Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 29, 1992 TAG: 9203290219
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
How else could one begin to explain what transpired Saturday night at the Vinton LancerLot?
Choose any adjective you want - miraculous, incredible, unbelievable - and it still wouldn't aptly describe the Roanoke Valley Rebels' 5-4 overtime victory over the Greensboro Monarchs.
"I've never seen anything like that," Rebels coach Roy Sommer said. "Somebody, somewhere is looking after us. I've got to believe that."
Goaltender Mike James carried the Rebels all night, stopping 56 of 60 shots, then right wing Corey Lyons blistered a slap shot off the right post into the net at 7:26 of overtime, lifting the Rebels to victory over the stunned Monarchs.
The Rebels tied the best-of-seven series at three games each. Game 7 will be played Tuesday night in Greensboro, N.C.
No matter what happens in the deciding game, nobody can say the Rebels are quitters.
"This bunch has a lot of heart," Sommer said. "After this game, they've got to believe that anything can happen now down in Greensboro on Tuesday."
If the Monarchs' bus stopped on the way home Saturday, chances are James was standing in front of it.
"What more could we have done?" said Greensboro coach Jeff Brubaker, teary-eyed after his club lost a game it would have won 99 times out of 100.
"Mike James. Two words. That's the whole story."
James mades saves standing up, sitting down, lying down. Asked if there was a square inch on his body that didn't get hit by a puck, he smiled and said, "I don't think so."
The goalie said he had no idea how he stopped Phil Berger's shot at 5:11 of overtime that did everything but turn on the red light.
Berger's blast from the right circle appeared to deflect off James' stick. The puck went in the air and landed on his right arm. Before the puck could get loose into the net, James rolled over and the puck came to rest on his chest.
"How did that not go in the net?" Sommer asked in amazement. "That guy [James] is going to be in the NHL one day. He hasn't had a bad game all year. He's unbelievable."
Outshot 6-0 in overtime at that point, the Rebels finally got the puck out of their end. Brett Stewart whipped the puck to Lyons, who skated in to within 20 feet of Greensboro goalie Nick Vitucci and unleashed a high, hard shot.
The puck rang off the right post, caromed across the goal mouth, bounced off the left post and settled 10 inches behind the goal line.
As a crowd of 2,887 fans went berserk, Lyons was tackled by three teammates. At the other end of the ice, James was almost mugged by the rest of the team and Sommer.
"These guys in this room were ashamed of the way they played in Greensboro last night [a 6-1 loss in Game 5]," James said. "I know I was.
"But we came back tonight and showed that we don't quit. We had something to prove to ourselves and our fans."
After Mark Woolf ripped a 35-foot power-play slap shot past Vitucci with 14:25 left in regulation, the Rebels led 4-2 despite being outshot 48-22.
But Berger, who had the series' first hat trick, brought the Monarchs back. He whipped a straight-on, 15-foot wrist shot between James' legs to make it 4-3 with 8:44 left.
Then, with 4:38 left, the ECHL's top scorer struck again. He took a pass from Chris Wolanin, skated inside the Rebels' blue line and rifled a low wrist shot that snuck in the net between James and the right goal pipe.
After a scoreless final 4:38 of regulation, the tired teams went to overtime.
James fended off a five-minute barrage by Greensboro, then Lyons scored his third game-winning goal of the series.
\ ICE CHIPS: Bill Harrington and Peter Kasowski scored their first goals of the series for the Rebels. Harrington scored 19 seconds into the game, and Kasowski's goal, a short-handed breakaway rebound with five seconds left in the second period, gave the Rebels a 3-2 lead. . . . How charmed were the Rebels? Woolf's first goal deflected off Vitucci and caromed off onrushing Greensboro defender Shawn Wheeler into the net. . . . The home team has won all six games of the series. . . . Greensboro lost in overtime for only the fifth time in 18 games this season. The Rebels won for the third time in 10 overtime games. . . . The ECHL's plan to expand into Charlotte, N.C., for next season has been terminated, Kelly said. The league commissioner said Bill Allen, who owns the Charlotte franchise rights, couldn't come up with $3 million to funding for necessary renovations to the old Charlotte Coliseum.
\ see microfilm for box score
by CNB