the Dallas Stars Monday, it struck the right chord with the players and the fans back home. 

There was the 240-pound Laraque, working the back boards, trying to score. He almost did, showing some nice hands, only to have Eddie Belfour rob him. 

Who knows how long this will last? 

He had a good four-game road trip, scoring a big goal in Tampa to rally the team. 

It was maybe the best stretch of games he has had this season. Nobody's looking at him like he's merely a night watchman, making sure no one messes with the stars. 

Fighting is down 14 per cent this year and 34 per cent over the past two seasons, while rosters have been cut back from 24 to 23 players. 

There's no room for one-dimensional guys anymore. 

Nowadays, there's only one fight every two games, although the Chicago Blackhawks are here tonight and Ryan Vandenbussche is tied with Ian Laperriere for the NHL high with 15, so maybe Laraque will drop his gloves. 

But that's not what has endeared the big guy to the coaching staff. It's his ability to play tough with the puck. 

Lowe doesn't see it as an exact parallel with Dave Semenko and Wayne Gretzky. 

Semenko would have given John Ferguson a go as the toughest, meanest player in NHL history. He had a good shot but didn't get in on defencemen like Laraque does. 

"Georges is really good on the forecheck," Lowe said. 

"He fights through guys and he's capable of controlling the puck and now that he's taking the puck to the front of the net, he's only going to get better. 

"I'm sure he throws the fear of God into people when he goes to hit them, but his raw skills are very good. ... 

"In a game situation you don't notice them quite so much as at practice, but Georges is extremely competitive and he loves to play, like Ryan Smyth. 

"That's a good start, and his speed is deceiving. I know he looks awkward at times, but who wouldn't at 240 or 250 pounds?" 

"Georges and Semenko played the game differently," said Oilers general manager Glen Sather, who first threw Semenko up with Gretzky as a beat cop, but saw him improve. 

"Dave was probably a better skater and had a better shot but Georges is better along the boards than Dave was." 

One night in New York, Semenko had three goals. He had 12 goals and 24 points in only 59 games in '81-82. 

"Georges has to learn how to protect the puck in front of the net and see people better behind it, but he's come a long way," Sather said. 

"Nobody fights anymore, and with smaller rosters, it's getting very difficult to carry guys who can't play.'' 

Once the most feared slugger in the league, Bob Probert made himself into a 29-goal scorer one season. 

Marty McSorley stayed out after Oilers practices and became not only a regular but a guy playing 17 to 20 minutes a game. 

Laraque doesn't know how long he'll be with Weight, but he knows he won't last if all he can do is throw a straight left-hand. 

"The big thing in this game is playing. You don't want to be known as a guy who just gets his three minutes a game because the coach wants to make you happy. You want 10 minutes or so. 

"Fighting? I'll still do it. But when you fight somebody you hurt the guy you're fighting with maybe, but not the other team. 

"There's no intimidation with fighting anymore."

....After laying out $1,500 for tickets for friends and family, most guys would keep their hands out of their pockets. 

But not Georges Laraque. 

"Eight hundred bucks for the guy who gets the winner in overtime," said the Edmonton Oiler enforcer. 

He didn't extend the offer to Trevor Linden or anybody else in the Montreal Canadiens' dressing room, even if he knew the Oilers' OT record as well as anybody: one win, seven losses, 13 ties. 

It's burned into their souls by now. 

So, if you're wondering what got into Jason Smith, now you know.... 

...."I was thinking when it went in that maybe I would just skate off the ice and catch my breath,'' said Smith. 

Instead, he dove into Guerin's arms, then accepted big Georges' reward. It was an expensive night for Laraque, but he didn't care. 

"I had 52 people here, including my mom," said Laraque. 

"The tickets would have cost me $3,000 but the Canadiens gave them to me for half price because they knew it wouldn't be sold out.'' 

Maybe not, but it was one wild game, beginning to end.

Montreal native Georges Laraque had a huge rooting section at Molson Centre Tuesday and he said thanks by tapping a shot past Hackett. 

"That's the most excited I've been since the day I was drafted,'' said Laraque. 

"For a lot of these people, including my mom, this was the first time they have seen me play live.'' 

Laraque scored in Tampa Bay on the last trip, too, and his divorced dad was there for that one. 

"Maybe my mom and dad should get divorced a couple of times and get remarried, and there can be people all over the place.''

Looking at Georges Laraque, it's easy to understand his struggle in choosing hockey over football as a potential career avenue. 

First of all, his powerful 6-foot-3, 250-pound frame seems far more suited to knocking heads on the gridiron than on the ice surface. And second, he is a black athlete from French Canada, a player profile that had never previously been listed in the National Hockey League. 

Add in the difficulty he had skating as a youngster, and you can see why Laraque nearly accepted a U.S. college football scholarship offer after his first season playing major junior hockey in Quebec. 

"That first year was such a struggle for me," the Edmonton Oilers right winger remembered about his debut with the St.-Jean Lynx in 1993. "I didn't have a horrible year -- I mean I had like 20 points (22 actually) -- but I saw the difference between me and the other players in that league was huge." 

So huge, in fact, that Laraque wasn't even considered a longshot prospect. It would have been the perfect time to shrug his shoulders, say he gave it his best shot and move on to a game at which he excelled. 

He thought about it, but since he came from a place that has always been hockey crazy, Laraque decided not to give it up without a fight. After all, Laraque was always a fighter when it came to hockey. 

Truth is, that's one of the reasons people were willing to work with him. From the time he was a little kid playing in local leagues, Laraque tended to stand much taller than the vast majority of his opponents, using his size and his strength to offset his lack of fluidity on his skates. 

"I was always bigger than anybody else," Laraque said. "It made it easier for me." 

It didn't hurt that he could also score goals, and when former Montreal Canadiens coach Claude Ruel spent the summer of 1994 teaching him about power skating, Laraque knew that his future had taken a turn for the better. 

He returned to St. Jean and scored 19 goals and 22 assists in 62 games while racking up an eye-catching total of 259 minutes in penalties. He also became a legitimate prospect, an enforcer type of player who had skills, and was rated to go in the first two rounds of the 1995 Entry Draft by the Central Scouting Bureau. 

Noting that his skating ability was still not his strongest asset, the Bureau described him as "very effective in front of the net to create scoring opportunities for teammates," and a solid bodychecker who can "punish and hurt opponents." 

The Oilers paid attention, and when their turn came up in the second round, they called Laraque's name, making him the 31st pick overall. 

The young man was stunned, but not as much as he would be a few months later when he walked into the Edmonton dressing room during training camp. 

"I couldn't believe that all the guys I used to watch on TV," he said. "I was practicing and playing with them, but I was so intimidated." 

Still, Laraque had a good training camp in September, 1995, but since he was only 19, the Oilers decided to send him back to the juniors for more seasoning. The next year he was assigned to Hamilton of the American Hockey League, and in 1997, he finally got his first taste of the NHL, spending 11 games with Oilers. 

Laraque fully expected to make the big club for the 1998-99 season, and was disappointed when he was cut before Opening Night. 

"The first year when I played 11 games, I knew it was just a learning process to give me a taste of what it's like to be there and how hard I have to work," he said. "The second year when I got cut, I was really mad and I had a very hard time getting over it. 

"But I knew the only way to get back was by playing hard and showing them in the minors that I deserved to be there in Edmonton." 

