THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME REVO FINDS SUCCESS AT (N.C.) BOX OFFICE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 21, 1993                   TAG: 9301210039
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME REVO FINDS SUCCESS AT (N.C.) BOX OFFICE
Another unusual chapter in the bizarre season of the Roanoke Valley Rampage figures to be written tonight.
In a season that's seen the club flop on the ice, establishing East Coast Hockey League records for most losses in a row (currently 14) and longest road losing streak (currently 18), it's somehow only fitting the Rampage will draw its biggest "home" crowd ever - 120 miles away in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Rampage owner Larry Revo, who announced six weeks ago that he was taking tonight's matchup with Wheeling to Winston-Salem's Joel Coliseum because of poor attendance at the Vinton LancerLot, said Wednesday it "has turned out to be one of the better decisions I've made."
As of Wednesday afternoon, 2,206 advance tickets had been sold for the game in the 3,516-seat arena. The Rampage, which is averaging an ECHL-low 1,613 fans per game, drew a season-high crowd of 2,530 on Nov. 13 in Vinton.
"I never thought we'd get that kind of response," Revo said. "I thought if we did 1,500 we'd be doing well. I'm pleased, obviously."
Revo said the move didn't help his popularity with the Rampage's 200 or so season-ticket holders.
"Obviously, there have been a lot of negative comments about moving the game and I understand that," Revo said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, only four Rampage season-tickets holders had swapped their regular tickets for a new ticket to tonight's game. Most opted for a cash refund for the game.
Although the Rampage will be wearing white, most of the fans will undoubtedly side with the Thunderbirds, who left Winston-Salem for Wheeling at the end of last season because of low attendance. The game has been promoted in Winston-Salem as "The Return of the Thunderbirds."
"I think it's a good first step for Winston-Salem," Revo said. "If they do show well, I think it's a very, very good showcase for Winston-Salem in terms of having a team come back there at some point."
Revo, who is currently negotiating to move the Rampage out of Vinton, scoffed at a published report out of Greensboro that said he might consider Winston-Salem as a new home.
"That's totally out of the question," Revo said.
\ CLOSE CALL: Greensboro center Jamie Nicholls told the Greensboro News & Record that he's "lucky to be alive" after a body check by an unidentified Roanoke Valley player ruptured his spleen in the Monarchs' 3-2 win Jan. 10.
Thinking he wasn't hurt seriously, Nicholls skated several more shifts in the game. In a post-game meal at a Greensboro restaurant, Monarchs assistant coach John Torchetti suggested that Nicholls, who was pale by then, go to the hospital.
"They X-rayed me for a broken rib and sent me home," Nicholls said. "I called [Monarchs trainer] Rick Carrano and told him all that had happened. He said that my symptoms sounded like a spleen injury and told me to go back. As soon as I walked back into the emergency room, they took my temperature and I fainted."
Some six hours after the hit, Nicholls had emergency surgery.
"I came close to dying," Nicholls said. "I owe my life to Torch [Torchetti] and Rico [Carrano]. Basically, if I'd stayed home and went to bed, I would have bled to death internally."
\ IN THE CORNER, BROPH: Hampton Roads Admirals coach John Brophy has been fined an undisclosed amount and placed on probation for the remainder of the season by ECHL commissioner Pat Kelly.
The volatile coach was cited by Kelly for his actions in three separate incidents: challenging Erie assistant coach Barry Smith during a November game; taking a stick and shaking it at fans after a game in Raleigh last month; and attempting to scale the glass two weeks ago in Greensboro to get at shouting Monarchs fans.
\ ICE CHIPS: Rampage goalie Ray Letourneau, who was 1-5 with a 7.03 goals-against average, has announced his retirement. Letourneau has been replaced on the roster by Pete Frye, who has been playing in Europe. The Rampage also has added former Columbus defenseman Paul Dukovac to the roster. . . . John Blue, who played 10 games in the ECHL with Roanoke in 1988-89, notched his first NHL shutout last week, 7-0 against two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh. Blue, recently called up by the Bruins from Providence (AHL), has a 2.35 GAA in five starts. . . . The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution last Friday announcing its support for keeping the Rampage in the Roanoke Valley. . . . Richmond owner Allan Harvie has named Jim McGeough as coach of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Renegades, Harvie's new entry in the first-year Sunshine Hockey League.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB