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Lottery Numbers for Friday, June 10

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Tommy Van Scoy remembers being touched by “The Greatest”

<p>Modern hockey players &#8212; heck, even many modern hockey coaches &#8212; are too young to have witnessed Gordie Howe&#8217;s greatness.</p><p>Howe&#8217;s true domination of the sport came in the 1950s, meaning there aren&#8217;t hours of highlights available online a la Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux.</p><p>But as the sporting world mourns the loss of Howe, who died Friday morning at age 88, he remains a touchstone to many in the Northeastern Pennsylvania hockey community. Even to those a generation (or two) removed from the height of Howe&#8217;s career.</p><p>Because learning the legend of Mr. Hockey was a staple of learning the sport.</p><p>&#8220;My father always said Gordie Howe was the ultimate player, and I always had that in my head growing up,&#8221; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins associate coach Jay Leach said.</p><p>Leach got to meet Howe as a kid through his uncle, an assistant coach with the Hartford Whalers.</p><p>&#8220;I remember getting an autograph and my dad was just so enamored with him,&#8221; Leach said. &#8220;When you see your parents really impressed with somebody, that sticks with you.</p><p>&#8220;He was the guy who could do it all. He was simply hockey. I don&#8217;t know where the sport would be without him.&#8221;</p><p>A four-time Stanley Cup winner with the Detroit Red Wings, Howe also won the Art Ross Trophy six times as the leading scorer in the NHL and the Hart Trophy a matching six times as the league&#8217;s MVP.</p><p>The hardware only tells half the story.</p><p>Howe was revered as much for his physical play as he was his scoring prowess. Look no further than one of his other prominent nicknames, Mr. Elbows.</p><p>Though he only achieved the feat a few times himself, his legacy of all-around play carries on in the form of the &#8220;Gordie Howe hat trick&#8221; &#8212; a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game.</p><p>It&#8217;s what helped endear him to players of all skill levels and playing styles.</p><p>&#8220;He was a legend of the game,&#8221; said former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fan favorite Bobby Farnham, now in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils. &#8220;He had scoring, toughness, skill &#8212; he could do it all. Gordie Howe is what hockey&#8217;s all about.</p><p>&#8220;I think the Gordie Howe hat trick will live on forever. It&#8217;s unbelievable what he&#8217;s done for hockey and his name will be imprinted on the game for a long time, as it should be.&#8221;</p><p>The reason is that Howe managed to pack two lifetimes worth of hockey into his 88 years. He was a regular on the ice until his retirement at age 52 in 1980.</p><p>Afterward, he was long known as one of the sport&#8217;s greatest ambassadors, content to deal with fans for hours on end, signing autographs and talking about the game.</p><p>&#8220;I think for me, Gordie was a little different,&#8221; Penguins enforcer Tom Sestito said. &#8220;I met him well after his playing days and it just amazes me how well he interacted with people all day long.</p><p>&#8220;People will remember him as a great player and how much he did for the game, and I respect that, but I think I respect how much he interacted with fans and young players for hours upon hours with no fuss at all.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;He was certainly at the forefront of hockey everywhere,&#8221; said Crestwood hockey coach Paul Eyerman. &#8220;Whether it was in Canada or the U.S., he brought the sport to everybody in North America. He was Mr. Goodwill. Always shaking hands.&#8221;</p><p>He even made a cameo in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Howe attended a 2012 playoff game between the Penguins and St. John&#8217;s at Mohegan Sun Arena with his son, Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Famer Mark Howe.</p><p>Then 84, Howe wasn&#8217;t as visible as he had been just a few years earlier as he battled dementia and other health issues. But he still made an impact on people like John Hynes, who was the Penguins&#8217; coach at the time.</p><p>&#8220;He really transformed the game and was such an idol on and off the ice,&#8221; said Hynes, now the bench boss for the Devils. &#8220;The graciousness he had off the ice is what hockey is all about.</p><p>&#8220;I think Gordie Howe&#8217;s name will actually expand within the game because of his memory. It&#8217;s a name that will always have a special place in the game.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Hockey great Gordie Howe, who was once a part owner of the Western Hockey League&#8217;s Vancouver Giants, made a visit to Mohegan Sun Arena in 2012 to watch the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Howe left a lasting impression on Northeastern Pennsylvania before he passed away Friday at the age of 88. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_howe-3-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hockey great Gordie Howe, who was once a part owner of the Western Hockey League&#8217;s Vancouver Giants, made a visit to Mohegan Sun Arena in 2012 to watch the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Howe left a lasting impression on Northeastern Pennsylvania before he passed away Friday at the age of 88. </caption0><photoCredit0>Darryl Dyck, The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck | via AP file photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_howe-5-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Torchbearer and Hall of Fame hockey great Gordie Howe carries the Olympic flame in LaSalle, Ontario, during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics torch relay. The man who made legendary the Gordie Howe Hat Trick &#8212; a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game &#8212; died peacefully Friday at the age of 88, his son Murray Howe confirmed. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_howe-5-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Torchbearer and Hall of Fame hockey great Gordie Howe carries the Olympic flame in LaSalle, Ontario, during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics torch relay. The man who made legendary the Gordie Howe Hat Trick &#8212; a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game &#8212; died peacefully Friday at the age of 88, his son Murray Howe confirmed. </caption1><photoCredit1>Darryl Dyck, The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck | via AP file photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_howe-2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Saskatoon Blades president Steve Hogle places pucks and jerseys at a Gordie Howe statue outside of Sasktel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Friday. Howe, the rough-and-tumble Canadian farm boy whose boundless blend of talent and toughness made him the NHLs quintessential star during a career that lasted into his 50s, died Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_howe-2-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Saskatoon Blades president Steve Hogle places pucks and jerseys at a Gordie Howe statue outside of Sasktel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Friday. Howe, the rough-and-tumble Canadian farm boy whose boundless blend of talent and toughness made him the NHLs quintessential star during a career that lasted into his 50s, died Friday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Darryl Dyck, The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck | via AP file photo </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Gordie Howe left a lasting impression on area hockey</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Derek Levarse and Tom Venesky</p><p>dlevarse@www.timesleader.com</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Derek Levarse at 570-991-6396 or on Twitter @TLdlevarse</p><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

NEPA, Penguins pay respects to the late Gordie Howe