Whatever Laraque did worked, because he was called up by Edmonton just after Christmas in 1998 and has remained with the team ever since. 

"I had to improve a lot to play with them because they didn't want a guy who could just fight," he said. "They've had tough guys before, but they wouldn't stay because they couldn't play and skate with the lines the team has. You have to be able to do that to be on this team." 

Laraque does that, though he is not ready to redefine himself as pacifist. He is considered one of the best fighters in the league, and he is proud of that reputation as an enforcer. 

"That's the way I made the team, and that's the way I'm going to play my whole career," he says. "But I can play this game too, and I think more people are starting to realize that."

Edmonton's Georges Laraque, after scoring a goal in Montreal in front of his mother, who was watching him play live for the first time in his career. Last season, Laraque scored in Tampa, playing a game in front of his father for the first time.

(Feb 22) Enforcer Georges Laraque recorded his first career hat trick to lead the Edmonton Oilers to a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. 
Laraque, who had just three goals in 56 games this season, opened the scoring at 7:34 of the first period when he put a rebound of Jim Dowd's point shot past goaltender Stephane Fiset. He gave the Oilers a 2-1 edge with 5:02 left in the second period. From outside the crease, Laraque deflected Roman Hamrlik's slap shot from the left faceoff circle by Fiset. 

"It's not even a dream come true because I never even thought about scoring three goals in one game," Laraque said. "The fans gave me energy every shift, especially after my second goal, and then when all those hats started coming out of the crowd, I tell you, I had tears in my eyes." 

The 6-3, 240-pound Laraque completed the hat trick with 16 seconds to go, just after Janne Niinimaa scored an empty-net goal. Laraque took a pass from Boyd Devereaux in the slot, fought off a check by defenseman Aki Berg and skated to the left crease where he flipped a backhander over Fiset's pad. 

"I had the puck and kind of spun around the defenseman, but when I did that I had no angle, so I tried a backhander that I thought had no chance," Laraque said. "But it must have been destined to go in. When it did, I could've skated 10 laps around the rink faster than Todd Marchant." 

Laraque played a typically physical game as well and received a fighting major for his second-period scrap with 6-8 Steve McKenna. 

Tommy Salo made 26 saves for Edmonton, which improved to 2-1-1 against Los Angeles this season. The Oilers also jumped one point ahead of the Kings for sixth place in the Western Conference. 

"We lost two games to Calgary and even though we worked hard we felt like we left something on the table," said Dowd. "Tonight, we wanted to get the jump early and keep the pressure on them all night. We've been working very hard in practice and that carries over into games." 

Luc Robataille had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who have lost two straight following a five-game winning streak. Robataille's team-leading 31st tied it, 1-1, at 3:51 of the second. 

"Both teams played it like a playoff game," said McKenna. "The game had great flow in the first period, but unfortunately we didn't maintain that style in the second and third. We needed to play like we absolutely had to have the two points, and we didn't get that kind of committment for three periods." 

Ethan Moreau's 13th goal, a power-play tally, gave the Oilers a 3-1 lead with 61 seconds remaining in the second. 

Craig Johnson flipped a wrist shot past Salo for his seventh goal to cut Edmonton's lead to 3-2 just over six minutes into the third. 

Doug Weight restored the Oilers' two-goal lead with 3:34 left. He took a pass from Ryan Smyth and poked a backhander by Fiset for his 12th goal. 

Garry Galley's eighth 1:58 later made it 4-3. Galley fired a slap shot from the left point that deflected off the crossbar and into the net. 

Shortly after Galley's goal, Los Angeles pulled Fiset for an extra attacker. After Edmonton won a faceoff in its own zone, Todd Marchant got the puck to Niinimaa, who put a wrist shot into the empty net from the right circle. 
 

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- Georges Laraque was the unlikely hero in the game that pushed the Edmonton Oilers into first place.

The 6-3, 240-pound defenseman scored a career-high three goals in the Oilers' 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings that put Edmonton atop the Northwest Division, one point ahead of Colorado.

A shower of hats came down when Laraque completed his first hat trick.

"When I got that chance there was no angle," Laraque said. "I just shot. It was an emotional moment. I would never have thought I would see a hat on the ice for me. It's unbelievable."

The third goal came after Laraque took a pass from Boyd Devereaux along the side boards and deked goalie Stephane Fiset with 16 seconds left in the game.

"Boyd was on the boards," Laraque said. "A defenseman was on my back. I did a little Denis Savard spinerama."

Kings defenseman Garry Galley was impressed by the skill Laraque showed.

"He held off guys and drove to the net. You have to give him credit for that," he said.

Ethan Moreau, Doug Weight and Janne Niinimaa also scored for the Oilers.

Luc Robitaille, Craig Johnson and Garry Galley had goals for Los Angeles.

Robitaille tied Michel Goulet for 17th place on the league's career scoring list with his 548th goal. Robitaille is fifth in career goals among active players.

Laraque backhanded in the rebound of Jim Dowd's slap shot from the blue line to open the scoring at 7:34 of the first period.

"We got the big guy putting the puck in the net," captain Doug Weight said. "That line played unbelievable. Georges is a kid at heart. We created a little monster now."

His second goal came at 14:58 of the second when he deflected Roman Hamrlik's slap shot from the faceoff circle past Stephane Fiset, putting the Oilers ahead 2-1.

It has been a long time since Laraque knew the thrill of a hat trick.

"In junior, way back," Laraque said. "To get it in the NHL, I'm going to pinch myself."

Moreau put the Oilers up 3-1 at 18:59 of the second when he scored from the slot on a power play after taking a pass from Doug Weight.

Johnson brought the Kings within 3-2 by beating Tommy Salo from the goal mouth after a scramble around the net at 6:01 of the third.

After Weight scored on a rebound at 16:26 of the period, Galley's slap shot from the point beat Salo, bringing the Kings within a goal. Niinimaa put the game out of reach with an empty-net goal at 19:31.

OILERS 6, Kings 3 
 

Laraque's first hat trick paces Oilers past Kings

 EDMONTON (CP) -- Rugged Georges Laraque provided the emotional spark that lifted the Edmonton Oilers back into first place in the Northwest Division. 

 Many of the 14,615 fans at the Skyreach Centre responded with a shower of hats when Laraque completed the first three-goal game of his career in a 6-3 win Monday night over the Los Angeles Kings. 

 "When I got that chance there was no angle," said Laraque. "I just shot. It was an emotional moment. 

 "I would never have thought I would see a hat on the ice for me. It's unbelievable." 

 The six-foot-three, 240-pound defenceman took a pass from Boyd Devereaux along the side boards and deked goalie Stephane Fiset to complete his hat trick with 16 seconds left in the third period. 

 "Boyd was on the boards," said Laraque. "A defenceman was on my back. I did a little Denis Savard spinerama." 

 Kings defenceman Garry Galley was quick to credit Laraque for his effort. 

 "He held off guys and drove to the net," said Galley. "You have to give him credit for that." 

 Laraque opened the scoring with a one-handed backhander off the rebound of a shot by Jim Dowd at 7:34 of the first period. 

 Laraque then a 1-1 tie at 14:58 of the second period when he created traffic in front of Fiset and Roman Hamrlik's slapshot deflected him. 

 When he was asked when he last scored three times in a game, he said "in junior. Way back. To get it in the NHL, I'm going to pinch myself." 

