Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 17, 1993 TAG: 9301170185
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RAMPAGE'S SKID AT 13
Searching for a new office-pool gimmick now that the NFL season is almost history?How about this one? Pick the day the Roanoke Valley Rampage will win another East Coast Hockey League game.
The Rampage's ECHL-record losing streak swelled to 13 games Saturday as the Dayton Bombers rolled to a 7-2 victory at the Vinton LancerLot.
The Rampage (10-28-1), whose current 17-game losing streak on the road also is an all-time league record, hasn't won a game anywhere in 30 days. Roanoke Valley's last victory came last year - on Dec. 17, 1992, in Vinton against Raleigh.
When will the nightmarish run of futility finally end?
"The situation here is a troubled one," said Dayton coach Claude Noel, who coached the Roanoke Valley Rebels in 1990-91.
"I could foresee it coming two years ago, and it was definitely a factor in me moving on. You can't get players here. You could be the god of hockey and not get get players here."
For the second straight night, the Rampage skated a line short and simply couldn't stay with Noel's fully stocked roster for 60 minutes.
"You can't play with nine or 10 guys," said beleaguered Roanoke Valley coach Steve Gatzos, whose manpower shortage was exacerbated by numerous penalties dished out by referee Tim Burton.
"After [Dennis] Skapski got tossed, Rob Bateman goes in for a 10-minute misconduct, another defenseman gets a penalty and I'm down to one defenseman. I have seven guys then. How do you play?"
Gatzos has found it virtually impossible to make a trade with other clubs because no players want to come to the ECHL's eyesore.
"I think what I'm going to have to do is get up tomorrow morning and drive to all the cities around the league," Gatzos said. "I'm going to kidnap some guys, blindfold 'em, put a bag over their heads, tie their hands behind their back. I'm going to drop 'em off here and lock 'em in the dressing room until Tuesday.
"Short of that, I don't know how to get anybody in here. They just won't come here. I talked with Claude before the game and that's been a problem here for years, evidently."
Only 5:45 into the game, Skapski, in his Roanoke Valley debut, was called for a major high-sticking penalty on Dayton's Ray Edwards and was slapped with a game misconduct for drawing blood.
Dayton (23-14-4) got one goal out of the power play and the rout was on. Roanoke tied at 1 on Darryl Mitchell's 50-foot blast off the pipe, but then came the inevitable. Dayton tacked on two goals in the final 4:22 of the first period.
The Bombers added two scores in each of the second and third periods, the final goal coming on former Rebel Peter Kasowski's short-handed effort with 1:10 left.
"I feel sorry for those guys over there," Kasowski said. "I know how tough it must be for them right now. Thirteen in a row. Wow!"
Dave Smith paced the Dayton attack with two goals and two assists. Steve Bogoyevak also had a pair of goals.
"Roanoke was playing short and I know they looked awfully tired at the end," said Noel, whose players were successful baiting the short-handed Rampage into costly penalties.
"Losing also make you tired. After awhile, it gets tough on everybody."
\ ICE CHIPS: Trevor Smith had the Rampage's other goal, his 12th. . . . The Rampage has lost 23 of 27 games since starting 6-6. . . . Roanoke Valley has been outscored 89-36 in the 13-game slide. . . . The Rampage, once 9-5 at home, has dropped six straight at the Lot. . . . The crowd of 1,864 was the largest in the past nine home games, dating to Nov. 28. . . . The Rampage travels to Greensboro on Tuesday. The chances of the streak ending there are remote. Greensboro is 5-1 against Roanoke Valley, 3-0 in Greensboro. Next comes Wheeling in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Thursday, Hampton Roads in Norfolk on Friday and Knoxville in Vinton on Saturday. \
see microfilm for box score