Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 20, 1990 TAG: 9003202405
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ECHL Commissioner Pat Kelly announced Monday that he has suspended four players - two from each club - for one game and fined both head coaches for their parts in a brawl at the end of Game 2 of the best-of-five, first-round series.
Goaltender Steve McKichan and defenseman Steve Herniman of Virginia and goalie Nick Vitucci and forward Boyd Sutton of Greensboro will sit out tonight's Game 3 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Sutton, who hurled a stick that struck two Virginia fans in the stands, also received a $100 fine.
Virginia coach Dave Allison was fined $200 and Greensboro coach Jeff Brubaker $100 for "failing to control their players."
After the game, Michael C. Martin, a Roanoke man struck by Sutton's stick, filed an assault warrant with Vinton police. Greensboro player Doug Brown filed an assault warrant against Allison, alleging the Virginia coach kicked him in the face.
The melee broke out after Dan Richards scored at 9:13 into the second overtime to give Virginia a series-tying 5-4 victory.
Kelly accused McKichan of triggering the altercation.
"If Steve McKichan had used his head, went down and just celebrated with his own team, we'd have no problem," he said.
"The tape showed McKichan going down the ice and waving a shotgun-style stick. He goes into a group of players to celebrate and two Greensboro players and Vitucci skate over. Then we have the fight.
"Then you see Allison coming into view, but he's swallowed up by 30 guys. You can't see Allison strike or kick anybody. Neither did the referee [Chuck Harrison] or the linesmen."
Kelly said the videotape ran out before Sutton tossed the stick.
Kelly defended Harrison after many players had contended the referee allowed the game to get out of hand.
"They're going to blame the referee no matter what," Kelly said. "Harrison had no chance. . . . There was good and bad in the game from start to finish."
Kelly said he will talk to both coaches and the referee before tonight's game.
"I will instruct the referee in front of both coaches what to watch for," he said. "We've got to cut the chippiness and cheap stuff out after the play has gone by."
Greensboro has neutralized Virginia's quickness advantage by playing the body at every chance. The aroused Monarchs have held, jabbed, elbowed and shoved the Lancers into playing at a slower pace.
Allison, who couldn't be reached for comment on the fines and suspensions, admitted the Monarchs have tied anchors to his skaters.
"Hey, what Greensboro has done has worked," Allison said. "Give 'em credit. They've been successful in throwing us off.
"They're punching us in the head after every play; they're punching us after every whistle. But the referees aren't calling anything. Most definitely, the way the game have been called has worked into their favor.
"But that's OK. We can overcome that . . . ."
Tonight, for the first time in the series, Allison will have all-league defenseman Bill Whitfield and forward Marco Fuster.
Whitfield returned Monday night from a weekend call-up stint at Binghamton of the American Hockey League. Fuster comes back after serving a three-game suspension stemming from an altercation with Winston-Salem's John Devereaux in the next-to-last regular-season game on March 11.
"Having those two will make a big difference going down there," Allison said. "Each of those guys knows how to take care of themselves."
\ ICE CHIPS: Game 4 will be played Wednesday in Greensboro. Game 5, if necessary, will be played Friday in Vinton. . . . Almost overlooked in Saturday's roughhouse affair was a superb effort by Virginia's Scott Drevitch. The defenseman scored two goals and assisted on three other scores. . . . Fuster's return bumped recent addition Marty Raus out of the lineup. . . . There have been 213 minutes in penalties in the first two games - 113 against Greensboro and 100 against Virginia. . . . The Lancers, whose 17-13 road mark is best in the ECHL, are 3-1 at Greensboro. The Monarchs are 18-12 in their coliseum. . . .
by CNB