THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412180231
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals got a lot more from two dozen plane tickets Saturday than frequent-flier points.
Admirals right wing Rick Kowalsky flipped a short wrist shot past Charlotte goaltender Jon Hillebrandt at 1:35 of overtime to give Hampton Roads a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Checkers at Independence Arena.
The loss was the first in nine home games for Charlotte and provided sweet revenge for Hampton Roads. The Admirals were 0-3 in Charlotte and had lost, 5-1, two weeks ago at Independence Arena in a bitterly contested game. In that contest the teams combined for 184 penalty minutes, and the respective head coaches exchanged harsh words via the media in postgame interviews.
Saturday's contest was at times dominated by Charlotte, which outshot the Admirals, 27-7, through two periods. But the Admirals dominated in overtime, pounding Hillebrandt repeatedly with shots before Kowalsky's game-winner.
Admirals coach John Brophy said the Admirals won in part because they flew to Charlotte on Saturday afternoon rather than busing after Friday night's home game, as they usually do.
``The fact that we flew gave us a little more at the end than they had,'' he said. ``We had more in overtime than they did.''
The Admirals came to Charlotte determined to make a point.
``We had to beat them in their arena to prove to them we could beat them,'' Brophy said. ``We had to win this one. It was a big one.''
And one that stamps Hampton Roads (13-10-3) as the league's hottest team. The Admirals are 5-0-1 in their last six games, a streak unmatched by the league's 17 other teams.
Goaltender Patrick LaLime, 5-1-2 in his last eight starts, kept the game close through two periods by fending off 33 Charlotte shots, including six breakaways.
Center John Porco and team captain Dennis McEwen, playing for the first time in two months, also played big roles.
Porco scored a pair of shorthanded goals, once after he picked Darryl Noren clean and another on a long pass from defenseman Brian Goudie.
McEwen, activated Saturday morning after Trevor Halverson went down with an ankle injury in Friday's 4-2 victory over Raleigh, had played in only six games. But he looked anything but rusty with a goal at 2:12 of the third period and an assist on the game-winner.
The winning goal was hardly a thing of beauty. It came after Jim Brown slapped a shot that was blocked by Hillebrandt. That was followed by a McEwen shot that was also blocked.
Kowalsky, who was pinned to the boards by a defenseman, worked free and skated toward the goal, where the puck rolled out to him. He was being shoved down by a defenseman as he took a weak wrist shot that sent the puck whobbling over Hillbrandt's shoulder.
``He was lying on his belly,'' Kowalsky said of Hillebrandt. ``He almost got his glove on it.''
Brophy said the physical nature of the game - referee Kevin Maguire, a former NHL player, let the players check, punch and shove unimpeded - worked to the Admirals' advantage.
``It was a well-called game. That's the way it should be,'' he said. ``Physically, we're stronger than they are. Physically, we're stronger than anyone in this league.'' by CNB