Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 12, 1993 TAG: 9303120225
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ALL-TIME LOW CROWD IN ECHL
There was a scheduled East Coast Hockey League game played Thursday at the Vinton LancerLot.However, the local fans and the Roanoke Valley Rampage must have brushed that fact off as being mere rumor.
Seemingly taking a cue from the league record-low 548 fans in the stands, the Rampage didn't bother to show up for two periods and promptly got hammered 8-5 by the Birmingham Bulls.
As far as Revonomics goes, this one was the biggest crash of all.
"What do we have? Maybe 250 people?" asked team owner Larry Revo, peering through the shades of his second-floor office window at the smattering of fans.
"I wonder what Birmingham thinks. It's their first time in here. They must be thinking this isn't the same league they're in."
If the Bulls were thinking that, they were right.
The Bulls led 3-0 after one period and 7-2 through two before the Rampage decided to punch the time clock. Only three Roanoke Valley goals in the game's final 10:08 kept the team from being totally humiliated.
"I don't know what they're doing out there," Rampage coach Steve Gatzos said. "We didn't show up until the third period. Why? I don't know why. You'd think it would be the other way around. They should be fresher early in the game, shouldn't they?"
After the game, Revo certainly didn't require any fresh legs to make his bank deposit. His take was, at best, pocket change.
Revo, whose relationship with what few Rampage fans are left can be most politely described as strained, spent the night in his office with the lights turned off and shades almost completely drawn.
Revo, who, barring unforeseen developments will pull the plug on Roanoke Valley hockey, says he doesn't need any more hassles with the increasingly hostile fans. During the second period, the body of his sports car parked outside the building was coated with what appeared to be lotion.
The end is in sight for Revo, Gatzos and the Rampage. The club's final home game is Saturday.
"Sure, I'll be glad when it's over," said Gatzos, whose club lost for the 48th time in 62 starts.
"I'm not sadistic. I don't enjoy getting our butts kicked every night."
\ ICE CHIPS: Bill Kovacs paced the Bulls with two goals and three assists. The win kept Birmingham (30-27-5) alive in the four-team race for the ECHL's final wild-card playoff berth. . . . Ken Blum had two goals for the Rampage, while Chris Smith had a goal and two assists. . . . The league's previous low crowd was 644, set by the Rampage on Feb. 26. . . . Rampage captain Ron Jones will have surgery today for a broken left fibula. Jones was injured in last Friday's 3-2 win over Johnstown. "This is it for me. I'm officially retired," Jones said. "I guess it's sort of a fitting way to end this season, eh?" The Detroit native, who played three seasons in Vinton, said he plans to make his permanent home in the Roanoke area. "I guess I'll have to get a satellite dish if I want to see some hockey," Jones said. \
see microfilm for box score