Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 21, 1992 TAG: 9203210279
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The Roanoke Valley Rebels, whom most observers figured had no chance against the Greensboro Monarchs, landed a stunning opening blow in the teams' first-round East Coast Hockey League playoff matchup, winning Game 1 of the best-of-seven series 4-1 at the Vinton LancerLot.
The Rebels, who barely qualified for postseason play and lost seven of eight games to Greensboro in the regular season, will attempt to make it two straight in Game 2 tonight at the LancerLot.
"It's nice to get one, but this is nothing to get excited about. It means absolutely nothing," said Rebels coach Roy Sommer, doing his best to downplay one of his club's most inspired efforts of the season.
"Hey, Greensboro just had an off night," Sommer said. "That's the best hockey team in the league. By no means is this thing close to being over. It's going to be a long series, I think."
Indeed, it was a long night for the Monarchs. Greensboro rarely resembled the veteran bunch that waltzed to the second-best regular-season record in the 15-team ECHL.
The Monarchs missed scoring chances they usually bury and got suckered into the kinds of penalties they usually hang on the opposition.
"Nothing went right for us, not one thing," Greensboro coach Jeff Brubaker said. "Roanoke played a hell of a game. They beat us. If we needed a wake-up call, this should be it."
The Rebels certainly heard their alarm. They played intelligent hockey, waited for their breaks to come and took advantage. The small crowd of 1,693 must have wondered if the skaters in white were impostors.
"We stuck to the game plan, let them take the penalties and capitalized on our power play," Rebels forward Corey Lyons said. "But I have to add that Greensboro wasn't the same team I've seen play since I've been here."
The Monarchs controlled play in the first period but got nothing for their effort. James kept the visitors at bay with a bevy of strong saves.
The cautious Rebels finally got the break they sought with 1:14 left in the period.
Defenseman Ben Wyzawsky, who was acquired from Raleigh last week, poked the puck from Roger Larche's stick at the Rebels' left circle and passed it to teammate Wayne Muir, waiting near the red line. Muir skated in untouched and fired a shot, which caromed off Nick Vitucci's stick and trickled between the goalie's legs into the net.
The Rebels then took over in the second period with what was unarguably their best 20 minutes of home hockey this season, outshooting Greensboro 20-5.
Roanoke Valley peppered Vitucci with shots from every angle. Lyons finally turned on the red light at 16:29, stuffing home a power-play goal off a crisp pass from Peter Kasowski to make it 2-0.
Then, as happened so many times in the past when the clubs have met in Vinton, things got bizarre. A melee ensued at the 17:55 mark involving four players from each team. After doling out a combined 98 minutes in penalties, referee Brett Parsons ordered the clubs to their dressing rooms for a cool-down period. The ice was resurfaced, and the final 2:05 of the period was tacked onto the start of the third period.
The Rebels got a 5-on-3 power play out of the penalty exchange but did not score.
After failing to score on a four-minute power play early in the third period, the Monarchs appeared done.
But Gordie Cruickshank revived his team, at least temporarily, when he scored a short-handed breakaway goal that made it 2-1 with 9:33 left.
The Rebels, however, weren't going to let this one slip away. Twenty seconds later, Scott Eichstadt, parked in the slot, deflected Trevor Smith's slap shot past Vitucci.
Mark Woolf added the capping goal 3:38 later when he beat Vitucci on a 2-on-1 break.
Players from both sides had varying accounts of what triggered the near brawl in the second period, none of which concurred.
Greensboro forward Shawn Wheeler, who received a game misconduct for his part, said his team "simply got outworked."
"We stopped skating for some reason and they didn't," he said. "We went to sleep. They wanted it more than we did. But just remember it's just one game. You've got to win four to win the series."
Nobody had to remind the Rebels of that fact.
"We can't blow our horns," said James, who stopped 28 of 29 shots. "I'm sure Greensboro will come out with both barrels firing [tonight]. But, hopefully, things will go our way again."
Lyons said tonight's game could be the key to the series.
"I don't know if it's a must to go up 2-0, but it sure would make things easier going down there," he said. "All the pressure is on those guys. No pressure is on us. Nobody expects us to win."
\ ICE CHIPS: The rough game featured 224 penalty minutes. Greensboro racked up 148 minutes on 26 penalties; Roanoke Valley 76 on 19. . . . The Monarchs will be without defenseman Mike Butters tonight. Butters was given a double game misconduct after an altercation with Roanoke's Ken Blum. A double game misconduct carries an automatic one-game suspension. . . . The Rebels' penalty-killing unit was spectacular, shutting out the league's top power play in six opportunities. Roanoke Valley was 2-of-8 on the advantage. . . . The small turnout puzzled Rebels officials, who said their box-office phone was ringing off the hook Thursday. A larger crowd is anticipated tonight. . . . After tonight's game, the series moves to the Greensboro Coliseum. Game 3 will be played Tuesday, Game 4 Wednesday, and Game 5, if necessary, is scheduled for Friday. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB