THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 4, 1995 TAG: 9501040516
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
A Russian team on a very successful, and very tiring, tour of the eastern United States comes to Scope tonight to take on the Hampton Roads Admirals.
Torpedo Yaroslavl, a winner in four of its first five games against American teams, meets the Admirals at 7:30.
The team is from Yaroslavl, a city of 603,000 about 100 miles northeast of Moscow. It is led by Andrei Tarasenko, a member of the 1994 Russian Olympic team.
The team's only loss was to the Binghamton Rangers of the AHL, a league one step higher than the ECHL. In its other games, it torpedoed four college teams - Dartmouth, 7-4; Salem (Mass.) State, 12-0; Army, 2-0; and Harvard, 6-3.
Binghamton forward Craig Duncanson said Torpedo Yaroslavl might have beaten his team had the Russians not been fatigued by jet lag.
``They're a very skilled team,'' he said. ``And they play a different style of hockey. They always want possession of the puck, whereas we want to keep the puck in their end and attack.''
Torpedo Yaroslavl had flown into New York City only hours before the game and has maintained a strenuous travel schedule ever since. The team was to arrive in Norfolk at 10 a.m. today after driving all night from Ithaca, N.Y., where it met Cornell University on Tuesday night.
The Russians' stay in Norfolk will be short. They are scheduled to sleep at their hotel the early afternoon, arrive at Scope at 6 and then depart immediately after the game for Lakeland, Fla., where they will meet the Sunshine League all-stars Thursday night. Exhibitions in West Palm Beach and Jacksonville follow before the team departs for home on Monday.
The team apparently is using ample amounts of caffeine to stay alert. Admirals president Blake Cullen said the Russians have requested black coffee prior to the game and hot tea between periods.
The Russians have taken time out to sample American culture. They toured the U.S. Military Academy on Dec. 29, celebrated New Year's Eve in downtown Boston and had a team party at the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston on Monday night after beating Harvard.
They are to have a farewell party Saturday in Daytona Beach, Fla.
There will be no shortage of red, white and blue tonight. Scope will be adorned in Russian and American flags, and Torpedo features red, white and blue uniforms. The team logo is a Russian bear carrying an ax.
Marina Dzyura, a Granby High School student and a native of Moscow who speaks fluent Russian, will serve as an interpreter for the Russians in pregame and postgame media interviews.
ECHL officials will work the game, and the teams will follow ECHL rules. Matt Dunne, who has worked numerous international games, will referee.
EXPANSION TALK: Cullen says it appears likely that Louisville, which suspended play after last season, will return to the ECHL next season. Louisville was granted permission to close down its franchise for a year because it was having problems finding an adequate arena.
``It looks like they're getting their problems worked out,'' he said. ``That's great for the league if it comes off. Louisville is a large market, one that's good for our league.''
With expansion franchises already approved for Mobile, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla., the league appears set to expand to 21 teams.
Meanwhile, the ECHL's hopes of expanding into Scranton/Wilkes Barre, Pa., are now dead, with the AHL announcing that it will locate a franchise there. by CNB