THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 3, 1995 TAG: 9501030153
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals host the East Division's top two teams this weekend - second-place Roanoke on Friday and first-place Richmond on Saturday - but their toughest test might come Wednesday at Scope, when they meet Torpedo Yaroslavl, a touring Russian team.
Torpedo Yaroslavl plays in the Commonwealth of Independent States League, composed of teams from the former Soviet Union. As of Dec. 14, the most recent date for which standings were available, Torpedo Yaroslavl was second in the CIS league with an 18-10-2 record.
Mike Nemirovsky, a native of Moscow waived by the Admirals several weeks ago, will be activated by the Admirals for the exhibition. He played in the CIS the last two seasons and says the Admirals will be pressed to win.
``I don't know how good the league is this year, but last year it was a tremendous league with a lot of very skilled players,'' Nemirovsky said. ``A lot of the teams were good enough to challenge NHL teams.''
Torpedo Yaroslavl was the only Russian team to beat a team of touring NHL Russian all-stars in November.
Torpedo Yaroslavl opened its American tour last week with a 5-4 loss to Binghamton of the AHL, but the contest came only hours after the team had landed following an overnight flight from Europe.
Among Torpedo Yaroslavl's best players is Andrei Tarasenko, a member of the Russian Olympic team. He is the team's captain and leading scorer.
Norfolk is the seventh stop on the team's 10-city tour.
NEW AFFILIATION: Admirals coach John Brophy soon will take an all-expenses-paid trip to Orlando, Fla., compliments of Admirals president Blake Cullen.
Cullen wants Brophy to meet with officials of the International Hockey League expansion team that will begin play in Orlando next season to talk about affiliating with the Admirals.
The Admirals already are affiliated with the Washington Capitals of the NHL and Portland of the AHL, but several ECHL teams, including Greensboro and Charlotte, have more than two affiliates.
Cullen says an IHL affiliate can only help the Admirals, who have three players under contract to Portland - Rob MacInnis, Brian Goudie and Matt Mallgrave - out of 17 on their roster. Some ECHL teams have a dozen players under contract to teams from higher leagues.
Cullen has spoken by phone with Pat Williams, who is general manager of the NBA's Orlando Magic and who will run the new IHL team. Cullen and Williams are old friends who met in Chicago, when Cullen worked for the Cubs and Williams for the Bulls.
``I know Pat very well,'' Cullen said. ``We hope this will appeal to Pat - having a club one level below with a great coach, great fans and a tradition of winning. We think it would benefit Orlando and the Admirals.''
PIE WARS: MacInnis took a pie pan of shaving cream in the face, a la the Three Stooges, last week from Goudie and trainer Rick Burrill while he was doing a radio interview.
The prank left his teammates in stitches but did not amuse MacInnis, who fumed for several days before starting to take revenge Saturday night.
MacInnis piled a can full of lather onto a plate and slapped it into John Porco's face while he was doing a television interview in the locker room following the Admirals' 4-2 victory over Raleigh.
Why Porco?
``Because he was the one with the camera in his face,'' MacInnis said.
The pie wars threaten to escalate. As Burrill watched Porco towel off, he asked MacInnis. ``Do I need to be watching my back?'' A wicked smile was the only reply.
SHORT STICKS: Hampton Roads suffered a downturn in attendance in December. The Admirals averaged 7,116 in six dates, which pulled their attendance average for the season down to 7,417 and dropped them from second to third in the ECHL, behind South Carolina and Charlotte. ``With the Christmas holidays, when people are shopping and visiting, we usually don't do well in December,'' Cullen said. However, the Admirals drew 8,767 for their first game after Christmas - and attendance traditionally booms in January. . . . The Admirals would tie a team record with their sixth victory in a row by beating Roanoke. Roanoke won, 3-0, on its last visit to Scope. . . . Forward Trevor Halverson is eligible to come off injured reserve, but likely will remain on the IR for at least another week. Halverson, out with a sprained ankle, skated for the first time in almost three weeks on Monday. by CNB