 "We got the big guy putting the puck in the net," said captain Doug Weight. "That line (with Devereaux and Dowd) played unbelievable. 

 "Georges is a kid at heart. We created a little monster now." 

 Weight had one goal and one assist. Ethan Moreau and Janne Niinimaa also scored for the Oilers, the latter into an empty net 13 seconds before Laraque's third goal. 

 "Georges deserves all the accolades," said Oilers coach Kevin Lowe. "He's worked real hard. 

 "He reminds me of Terry O'Reilly at the end of his career. He's learning to take it to the net." 

 Luc Robitaille, Craig Johnson and Galley scored for the Kings. 

 "Our goal is not just to make the playoffs," said Laraque. "It's to finish first (in the division)." 

 The tire tracks were still fresh on the fronts of their jerseys when the L.A. Kings packed their bags for Calgary last night. 

 At least they got the number of the truck that hit them. 

 It was 27. 

 "Georges Laraque played a strong game when their team needed him,'' said big Steve McKenna, one of the few L.A. Kings who cared to discuss the 6-3 lambasting they received at Skyreach Centre. 

 "He answered the bell.'' 

 CONTROVERSIAL PENALTY

 While Laraque had the first hat-trick of his professional career, McKenna had an eventful night of his own. The six-foot-eight, 255-pound winger fought Sean Brown in the first period and Laraque in the second. McKenna drew a controversial instigator penalty in the Laraque tilt, which led to an Edmonton powerplay goal. 

 L.A. coach Andy Murray called it a double standard because Brown went after McKenna in the the first period and there was no instigator called. 

 "It's not like McKenna was going after Doug Weight or anything,'' said Murray. "Georges rocked Aki Berg in the corner, so Steve went over and they talked and they both dropped their gloves. 

 "The only thing I want to know is what was the difference between that and what happened with (Sean) Brown in the first? 

 "If you're going to call it instigating then they both should be instigating.'' 

 McKenna felt robbed by the call, but said he was just taking care of business. He's the guy who speared Roman Hamrlik in the chest the last time Edmonton visited L.A. 

 "That's hockey,'' he said. "Georges knows what was going on and so did I. It's just part of the game. Unfortunately I got an instigator penalty and they scored on it. 

 "You can argue it till the cows come home, but what's done is done.'' 

 The Kings had another beef. On the goal that made it 4-2 Edmonton, Ryan Smyth was probably deeper in the net than the puck ever was. But there was no goaltender interference call. The goal stood. 

 "That one kind of took the wind out of our sails,''said McKenna. 

 "Sometimes that goal counts and sometimes it doesn't. Just flip a coin depending on whatever night it is.'' 

 All in all, a tough night for the visitors, who had won seven of their previous nine games before stumbling in their last two - last night's defeat and a 4-1 loss in Buffalo. 

 "There were spots in the game where it looked like we were going to take some sort of control,'' said Garry Galley. "Then we'd have some sort of breakdown and they'd score. 

 "They took more of the physical play to us, which is something we're supposed to do.'' 

 NOT VERY DESPERATE

 Murray didn't really like what he saw from his club in such a high-stakes game. 

 "They were a lot more desperate than we were,'' said Murray. "They won the little battles for the puck.'' 

 The Kings dropped a spot in the standings, from fifth to sixth. 

 "Both teams played it like a playoff game,'' said McKenna. "It was physical, there was a lot of end-to-end hockey. They just got a couple of bounces and capitalized on a couple of penalties. 

 "But (Murray's) right, we needed a little more desperation and drive. These points would have come in handy down the road.'' 

By MARIO ANNICCHIARICO -- Edmonton Sun

A jubilant Georges Laraque celebrates the first of three goals he scored against the L.A. Kings at Skyreach Centre last night. 

Let's see, the first line couldn't find the net if they each had a road map attached to their opponents' chests, and the fourth line is drawing a direct route to the target. 

No wonder Edmonton Oilers head coach Kevin Lowe was barking out the names, "Georges, Boyd and Jim up next" on more than just a regular occasion in the second and third periods last night. 

And Laraque, Devereaux and Dowd more than answered the call in a 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings which propels the Oilers back into first place in the Northwest Division. 

Laraque banged in his first career hat trick, drew a pair of penalties - one which led to Ethan Moreau's power-play goal - and a first-star nod. 

Not bad for 10:10 of work after just 1:57 in the opening 20 minutes.

Even better, considering his offence alone outproduced what the entire Oilers club had managed to do the last five straight games (they've had two goals in each of the five). 

ORDER THE JERSEYS!

But before we all rush out and buy Laraque No. 27 jerseys, let's not forget he had a couple of linemates working it pretty well. 

"They've played that way all year," said Oilers assistant coach Craig MacTavish of the fourth line. "Territorially they've dominated night in and night out and tonight they were rewarded. 

"Throw a certain substance against the wall and something is going to stick," added MacTavish. "It stuck tonight." 

Laraque, Devereaux and Dowd combined for eight points in the critical win that snaps a two-game losing skid. They were also plus-three each as they had the Kings defencemen turning their heads most of the evening.

Especially Aki Berg, a victim of a crushing Laraque hit that led to a power play when Steve McKenna took an instigating minor late in the second that led to the 3-1 lead. 

Berg was also burned for Laraque's nifty backhander to collect the hat trick with 15.8 seconds remaining and left Kings coach Andy Murray in a bad mood. 

"I think when Georges Laraque is free-wheeling, we're maybe not doing something right. It's a credit to him, he made a great move on that last goal but Aki Berg is six-foot-four and 225 pounds and Georges just manhandled him in front of the net," seethed Murray. 

"Jim Dowd - I don't know how heavy he is but we had two guys on him in the corner ... obviously there were only 15 seconds left and we're pushing for a goal so we're down mentally, but it was an example of the way the game went." 

Laraque opened it up 7:34 into the game when he one-handed a backhand swipe past Stephane Fiset, swatting a rebound of Dowd's shot after a great feed from Devereaux. 

The Kings evened it up as Luc Robitaille recorded his 31st of the season and 11th in his last 12 games. Lucky Luc ricocheted a shot off Tommy Salo from behind the red line 3:51 into the second. 

Then Laraque managed to sway the momentum as Roman Hamrlik's shot deflected off the big guy, who was causing a commotion out front for a 2-1 lead at 14:58 of Period 2. Four minutes later Moreau made it 3-1 after McKenna took the minor. 

WILD SCRAMBLE

Kings winger Craig Johnson closed it to 3-2 off a wild scramble 6:01 into the third before Doug Weight chipped in a loose puck with 3:34 left to make it 4-2. 

Garry Galley closed it to 4-3 with Fiset pulled for an extra attacker at 18:24 of the third before Rob Blake hit the post with 1:20 to go. 

But Janne Niinimaa (empty net with 28.3 ticks left on the clock) and Laraque ended it. 

"We knew it was a huge conference game and a chance to move up to first in our division," said Dowd, who had three assists. 

"We just have to keep it simple, get the forecheck going and give each other support," he added of his unit, which Lowe has shown tremendous confidence in. 

"When we get the little things right we accomplish things."

A win, by Georges!
By TERRY JONES -- Edmonton Sun

 The media wise-guy looked down from his press box perch at Kevin Lowe arguing with referee Don Koharski, and started to laugh. 

 The linesmen had just broken up a fight, instigated by Steve McKenna of the Los Angeles Kings before Edmonton Oiler heavyweight Georges Laraque was able to get in a punch. 

