Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 7, 1992 TAG: 9203070252
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And the hottest man at the Vinton LancerLot was Rebels owner Henry Brabham.
After Greensboro's comeback 7-5 East Coast Hockey League victory, the volatile Brabham charged toward the officials' dressing room, where he had to be restrained from kicking in the door and going after referee Frank Vicaretti. The referee disallowed two Rebels goals that turned on the red light.
Brabham's postgame trip to the officials' room was no surprise. The 62-year-old owner also had opened a gate at the rink's east end in the first period and threatened to hurl a chair onto the ice surface.
Just 79 seconds earlier, Vicaretti had waved off a score by Brett Stewart that would have given the Rebels a 3-0 lead. Goal judge Tim Perdue turned on the red light signifying a score, but Vicaretti decided to let play continue.
"The puck was a good quarter-inch past the red line," Perdue said. "I wouldn't have let the red light run so long if it wasn't definitely a goal."
After Greensboro's Gordie Cruickshank scored to make it 2-1 at the 14:39 mark, Brabham stormed down the steps from his top-level office to rinkside.
Vicaretti, watching Brabham's tirade from the penalty-box area, refused to continue play until Brabham retreated to his office. Vicaretti issued the Rebels' bench a two-minute delay-of-game penalty.
Greensboro tied the score on the power play on Phil Berger's blast off Mike James' skate into the net.
"The call on Stewart's goal turned the whole game around," Rebels coach Roy Sommer said. "Instead of being up 3-0, it's 2-2 after they score when play continues. Then get another one on the power play."
After the Rebels regained the lead on the first of two Mark Woolf goals, Greensboro opened the second period by scoring twice in 4:51. The first goal deflected off the stick of Rebels defenseman Trevor Smith past James; the second bounded off Rebels defenseman Darrell Newman into the net.
Down 4-3, the Rebels appeared to have squared the game 3:50 later, but Wayne Muir's power-play goal was nullified when Vicaretti called Peter Kasowski for interference.
As a crowd of 1,902 cascaded Vicaretti with boos, the Rebels rebounded to take a 5-4 lead on goals by Woolf and Ron Jones in the final 2:54 of the period. But Greensboro came back.
Taking advantage of miscommunication between Rebels defensemen Frank Bialowas and Barlage, who left the puck sitting behind their net, Greensboro tied it at 5 on Cruickshank's point-blank slap shot.
The Monarchs sucked the guts out of the Rebels when Berger, took a clearing pass from Wheeler and beat James with a backhand on a breakaway with 6:31 left. Greensboro (40-16-4) solidified its' sixth straight win when Roger Larche whipped a quick 15-foot wrist shot past James 36 seconds later.
Vicaretti would not comment on Brabham or any of the Rebels' charges after the game because ECHL policy prohibits officials from talking to the media.
The Rebels lost their season-high seventh straight at home and dropped into a tie with with Knoxville for the sixth and final playoff spot in the ECHL East. Roanoke Valley (20-33-6) and Knoxville (19-33-8), a 5-4 winner over Columbus on Friday, both have 46 points. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB