Larry Robinson

The Marple Township Planning Commission did not have a quorum at Tuesday's scheduled meeting, but the four members who did show up made good use of their time. With three members absent for various reasons, the commission still heard a preliminary subdivision plan and reviewed township ordinances for side- and rear-yard setback requirements for planned residential developments. Approximately 20 neighbors of a proposed subdivision along Sproul Road just northeast of Franklin Avenue attended the meeting to hear what Larry Robinson plans for the 3.04 acres he wants to develop.

Buoyed by 14 victories in their last 19 games and the return of Brian Propp to the lineup, the Flyers are in Montreal tonight for their final meeting of the season with the Canadiens. Montreal, which tied the Flyers, 2-2, on opening night at the Spectrum, and won 5-4 at The Forum on Nov. 7, is in its first downslide of the season. The Canadiens, who go into the game tied with Boston for the Adams Division lead, have won only two of their last eight games (2-4-2). In their last outing at home on Wednesday night, they blew a 5-1 lead and lost, 6-5, to Buffalo.

Flyers reserve defenseman Ed Hospodar was suspended from the Stanley Cup playoffs yesterday by the National Hockey League as a result of the brawl he instigated before Thursday night's game against Montreal. Along with the suspension, the NHL levied $24,500 in fines. Every player who left the locker room to join the fray was fined $500. Hospodar, Dave Brown, Rick Tocchet, Don Nachbaur and Daryl Stanley of the Flyers were fined an additional $500 for fighting, as were Shayne Corson, Chris Nilan, Larry Robinson and Mike McPhee of the Canadiens.

Ten people, including two firefighters, were injured when a four-alarm fire swept through a three-story North Philadelphia hotel before dawn today. Eight of the injured were residents of the hotel - the Harris House at the northwest corner of Poplar and Carlisle streets that has been a home for transients. Most of the residents were hurt leaping from windows on the second and third floors of the building, which were virtually consumed by the flames. Others were assisted from the building by firefighters.

A 33-year-old borough man was bound over for trial yesterday on charges that he repeatedly raped a teenage visitor to his home 4 1/2 years ago. Larry Robinson, of the 100 block of Bartram Avenue, sat quietly for more than 45 minutes of testimony by his often-tearful accuser as she told of three weeks of incidents that she said she hid from her family and boyfriend until last September. The woman testified that after the first incident on Aug. 12, 1992, "he asked me if I was mad at him and I said, 'I don't know,' . . . [then]

Mike Liut, back in goal after missing two games because of an injury, stopped 32 shots, and Kevin Dineen scored his sixth goal of the playoffs last night to lead the Whalers to a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Hartford, Conn., and force a deciding seventh game in their Adams Division final series. The Canadiens, as they have in four games of the series, outshot the Whalers, this time by 32-17. But Liut proved equal, making up for several defensive lapses by his teammates.

A Philadelphia man who also faces state charges of shooting Allen Iverson's driver was convicted on federal drug and gun charges Thursday. A federal jury in Philadelphia deliberated for at least two hours before convicting Carlos Manuel Perez. U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez set sentencing for Jan. 25. Perez faces at least 15 years in prison under the advisory sentencing guidelines. Although the 2003 shooting outside a Center City club ultimately led to the search that discovered the drugs and guns, Sanchez barred prosecutors from telling the jury about it because he feared it might unfairly influence the jury.

The Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday signed unrestricted free agent guard- forward Tony Campbell, a 10-year NBA veteran. Campbell fills a vacancy created by the loss of shooting guard Gerald Wilkins to a torn Achilles' tendon. Wilkins, who averaged 14.3 points a game last season, ruptured the tendon in an exhibition game and will be out all season. Terms of Campbell's deal were not disclosed. The Cavaliers had about $550,000 available under the salary cap - half of Wilkins's base salary from last season.

The New Jersey Devils' search for a veteran backup for goaltender Martin Brodeur ended yesterday where it began - with John Vanbiesbrouck. Vanbiesbrouck agreed to contract terms, ending a retirement that began moments after the Devils lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals to the Colorado Avalanche. Vanbiesbrouck worked out with goaltender coach Jacques Caron after the Devils practiced at South Mountain Arena. However, the 38-year-old probably won't sign his contract until after the NHL break for the Olympics, which would be the final week of February.

While the goal was somewhat lucky, the Montreal Canadiens did everything else right to win in New Jersey for the first time since 1993. Jose Theodore had 19 saves, and Jan Bulis scored the fortunate goal as the visiting Canadiens ended a 15-game winless streak (0-12-3) in New Jersey with a 1-0 win over the Devils last night. "We played really well," Theodore said. "We were solid defensively. It was like that for both teams. There were few scoring chances, it was like a playoff game.