 "Kevin's mad because they're picking on his goal-scorer,'' the press box wag cracked. 

 To that point, Laraque had both Oilers goals and the Oilers had a 2-1 lead. 

 The incident with McKenna came as a result of Laraque pasting defenceman Aki Berg into the glass behind the Kings net. 

 McKenna received an instigating penalty. 

 The Oilers scored on the power play. While Ethan Moreau scored, you could very easily put Laraque's name on that goal, too. 

 FOR REAL 

 Laraque scored the third one, for real, with 15.8 seconds to go in the game. 

 Hat-trick! 

 George Laraque! 

 When was the last time virtually every fan in an Oiler crowd stayed around to hear the name of the first star? 

 "Georges! Georges! Georges!'' they chanted as they waited for the word. 

 When he was announced they gave him a huge cheer. 

 Downstairs the six dozen or so hats that had been thrown on the ice made a mountain in his stall. 

 When the dressing room door opened to the media, Bill Guerin stood at the bottom of the runway, directing traffic to Laraque's stall. And Doug Weight stood in front of the player, who was talking in French on his cell-phone, asking to check media credentials. 

 "My brother. He plays in the Quebec league,'' said Laraque of the call. 

 There were messages waiting for five others. 

 "Unbelievable!'' he said. 

 "I never thought I'd see hats on the ice for me. Unbelievable.'' 

 His interviews were interrupted by equipment man Sparky Kulchisky. 

 "Georges. I have to get your jersey,'' he said to the still completely-dressed player. 

 "No,'' someone said for him. "He's going to sleep in it tonight.'' 

 "But Georges,'' said Sparky. "It's for the Hockey Hall of Fame!'' 

 I asked him if he had a bonus clause for hat tricks. 

 "No. Glen Sather probably would have put one in for a million dollars if I'd asked for it, thinking I'd never get one. But I never thought I'd get one either so I never thought of it. 

 "I can't believe I did that in the NHL. 

 "I'm going to wake up and pinch myself a couple of times tonight. 

 "I'm so happy. I'm so happy for my linemates. I'm so happy for my team. I'm so happy for the fans. I'm so happy we're back in first place in the division.'' 

 Everybody wanted his play-by-play of the hat-trick goal. 

 "There were only 26 seconds left when I went on the ice. I thought we'd just play it safe. 

 "I knew I had a defenceman on my back,'' he said of Berg. 

 "So I gave him the Savardian spin-a-rama move,'' said the player who grew up listening to Danny Gallivan describe the move by Montreal Canadiens Serge Savard. 

 "Then I made a nifty move for fun. I had no angles. So I just made that move for fun. It went into the net. 

 "I've never been this happy.'' 

 It was a win, by Georges. 

 "Georges is now a star,'' declared Sather as he made his way into the dressing room with a grin on his face that looked a lot like the one he had when Dave Semenko scored the only hat trick of his career, with the third one into an empty net, playing on a line with Wayne Gretzky, in Madison Square Garden in New York. 

 Too bad they were so quick about retiring that No. 99, huh? "I'm happy just to honor Semenko's number,'' said an over-the-moon Laraque. 

 ALL OVER THEM

 The Oilers were all over the Kings early. The shots on goal were 10-0 when Laraque scored his first goal, a one-handed swipe at a rebound. With the score tied 1-1 Laraque, who makes $360,000 a year, took the game into his own hands. 

 OK. He didn't take into his hands, exactly. Roman Hamrlik bounced it in off the Oiler crest on his sweater. 

 Hey, a goal is a goal. And Georges Laraque had three of them. 

 "That was pretty incredible for him and for us,'' said Kevin Lowe. "It's hard to compare it to Semenko's hat trick. But it sure seems the same in the dressing room. When a guy like Sammy or Georges, guys who do what they do for this team, have a game like that, everybody in the room is real happy for him.'' 

 Everybody in the building. Everybody in the city. And this is a blue-collar town. They liked Semenko damn near as much as Wayne Gretzky here. 

 "Now we've created a monster,'' said Doug Weight.

Jim Matheson
The Edmonton Journal 

The Three Stars

1. Georges Laraque. 

Three goals on three shots. Does it get any better? 

2. Jim Dowd. 

Three assists on Laraque's goals. 

3. Luc Robitaille. 

Scored a Gretzky-like goal from behind the net off Tommy Salo's arm. Guys who've scored more goals than Rocket Richard do those things. 

Why Oilers won

Because the Oilers' so-called fourth line manhandled the Kings every time they were on the ice. 

Laraque, Dowd and Boyd Devereaux had eight points and 11 shots on Stephane Fiset. That line outplayed Ziggy Palffy, Josef Stumpel and rookie Jason Blake and the Kings' second line of Brian Smolinski, Glen Murray and Robitaille, too. 

They said it

- "I'm sure I'll be hearing from his agent Pat Morris in the morning about renegotiatng his contract." (Oiler GM Glen Sather on Laraque's hat-trick)

- "I didn't think he deserved an instigator penalty. It wasn't like (Steve) McKenna went after Doug Weight and fought him. McKenna went over to Georges after he nailed Aki Berg, they talked and started fighting."  (Kings' coach Andy Murray, on an extra penalty to McKenna that the Oilers turned into a goal by Ethan Moreau to go up 3-1)

- "Their team was a lot more desperate than we were and won the battles for the puck. Our good players didn't have really strong games tonight. I'm not so sure their good ones were great, either, but Laraque was."  (Murray on the Oilers' effort)

What's in a number?

Laraque, Dave Semenko, Scott Mellanby, Dave Hunter, Kim Issel, Reed Larson, Peter White, Ralph Intranuovo and Ron Shudra have worn 27 in Oiler history. 

Apart from big Georges, Semenko is the only other one who got a hat-trick. 

He had three at Madison Square Garden in 1981. His third was into an empty net on a feed from Wayne Gretzky.

Robin Brownlee, Journal Hockey Writer
The Edmonton Journal 

Chris Schwarz, The Journal:  Georges Laraque, 
the Oilers enforcer, celebrates his third goal of the
evening on Monday at Skyreach Centre with
teammate Boyd Devereaux. The Oilers' lovable lug
also had a fight during the game, a clear decision
over Steve McKenna of the Kings.

**Click photo for larger image.

He pranced, clad only in sweaty underwear, wagging his backside to the music with one hand on his hip, laughing like a big goof. 

Georges Laraque, it's clear, has never awakened to a day he didn't like, but as much fun as he had amusing a couple of writers in the Edmonton Oilers dressing room Monday morning, it turns out the happy-go-lucky tough guy was only getting warmed up. 

Laraque danced the night away against the Los Angeles Kings hours later with three more modest and significant shuffles in celebration of his first NHL hat-trick in a 6-3 Oilers win. 

Joyous jigs they were. 

"I will never forget it, ever," said Laraque. "It's just unreal. I really can't explain it." 

Hats, including one of those silly foam Oilers puckheads, rained from the rafters at Skyreach Centre when Laraque backhanded his third goal past Stephane Fiset with 15.8 ticks left on the clock. 

Laraque, 23, had every single one of them piled in his stall after the game -- he'll probably wear the puckhead at practice today. 

"I never thought I was going to do it," said Laraque, sent over the boards after Janne Niinimaa salted it away with an empty-netter. 

