Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 10, 1990 TAG: 9007100032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Rebels owner Henry Brabham said Monday that his final list includes: Butch Goring, former coach of the NHL's Boston Bruins; Peter Horachek, former IHL player-assistant coach at Flint and Saginaw, Mich; and Claude Noel, a former IHL player-assistant coach at Toledo, Ohio, and Kalamazoo, Mich.
Brabham said he hopes to name a coach for his East Coast Hockey League team in the next week.
Brabham said he must move quickly to make up for lost time. The Vinton businessman was awarded the local ECHL franchise after the Virginia Lancers, owned by New Yorker Richard Geery, were declared defunct by the league.
Geery, who bought the Lancers from Brabham in June 1988, failed to live up to his financial obligations, Brabham said. The league's board of governors voted unanimously Monday to revoke the franchise.
"Richard Geery is gone," Brabham said with a sigh.
With that situation resolved, Brabham said, it's time to get down to business for the 1990-91 season, which starts Oct. 24.
Naming a head coach is a good place to start.
"I think I've got three strong applicants," Brabham said.
Brabham said Horachek ranks as the favorite at this point. Horachek comes highly recommended by Pat Kelly, the current ECHL commissioner and a former head coach in the IHL, as well as Buffalo Sabres head coach Rick Dudley and current Sabres assistant and former Lancers head coach John Tortorella.
"I trust those three guys, and all three said Horachek is a good man," Brabham said. "So right now, I'm leaning toward him.
"I've only talked with him on the phone. I hope to get him in here for an interview in the next two or three days."
Horachek, who currently resides in Flint, played briefly for the NHL's Buffalo Sabres in 1983. He played in the American Hockey League for Rochester from 1980-83 before spending 1984-89 with Flint and Saginaw. Last season, Horachek was a playing head coach in Norway and was selected to play for the Norwegian national team.
Noel's resume is similar to that of Horachek. He played in the AHL at Hershey, Pa., (1976-81) before IHL stops in Toledo, Kalamazoo and Milwaukee. He also played in Switzerland and Austria, where he served as a playing assistant.
Goring may be the marquee name among the finalists, but Brabham said he has doubts about hiring a former NHL head coach. Goring spent the 1985-86 season behind the bench in Boston, compiling a 37-31-12 record (third in the Adams Division), but was fired early in the '86-87 season.
Goring, who has been coaching in junior hockey the past couple of seasons, heard about the Virginia vacancy through Kelly.
"I saw him at the NHL meetings in Vancouver," Kelly said. "I told him there was a job open in Virginia."
Brabham, who received a written resume from Goring, remains skeptical.
"Goring is the big name and all that, but I think I'd rather have a guy who hasn't been in the NHL. Once a guy has been in the NHL, he becomes hard to handle," said Brabham, who has been known as a hands-on owner.
"I think a young guy working to move up will work harder than a guy who has already been to the top and has been knocked down."
Kelly announced Monday that the 1990-91 regular season will run through March 12, with each team playing 64 games.
The commissioner said the third-year league will have 11 teams, including expansion franchises in Richmond, Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky.
The league will be split into two divisions. The five-team division will include Roanoke Valley; Richmond; Hampton Roads; Johnstown, Pa., and Erie, Pa. The six-team division includes Cincinnati; Winston-Salem, N.C.; Greensboro, N.C.; Knoxville, Tenn., and Nashville, Tenn.
Each club will play its two closest rivals eight times and each of the other eight teams six times. Roanoke Valley's four extra games will be against Richmond and Hampton Roads.
In other league developments, Nashville and Cincinnati are the only clubs besides Roanoke Valley that do not have a head coach.
Louisville recently hired former NHL player Warren Young.
by CNB