Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 20, 1992 TAG: 9203200367
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Before the Rebels get too comfortable, they first have to deal with the bash's designated bouncers, the Greensboro Monarchs.
If things go according to form, the Monarchs figure to have the Rebels as a quick appetizer.
"Hey, Greensboro is supposed to beat us," said Rebels coach Roy Sommer, whose club will be a prohibitive underdog when the best-of-seven, first-round series begins tonight at 7:30 at the Vinton LancerLot.
"I'm sure they think they will beat us, too," Sommer said. "I would, too, if I had a record like that."
Greensboro won the ECHL East Division with a 43-16-4 record. Roanoke Valley (21-36-7) lost 14 of its last 17 games but backed into the postseason because Knoxville lost 17 of its last 19.
Head-to-head, the numbers don't get any better for the Rebels. Greensboro won seven of eight games between the two clubs by a combined 41-24 margin.
Although the lopsided figures suggest otherwise, Sommer and his players say they have a chance.
"We're coming into this thing loose and easy," Sommer said. "Hey, we're not supposed to be here. They are. So all the pressure is on them. We have no pressure because nobody thinks we can win.
"I mean the odds are against us, but crazier things have happened."
Monarchs coach Jeff Brubaker doesn't have to be reminded. He has seen the wacky world of the ECHL playoffs before.
"Remember Knoxville last year?" Brubaker said of the ECHL's regular-season champions who were ambushed in the first round of the 1990-91 playoffs by underdog Louisville.
"Anything can happen in the playoffs, and we're prepared for anything," Brubaker said. "We're not assuming anything. You can bet on that. The one thing you can bet on is that we're not going to take Roanoke lightly. I'm sure Knoxville took Louisville lightly last year and look at what happened."
If the Rebels are to pull the upset, they will have to get started early. They must take advantage of a scheduling conflict that moved the first two games of the series from the Greensboro Coliseum to the LancerLot.
Game 2 is Saturday at the LancerLot. The series then moves to Greensboro for games 3 (Tuesday), 4 (Wednesday) and 5 (next Friday), if necessary. A Game 6, if necessary, is scheduled for March 28 in Vinton. A Game 7, if necessary, will be played in Greensboro on March 31.
"If we can win the first two games, then maybe steal one down there, that's all we need," said Rebel Mark Woolf. "Sure, I'd have to say we're the big underdog and it will be a pretty big upset if we pull it off. But our season has been dismal, and we look at this as a second chance to erase some of the bad things that have happened to us."
Sommer said his team must play flawless hockey to have a prayer at an upset.
"[Goaltender] Mike James is going to have to play well, our defense is going to have to block out, move the puck well. And our big guns are going to have to put the puck in the net," Sommer said. "We know what has to be done.
"We've played a lot of close games with them. We can't sit back. We have to capitalize on our scoring opportunities and keep from turning the puck over too much. Greensboro is a veteran team and it makes you pay every time you make a mistake."
Sommer said the experienced Monarchs have the league's best defense. The Greensboro back line is led by goaltender Nick Vitucci, who leads ECHL goalies in most statistical categories.
Offensively, Greensboro is paced by a potent power play that led the league most of the season and sniper Phil Berger, the ECHL's leading scorer with 124 points (58 goals, 66 assists).
"We're going to have to play our buns off, but we can do it," Sommer said.
Brubaker, ever cautious, is taking nothing for granted. Not yet anyway.
"Roanoke has some good hockey players," Brubaker said. "We always prepare ourselves to play this club, especially in Roanoke. That team can perform in that building.
"We'd love to have started this thing in Greensboro. If we can get a game in Roanoke, it works out for us. If we can't, we come back to Greensboro with the pressure on us."
Brubaker, who caused a stir two season ago when he said all Rebels fans must own tractors, said his club is ready to bulldoze its way to what would be a second league title in three seasons.
"We're primed and focused," he said. "All I want to know now is Henry [Brabham, Rebels owner] going to circle the building with tractors or what? That was a wild, wild series, wasn't it?"
Rebel public relations director Shirley Woolwine said the club is expecting near-sellout crowds for the first two games at the 3,259-seat LancerLot. \
see microfilm for first round series schedule
by CNB