"I just thought we were going to play it safe. There was no angle, but I just shot it. When it went in, it was so much emotion. 

"I can't describe the feeling, the crowd, the hats. I would never have thought I would see hats on the ice for me." 

Oilers equipment man Sparky Kulchisky had the best line after the game as a crush of notepads and cameras pinned Laraque, still wearing every piece of his sweaty equipment, to the wall. 

"Georges," chimed in Kulchisky, "I need your sweater right now. The hall of fame wants it." 

Doug Weight scored the winner at 16:26 of the third period to snap the Oilers from a two-game funk after back-to-back losses to the Calgary Flames. 

But it was Laraque and his linemates, Jim Dowd and Boyd Devereaux, who put a buzz in the building and made something good happen almost every time they hopped over the boards. 

"We know we're the fourth line, but we try to work hard and contribute," Dowd said. "You've got to know your role, whether you get two, four or six shifts, you have to make them good ones." 

Laraque's third goal, he outwaited defenceman Aki Berg and tucked it past Fiset on the backhand , marked his first hat-trick since his junior days in Quebec. 

Dowd had three assists and Devereaux had two helpers. 

"We know we have to do the little things right," Dowd said of the Oilers' best line. "You're happy when it happens for anybody, but it's Georges and he's a character, so it's great for him." 

The Kings just had no answers for Laraque, who tossed his six-foot-three, 245-pound frame around with reckless abandon. 

"I think maybe when Georges Laraque is free-wheeling, we're not doing something right," Kings coach Andy Murray said. 

"It's a credit to him. I mean he made a great move on that last goal. Aki Berg is six-foot-four and 225 pounds and Georges just manhandled him." 

His goal-scoring exploits aside, Laraque even found time to drop the gloves with Steve McKenna, although he laid off the Kings' big kid, choosing not to throw punches after McKenna went down to one knee. 

Perhaps No. 27 was protecting those soft mitts of his. 

"He's playing great for us right now," coach Kevin Lowe said. "That was pretty incredible. 

"It was nice for him and nice for us. He's deserving of all the accolades. He's worked hard." 

Laraque's younger brother, Jules, a speedster with Halifax of the QMJHL, called big brother on his cell phone after the game. 

"He watched the game," said Laraque. "My family, everybody is going to call."

EDMONTON (CP) -- As if Georges Laraque wasn't excited enough about his first three-goal game in the NHL, the greatest player to ever grace the blades made sure Tuesday was something special for the Edmonton Oilers tough guy. 
Wayne Gretzky put in a telephone call to the Oilers dressing room to congratulate Laraque on his first NHL hat trick. 

"Imagine, Wayne Gretzky calling for me," Laraque told the Edmonton Journal. "Getting congratulations from him, think of it. There's no greater recognition -- it's not like we're best friends or anything. He doesn't even know me."

Georges Laraque let us in on the secret of his NHL boxing/wrasslin' success.

"The helmet," said poet Georges, demonstrating with those great big mitts he calls hands.  "You have to knock the other guy's helmet off, reach past his shoulder, cuff it off from behind.  That way, you don't bust your knuckles on his helmet.  Otherwise, all you're doing is messing up your own hands, and not really doing anything to your opponent.

"I don't want," says Georges, "to have Kelly Buchberger hands!"

Oilers 'plumbers' rival any trio in the NHL
Dowd, Devereaux, Laraque providing offensive spark

Robin Brownlee, Journal Hockey Writer
The Edmonton Journal

 Ed Kaiser, The Journal / Boyd Devereaux, 19, scored a hat-trick Friday against Ottawa. He's the latest of the Oiler fourth-liners to shine during the playoff stretch drive.
 

Put together a journeyman centre, a bulldozer on skates and a kid who is still working on his first package of disposable razors and what do you get? 

If you know The Punch Line, you know the Edmonton Oilers threesome of journeyman Jim Dowd, youngster Boyd Devereaux, and muscular Georges Laraque, a trio that isn't just killing time during their shifts so the marquee names can catch their breath. 

Is there a better fourth line in the NHL today? 

"Man, I don't know about that," said Devereaux, whose three-goal performance keyed Edmonton's 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Friday. 

"The coaches have shown a lot of confidence in us, that's for sure. It's sort of grown from there." 

Oilers assistant coach Craig MacTavish couldn't think of a better fourth line after practice Saturday. MacTavish went back to 1994-1995 -- the trio of Randy McKay, Bobby Holik and Mike Peluso of the Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils. 

"They deserve all the accolades they can get right now," MacTavish said. 

"They've been a big part of our team. They've given us a lot of life in a lot of hockey games." 

Devereaux, Dowd and Laraque might not be the Oilers most prolific trio, but they have proven the most reliable -- inseparable since being put together in October. 

"We love to be together," said Laraque, who beat Devereaux to the punch by scoring his first NHL hat-trick Feb. 21. 

"We're the only line that hasn't been changed for months, the only one. We talk all the time. We create our own plays. 

"We read each other so well, we don't even need to say anything anymore, but we do." 

Devereaux, the Oilers' first pick in the 1996 Entry Draft, provides speed on the left side. 

Laraque, taken 31st by the Oilers in 1995, is 245 pounds of irresistible force, a one-man gang on right wing. 

In the middle is Dowd, who has kicked around the NHL with five teams in eight seasons, including the Devils Stanley Cup team. 

"They've got speed, brawn and smarts," MacTavish said. "Boyd has got the speed and the tenacity. Jimmy's got the smarts. He really thinks the game. 

"Georges brings the brawn and the intimidation. He's at the top of his game now and there's no telling how much better he can get. He's got all the ability." 

Devereaux, Dowd and Laraque have gone way beyond what you would expect from a fourth line. 

"Maybe before, the fourth line was just supposed to go out there and waste some time," Laraque said. "In our heads, we know we can do more than that.

"We want to score. We want to make something happen. If we don't score, we aren't happy. 

"There's a pressure we put on ourselves nobody else does. The team doesn't expect us to score." 

Individually, they are enjoying the best offensive years, modest as that might be, of their careers. 

"I think a key is that Jimmy and I try to work off Georges in the offensive zone," Devereaux said. 

"Initially, he was content to hold the puck in the corner. Now, he goes to the net and draws guys to him. Jimmy and I work off that and he gets us the puck." 

Laraque's ice time Friday, 16 shifts for 13:08, marked a career high with the Oilers. 

"There were certain situations when Georges had the puck low and they double-teamed him," MacTavish said. "That's unthinkable in the game of hockey. 

"That opens it up for the others." 

The way Devereaux, Dowd and Laraque have contributed, it's almost a slight to call them a fourth line, isn't it? 

"It's been pretty good, eh? It's been fun," Devereaux said. "We work hard at it." 

The Punch Line. Teams around the NHL get it.

Shuffle of Oiler deck lands Laraque on No. 1 line

Robin Brownlee, Journal Hockey Writer
The Edmonton Journal 

Big Georges Laraque will go from the fourth line to prime time against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim tonight. 

Laraque will line up alongside Bill Guerin and Doug Weight on the Edmonton Oilers' first line, a move necessitated by news Tuesday Mike Grier will be lost for the Oilers' final nine games. 

"I'm going to do everything in my power to be successful," said Laraque, who has played most of the season with Boyd Devereaux and Jim Dowd, but has seen time on the first line in two games. 

"I'm just going to go in the corners and try to do the same things I was doing -- get them the pucks and let them play." 

