Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 17, 1993 TAG: 9303170252
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICH RADFORD LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium
SEASON OF MISERY ENDS FOR RAMPAGE
The way the Roanoke Valley Rampage celebrated, one would have thought they had won the Stanley Cup.They high-fived one another. The beer started flowing as soon as they were in the locker room. They were giving away their sticks to adoring fans. And their coach wore a huge grin.
Of course, when you've been through what the Rampage has the past three days, you're thankful it's over.
The Rampage ended its East Coast Hockey League season with a 9-4 loss to the Hampton Roads Admirals in front of a crowd of 8,297. To hear their players describe their venture to Hampton Roads, that they actually played was a minor miracle.
Their arena, the Vinton LancerLot, collapsed Sunday morning under the weight of 16 inches of snow, burying their locker room and equipment. On Monday, they had to tunnel into the rumble and hand their skates out to one another through cracks in the debris.
Coach Steve Gatzos said that when they left Roanoke on Tuesday morning, his car remained stuck under an embankment of three feet of snow.
"Our place looks like a war zone," Gatzos said. "I don't think people understand."
The Rampage (14-49-1) borrowed everything but their skates from the Admirals and Iceland of Virginia Beach. They even borrowed two players. Dave Silver, a 34-year-old New Jersey native who works at Iceland, and Ed Dearborn, a Tidewater native who works at an automotive dealership, suited up.
The red-and-black sweaters might have been foreign to the Rampage, but not to Silver and Dearborn. They are the old uniforms of the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds; Iceland's senior adult travel team uses them.
"We were up [in Roanoke] to play a tournament this weekend and we know the situation first hand," Silver said. "That was a lot of fun. It was a good clean game, and it was classy of the Admirals not to take advantage of the situation."
Silver and Dearborn were thrilled to get the opportunity to play, and their presence gave Roanoke Valley 11 skaters, enough for a full line change.
"This game for the two of us was the beginning and the end of our careers," Dearborn said. "And there's no thrill like it."
Hard checks were kept to a minimum, but the Admirals almost took it too easy on the Rampage. After the first period, Hampton Roads' lead was just 2-1.
"It seemed like they just played their positions and cherry picked at the red line," said Admirals team captain Victor Gervais. "And we weren't hitting them. It was like a pond hockey game with boards. At least we started playing after [Admirals coach John] Brophy had a little talk with us."
The Admirals scored five second-period goals to break open the game.
"Nooooo, I didn't get on them after that first period," Brophy said sarcastically.
The victory sewed up second place in the ECHL East Division for the Admirals (37-21-6), who open the Jack Riley Cup quarterfinals tonight at home against Raleigh.
By the third period Tuesday, the outcome was sealed and after the final horn the teams lined up for a handshake as if they had just finished a playoff series. Meanwhile, the fans who had remained at Scope gave the Rampage a standing ovation.
"We stuck through all types of adversity," said Rampage forward Ken House, who scored two goals for Roanoke Valley. "We thought we might as well stick it out to the very end. Boy, we had a lot of uncertainties the last three days."
Gatzos, despite the loss, was giddy about the effort.
"I thought our guys put up a heck of a battle," Gatzos said. "Hey, this season isn't over. We still have to get home tonight, and the way things have gone, let's just say once I'm home I'll feel a little bit better."