THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 14, 1995 TAG: 9503140429
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Center John Porco is scheduled to return to the Hampton Roads Admirals today and likely will play Wednesday against Roanoke at Scope.
Sean MacCleod, a spokesman for the Saint John Flames, said Porco will be on a flight to Norfolk this morning and is expected to finish the season with the Admirals.
Porco played well early on for the Flames, scoring a goal in his first outing against St. John's and skating regular shifts in his second game. But he got little ice time thereafter.
Porco will have no problem garnering ice time in Hampton Roads, where he has 36 goals and 41 assists in 50 games. He would have had a shot at a 50-goal season had it not been for call-ups to Saint John and to San Diego of the IHL earlier this year.
It isn't known whether forward Rick Kowalsky will return this week from Cornwall of the AHL. Cornwall officials had promised Kowalsky's return two weeks ago but haven't been in touch with the Admirals since.
A Cornwall spokeswoman said Monday that a decision on whether Kowalsky will return hasn't been made. Kowalsky has two goals, an assist and 38 penalty minutes in nine games for Cornwall.
PLAYOFF RACE: South Carolina has clinched the South Division title, Wheeling has a near-lock on the North and Roanoke has the lead in the East. But it matters not for playoff seedings who wins divisional crowns.
The playoffs will be seeded based on total points. Wheeling, with 91 points, appears to have the top seed all but clinched. Dayton (87) would be seeded second ahead of both South Carolina and Roanoke if the playoffs were held today.
The top eight seeds will open the playoffs at home, and Hampton Roads, which is eighth with 75 points, is in a tight race with No. 7 Charlotte (77) and No. 9 Tallahassee (72) for the last home-ice spot.
Both Charlotte and Tallahassee have played one game fewer than the Admirals and thus have two more potential points. Moreover, both play weaker schedules down the stretch than Hampton Roads.
After Wednesday's game against Roanoke, the Admirals are at home Friday against Richmond and Saturday against Charlotte, then travel to Richmond on Sunday. Tallahassee plays Nashville and Knoxville twice before finishing at South Carolina. Charlotte plays Greensboro twice before visiting Hampton Roads and Roanoke, then finishing against last-place Raleigh at home.
AROUND THE ECHL: Rod Langway's brief second career might be at an end. The former NHL All-Star defenseman injured a knee during his second shift with Richmond on Friday at Scope and likely is lost for the season, Renegades coach Roy Sommer said. The Renegades are hurting elsewhere, too. Leading scorer Scott Gruhl reinjured an ankle and is sidelined. . . . There is good news for another former NHL star. Roanoke's Daniel Berthiaume, who has established himself as the league's best goaltender since resuming his career in February, recently was offered a contract by Chicago of the IHL. He turned it down in part because he wants to finish the season in Roanoke, where he has won a league-record 12 games in a row. ``This organization has been good to me,'' he said. ``There's no chance I'm leaving.'' There's also a better chance of him resuming his NHL career if he avoids the IHL, which is losing all of its NHL working agreements. Berthiaume has become something of a cult hero in Roanoke. He wears a red bandanna under his face mask, and dozens of fans now come to the Roanoke Civic Center wearing red bandannas. by CNB