With Grier out, coach Kevin Lowe will send four new forward lines over the boards tonight. 

"It's not like we've been firing on all cylinders anyway," Lowe said. 

"Maybe juggling the lines, we'll find some combinations we like. 

"We'll try to see what works. If it works, we'll go with it." 

How long Laraque plays alongside Guerin and Weight depends on his performance. 

With the Oilers locked in a battle with the Colorado Avalanche for first place in the Northwest Division, the hulking Laraque won't have much time to fit in. 

"It's something that has got to click right away," said assistant coach Craig MacTavish. "The time to experiment during the season is over. Kevin is going to make his determinations based on immediate results, not long-range prospects." 

Laraque, a master of mayhem in the corners, certainly changes the look of the first line. 

That aside, Laraque has averaged less than 10 minutes playing time a game. He'll play 16 or 17 with Weight and Guerin. 

"They play in the offensive zone a lot," Laraque said. "They are good finishers, so I'm sure if I put the puck on their sticks they're going to bury it. With Dougie's hands and Billy's scoring touch, it should be a good combination." 

Ryan Smyth will take over Grier's place on right wing on the third line with Todd Marchant and Ethan Moreau. 

Said Marchant: "Smytty works hard every night. He's going to fit in just fine." 

Alex Selivanov, who has sat out the last four games and 12 of the last 16, draws back in on a line with Devereaux and Rem Murray, while Dowd will centre German Titov and Chad Kilger. 

"Rosie's absence creates a big hole in our lineup, no question," MacTavish said of Grier. "There is no denying it, but we have guys who've played a prominent role this season who haven't played that much of late. This is going to get them back in." 

Lowe won't decide on any call-ups from Hamilton of the AHL until after tonight's game. 

Dan LaCouture, who has performed well of late with the Bulldogs and is a physical player at six-foot-three and 215 pounds, is the likeliest candidate to be called up in Grier's absence. With the roster expanded since the trading deadline, the Oilers also have the option of adding a defenceman. They are carrying only seven now. 

Half-empty
Almost half the Oilers squad has yet to win a playoff game

By TERRY JONES, EDMONTON SUN

Remember when the Edmonton Oilers were winning Stanley Cups and you were singing, "We're still having fun and we're still The One?'' 

The singing has stopped. 

Now the lyrics are more along the lines of, "Who can have any fun when you can't even win one?'' 

There's almost half a lineup of Edmonton Oiler players who have never won a playoff game. And as this first-round playoff series between the Oilers and the Dallas Stars switches sites for games 3 & 4, I wonder who needs a win most: The players? Or the fans? 

Tommy Salo is now 0-6. 

So is Tom Poti. 

Ditto Georges Laraque. 

"It's killing me,'' says Laraque. 

"I can't tell you how much I want to win. I can't tell you how much I want to change that 0-6 now. I want so very badly for us to experience winning in the Stanley Cup playoffs.''

Time to hit, or that's it
Oilers giving Stars too much respect; need to get nasty

Jim Matheson, Journal Hockey Writer
The Edmonton Journal 

 AP / Ryan Smyth, left, wriggles away from the Stars' Blake Sloan during Game 2 in Dallas. Smyth promises a more aggressive style in Game 3.

Georges Laraque spends every waking minute on his cell phone. 

Nobody racks up the frequent-talker minutes like him. And he's never met a microphone he didn't embrace. 

But on Saturday Laraque was strangely silent. No juicy quotes about running Eddie Belfour or body-slamming Derian Hatcher. 

"Everything you say that's written these days winds up in the other team's room," said Laraque. "I know we circle everything they're saying and we talk about it. 

"Let's just say, we're at home now and we get the last change." 

Silence is a smart play if the Oilers want to surprise the Stars in Game 3 tonight, but this series could use some tough talk, like a re-run of the famous quote by ex-Oiler Dave Brown, who was looking to stir something up with Stu Grimson about 10 years ago. "Don't be getting out of your seat early in the game and going for a coffee. You'll miss something and be upset," said Brown, who proceeded to lay a beating on the Grim Reaper. 

Sorry, Laraque's lips weren't moving, except when he was ragging on teammate Doug Weight Saturday afternoon. Weight was trying to get a train of thought going with some media people and kept being thrown off track. "Georges will you give it a rest," yelled Weight. 

There's an excellent chance the Stars will be yelling at Laraque tonight, too. 

Though Laraque won't say it, the Oilers will play a much snarlier game than they did in Dallas.They may have given the Stars too much respect. There's nothing wrong with admiring the Stanley Cup champions, but the Oilers, down two games to none, have to start initiating stuff. 

That's why Sean Brown will be back on the Oiler blue-line tonight. He watched the first two games because he struggled handling the puck down the regular-season stretch. But he led the team in penalties with 192 minutes. 

Bert Robertsson, who also plays with an edge, won't be coming out for Brown as the sixth D-man. Instead, Robertsson will likely line up on the left wing. 

While Laraque was quiet Saturday, Ryan Smyth admitted the Oilers have been a little too polite the first two games. 

"We talked all day about being grittier," said Smyth. "They've out-grinded us the first two games. We haven't been in their face nearly enough. I think we have been too respectful. We have to get under their skin. Wouldn't hurt if we played in their zone a little more, too." 

That's where Smyth and Hatcher usually meet up. Hatcher thought Smyth delivered a couple of cheap shots, kicking the skates out from under him twice in the first two games. 

Smyth thought Hatcher was a bully, going after Todd Marchant in the dying seconds of a 3-zip Stars' win in Game 2. 

"I guess he thinks I'm a dirty player, but hitting Toddy from behind was dirty, too. There's a lot of stuff goes on during a game when the adrenalin's going and you get frustrated. 

"He'd probably be the first guy to admit that you get fired up and do stupid things. But if he's calling me a cheap player, I'd have to say the same back to him. 

"But this is the playoffs. Two teams are battling. Two guys, too." 

GAME NIGHT 

- Game 3 of the Western Conference quarter-finals goes tonight at 5 p.m. at Skyreach Centre between the Oilers and the defending Stanley Cup champs, the Dallas Stars 

- Needless to say, it's a must-win situation for the Oilers, who are down two games to none in the series.

Body language
Oilers play 'Let's Get Physical' ... and get the job done
By ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI, EDMONTON SUN

(exerpt taken half-way through article)

Leading the physical charge was big Georges Laraque, who played the role of bully to perfection. He stalked and tormented his opponents, particularly Derian Hatcher, all evening long. 

"The thing that initiated it, the thing that changed our style of play, is what happened in Dallas last game,'' said Laraque, who's been seeing red ever since Hatcher flattened Todd Marchant in the waning seconds of Game 2. "We lost Toddy because of it - (the Oilers are calling his undetermined injury the flu), so that really, really bothered me. It got me mad. That got us all mad.'' 

On his first shift, Laraque skated straight up to Hatcher and issued the opening threat of the game. Whatever he said worked, because Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock pulled Hatcher off the ice as soon as the puck was dropped. 

Laraque later flattened Hatcher in front of the net during a goalmouth scramble, which turned out to be a freebie because his teammates killed the ensuing penalty. He also circled Belfour like a hungry shark, bringing the crowd to its feet with every pass. 

"I just tried to be gritty and get in people's faces,'' said Laraque, who wouldn't say what he said to Belfour, or to Hatcher. 

"It wasn't very Catholic, so I better not say anything.'' 

Criticized in the past for being too gentlemanly, too honourable in his intimidation tactics, Laraque played his meanest game as Oiler last night. And he didn't even have to drop his gloves until Grant Marshall made the mistake of starting a scrum in the final seconds of the game. He got pounded to the ice for his efforts. 

"I have to find another way to intimidate other than fighting,'' said Laraque. "Because, let's face it, who's going to fight me?'' 

Good point. But he still got his point across. Through 40 minutes, Hatcher was minus-one, with one shot and one hit.

Belfour wasn't himself either. He let in five, whiffing on Weight's third goal and taking a minor penalty. 

By the end of the first period it was 3-0 and Edmonton had outshot Dallas 22-7. The Stars were reeling. 

'GRITTY AS HECK' 

"Our team has team toughness,'' said Doug Weight. "We were gritty as heck. We really came out hard. I'm proud of the guys, they really showed a lot of character.'' 

The Stars have a bit of character in their arsenal, too. So don't think they're going to run away and hide in Game 4.

"They're still tough, and they still have a big team,'' said Laraque. "But we just showed that we can match them in that department. I'm not going to say that we overmatched them, but in the first two games they were more physical than us. We showed tonight that we could play as physical as they can. 

"And we know Game 4 is going to be even harder.''

Oil Spills
(after game 3 of round 1 of the playoffs in Edmonton)

Robin Brownlee
The Edmonton Journal 

Quotables

- "I don't think it's very Catholic what I said to him, so I'm not going to mention it." 
Georges Laraque on words he exchanged with Ed Belfour 

Take that 

Laraque was in a surly mood, with the object of his ill will being Derian Hatcher, although the big fella wasn't particular. 

Laraque chatted up Hatcher, who took a run at Todd Marchant in the final seconds of Game 2, in the first five minutes. 

"What really turned things around for me is what happened in that last game in Dallas," said Laraque of Hatcher's hit. "What Hatcher did, that really got me personally mad. They were up 3-0 and there was no need for that hit." 

Laraque clubbed Hatcher to the ice in Ed Belfour's crease at 10:16, drawing a roughing minor. 

"He's a big kid," Muller said. "He played well. They all did. They all played with a lot of emotion." 

Laraque tossed his 250 pounds at everything wearing a green and gold jersey and had plenty of company. Just before the final buzzer, he was in the thick of a scrum with Grant Marshall of the Stars. 

"Every shift, I kept picturing that incident," Laraque said. "I tried to play gritty and be in people's faces." 
 

ALLAN MAKI
Alberta Bureau (The Globe & Mail)
Tuesday, April 18, 2000
 

Edmonton -- The Dallas Stars won't believe this but Georges Laraque loves them. He loves people, loves to talk and laugh and carry on as the world's largest puppy dog, which he is.

This is hard to believe because Laraque has not been kind to the Stars in their National Hockey League playoff series. He has been the 240-pound angry rottweiler to their slow-footed deliveryman. He has chased and harassed and yapped, often saying things he later wished he hadn't. Things like, well, you know. Bad things.

"Yelling, screaming, threatening," Laraque said. "I swear at them. They swear back at me."

"But didn't you say you were Catholic?" Laraque is asked.

"Yes. I still go to church."

Laraque should be given a week's worth of penance for what he did and said in the Oilers' 5-2 win Sunday. At various times in Game 3, Laraque was seen running at Dallas defenceman Derian Hatcher, jawing at Stars' tough guy Grant Marshall and exchanging words with Dallas goalie Ed Belfour, who later got a piece of Laraque by tripping him to the ice.

Captain Doug Weight may have led the Oilers' offence with his first playoff hat trick, but it was a dogged Laraque who gave Edmonton's physical game some bite in an all-important victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions.

"When I'm in the warm-up, I'm still smiling. I'm trying to loosen up a little bit," Laraque said. "But as soon as the puck drops, you get so much focus. It's like I change. I become more mean. And then when the game is over, I love everybody. That's the way I am."

A significant number of hockey people now believe that Laraque, at 23, is the pre-eminent tough guy in the NHL. Earlier this season, Buffalo Sabres' enforcer Rob Ray was asked about Laraque and replied in a condescending voice: "What's he going to do -- beat me up?" Laraque did precisely that, pounding a decisive outcome over Ray and sending him to the showers for the rest of the night.

"You don't want to suppress him. You want him to be a free spirit but not let that free spirit get out of control," said Oilers' head coach Kevin Lowe, who wasn't afraid of giving Laraque more ice time and a challenging role in Game 3 against Dallas.

"What makes Georges so difficult to defend is that he can skate. He can get in and fight through interference. Every defenceman in the league knows that," Lowe said.

Laraque, born in Montreal, was the Oilers' second pick in the 1995 NHL entry draft. His size and strength were one thing, but his attitude and unabashed confidence caught the ear of general manager Glen Sather. As a 19-year-old playing in the Quebec Major Junior League, Laraque called Sather one day and made a $1,000 bet with his future boss.

"I made a bet I was going to get 80 points in my final year of junior," Laraque explained. "I was averaging a point a game then I got injured. I had 44 points in 40 games. I still tell [Sather] I would have got it. He's never paid me."

Laraque has worked hard on improving his skills and even scored a hat trick this season against the Los Angeles Kings. But it is his toughness, his ability to create a protective cocoon for his teammates that has earned Laraque his respect league-wide. It's a job, he said, that is as pressure-packed as any in hockey.

"People don't know how much pressure a tough guy has. When you go, people say, 'Yeah Georges, go Georges.' But when I'm out there with a guy in front of me, he wants to take my head off. If I didn't sleep well or eat right or I'm worried about a friend, that guy doesn't care. The guy still wants to kill me.

"Some of the times, I wasn't ready [to fight] but you do it. I've never refused to go with anybody. I don't want to be in a position to show a sign of weakness."

To give you some insight into Laraque's personality, he was asked yesterday to name the hockey players he most admired and hoped to emulate while growing up in Montreal. He responded by saying there weren't many black superstars for him to follow. His goal was simply to make it to the NHL so that he could inspire other black youth to follow their dreams.

"I didn't know when I was young if I'd get a chance to play in the NHL. When you get older you look at Jackie Robinson [who broke the colour barrier in baseball]. I knew I wouldn't be the first [black player in the NHL] but just be a model for kids. I knew me being there would encourage other kids to be there."

For certain, Laraque's emerging presence has bolstered the Oilers' confidence and encouraged them to be more aggressive. He has helped turn what was fast becoming a runaway series into another Edmonton-Dallas tractor-pull on ice. He will continue to show his teeth and snap wildly at the Stars, but when it's over and two teams move on in opposite directions, Laraque will shake their hands and pat them on the back.

As penance, he may even apologize for swearing at them.
 

Robin Brownlee, Journal Hockey Writer
The Edmonton Journal 

The Dallas Stars are making the highlight reels with their hits, but the Edmonton Oilers evened up the bruise count Sunday. 
After taking a back seat in the board-bending department in Dallas to open the series, the Oilers laid some licks of their own in a 5-2 win, and there's no reason to believe they'll stop laying the muscle on in Game 4 tonight. 
"They skated well," Stars Mike Modano said. "It's not always being the heaviest hitters with the biggest checks.
"It's when you're skating well you seem to be all over everybody and they did that." 
In Dallas, it was Derian Hatcher lowering the boom on German Titov in the first game and taking a run at Todd Marchant in the dying seconds of the second -- a hit which kept him out of Game 3. 
Sunday, it was Brenden Morrow knocking Ryan Smyth senseless with a shoulder to the jaw. 
It was the Oilers, though, who went to the body early and much more often. 
"Just plain old-fashioned one-on-one battles allowed for things to open up for us a bit," Oilers' coach Kevin Lowe said. 
"As much as things didn't go our way, we felt that was a big reason in the first two games -- that we weren't winning battles." 
With the addition of former Oiler Scott Thornton, Jamie Pushor and the fireplug Morrow, Dallas boasts a bigger, more physical lineup than in any previous playoff series with the Oilers. 
"Obviously, Edmonton was pretty fired up before the game," Thornton said. 
"We expected that, but, as a group, we got away from our own game and that's what we have to get back to." 
Even with added size, the Stars never really did find an answer for 250-pound Georges Laraque, who imposed his will Sunday. 
"He is playing how he feels he has to play," said Hatcher, who was cuffed to the ice by No. 27 in the first period. 
"It's a physical series and he's a big guy. 
"He needs to be physical." 
Hatcher, a six-foot-five, 230-pound torment to Edmonton forwards in countless games, had his hands full with Laraque. 
"First of all, you're probably not going to be able to out-muscle him," Thornton said. 
"You have to try to out-think him and outwork him in battles, I'm not sure. We've talked about him as a group in here. 
"Once he gets down low with the puck he's hard to contain. 
"You have to maintain your defensive mentality and stay with him." 
Laraque had plenty of company Sunday. 
The Oilers doubled the Stars 38-19 in hits, according to the official game sheet, although that might be the most inaccurate stat in hockey the way hits are determined by off-ice officials. 
Be that as it may, there's little question the bodies flew and will continue to do so. 
"We weren't prepared," Hatcher said. 
"We knew they were going to come out hard and we didn't respond. 
"We know that they are going to come out just as hard, but I think you're going to see a little bit more of a push from us."
 

By MARIO ANNICCHIARICO, EDMONTON SUN
PLANO, Texas --  Oilers general manager and president Glen Sather was drawn into the line of fire yesterday and he rattled off a few rounds of live ammunition for local media types. 

"I'd like to see him squash (Mike) Modano and (Brett) Hull and maybe six other guys at the same time, if he can do it," said Sather when asked what he expected of big Georges Laraque. 

Laraque was then told what Slats had said. 

"It's not just Glen, I know the way I have to play to be a factor in this series," said the burly right-winger who got under a few of the Stars' skins in Game 3, but was not a factor in Tuesday's loss to Dallas. 

"Like Game 3 is the biggest example. Everything was perfect and I just hope that (tonight) I get the chance to be as much of a factor." 

Don't count on it, with the Stars having the last change. But that doesn't mean the effort won't be there from Laraque. 

"When I get out there I just try to be very gritty and very intimidating for all of them. Every time I get out there I try and get a check to run somebody," he said. 

"Our line didn't get much opportunity the last game. And another thing is, I have to be careful with the referees because they follow me around on the ice every time and they warn me, saying, 'Georges, say another word or come near this guy again and you're going to get a penalty.' 

"I have to be very careful. If I do get a penalty and they score on it we could lose the game. I don't want to get the team in trouble even though I want to be as good as possible." 

Barb Williamson, Journal Staff Writer
The Edmonton Journal 
(exerpt from the Journal's special Mother's Day article)

'Georges, Pick Up the Phone'

On the ice nobody gets in Georges Laraque's way. 

Off the ice, his mom can stop him dead, with the ring of a cell phone. 

"She talks a lot, that's why I'm on my cell phone all the time. She's always on the phone," says the Oilers power forward, about his mother Evelyne Toussaint. 

He talks to mom, who lives in Laval, Quebec, at least twice a week, often to tell her when his games are on television. 

But he insists these chat sessions never involve advice on how to play the game. "She never has any advice for me about hockey," he says. "She just asks me how's my life in general." 

Laraque laughs and says his mom's been trying to slow him down since he was little. "I know that I was always overactive as a kid so she was always telling me to relax. I always had too much energy." 

When he hit the pros, she also had a few things to say. "She said 'make sure nothing happens to you on the ice and make sure your money's put away'." 

Laraque gets a kick out of how mom behaves when she watches him play. 

"She gets so excited and makes so much noise." 

As a nurse, his mom gets up at the crack of dawn but will often stay up late to watch his games. Everybody she works with watches his games, too -- they know, as soon as she gets to work, she'll want to talk about her son. 

And he says mom has always been supportive, even if she didn't like what he was doing. "She didn't like it too much when I was playing hockey. She was afraid of me becoming too aggressive," says Laraque. "I had her support but I didn't have her advice because they (my parents) didn't want me to play hockey." 

His fondest memory of mom is playing soccer with her and his father in their backyard. "We played for hours. She's always been able to play longer than my dad." 

The most important advice she ever gave him, he says, was not to take drugs. "If I would've taken them I wouldn't be where I am today." 

HALIFAX -- For a few short moments, Georges Laraque had to do a double-take. 

With the 10,000 strong here at Halifax Metro Centre chanting "Eddy, Eddy," the Edmonton Oilers enforcer began having playoff flashbacks. 

"I had to look at the team on the ice and tell myself it's not Dallas," laughed Laraque after Saturday's game. 

"It's like the chant they had for Ed Belfour in the playoffs against Dallas. I had to tell myself it's not Dallas, it's Halifax," chuckled Laraque, sporting a contagious smile. 

What's not to smile about when the chants are for your younger brother, Jules-Edy, (referred to simply as Edy) one of the more popular members of the home-town Halifax Mooseheads? 

"I'm very, very excited for him. It's one of the happiest times in my life that I'm able to watch him play, especially at the Memorial Cup and see that he's doing very well," said Georges, who was on hand for Halifax's 5-2 win over Barrie Saturday and again last night as the Mooseheads faced the Kootenay Ice. 

"It gives me goosebumps every time I watch him on the ice and it's an unbelievable feeling," smiled Georges, whose brother plays a similar crashing style, although he stands in at five-foot-seven and 176 pounds - and even that might be a stretch. 

"He always plays with all his heart and he plays like he's my size, he hits everything that moves," said Georges. 

"He's always a fan favourite, too. I'm just so happy for him." 

He may be even happier as the Oilers themselves are contemplating bringing the younger brother to training camp as an invited junior. "It would be a great experience," said Edy, who skated in Edmonton on his Christmas visit. 

The 19-year-old left-winger hopes to follow in his brother's footsteps by first winning a Memorial Cup and then catching on somewhere professionally. 

"It's my dream to play at least one game with him or against him," smiled Edy. "Not just for him, but for myself." 

He realizes he will be up against it with his size. 

"I know the NHL looks for bigger guys, but that doesn't matter. I'm going to work as hard as I can to make it happen one day." 

For now he has his sights set on a junior championship. It would make him even with Georges, who was a member of the 1996 Memorial Cup champion Granby Predateurs. 

"It would be pretty special, too, if I had my name on the Cup," said Edy. 

Georges would love nothing more than to see Edy skate off with the trophy come Sunday. 

"I'm very surprised about this first win and how lopsided it was," he said of Halifax's opening effort. 

"I thought it would be hard for them