THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 26, 1995 TAG: 9501260501
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
Goaltender Patrick LaLime is the latest player lost by the Hampton Roads Admirals.
LaLime, a rookie from Quebec, signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday afternoon and boarded a flight to Cleveland, home of the Penguins' IHL affiliate.
LaLime was drafted by Pittsburgh out of junior hockey last season but did not come to terms with the Penguins and signed with the Admirals. However, after LaLime helped fuel a winning streak that moved the Admirals from last to first in the ECHL's East Division, Pittsburgh offered a more lucrative contract.
LaLime's agent negotiated for six days before calling him Wednesday and advising him to accept the offer.
``We've lost part of the best goaltending in the league,'' Admirals coach John Brophy said. ``He was one of the ones who made the team turn around.
``It's good for Patrick because he deserves a chance to move up. There's no question in my mind that he's going to play in the NHL.''
Good for LaLime, but bad for the Admirals, who have lost four players in two weeks.
Center John Porco, Hampton Roads' top scorer, was signed by San Diego of the IHL two weeks ago. Lost to injuries in recent games have been No. 2 center Brendan Curley and ECHL All-Star defenseman Ron Pascucci.
Curley has bruised ribs, and though he might return next week, he will miss three games this weekend. Pascucci is out a minimum of four to six weeks and was placed on the 30-day injured-reserve list Wednesday.
Brophy moved to shore up the holes by signing goaltender Shamus Gregga and forward Mike Nemirovsky.
Gregga was the Admirals' backup goalie last season and was in goal when Hampton Roads clinched the East Division title at Charlotte. But he was cut this season when Corwin Saurdiff was assigned from Kansas City of the IHL.
Saurdiff and LaLime had been splitting time in goal, but it is expected Saurdiff will start. Gregga was signed from the Nanaimo Clippers, a junior team in British Columbia.
After being cut in December by the Admirals, Nemirovsky elected to remain in Norfolk and work out with the team on his own. He will play Friday when the Admirals host Charlotte.
LaLime says he is both anxious and sorry to leave.
``This is the best year I've ever had,'' he said. ``The fans were great, my teammates were great, the coaches were great. I'm sorry to leave here and will never forget the people who helped me so much.
``I know players at other (ECHL) teams, and things are much better here than anywhere else. But I'm am ready to move up. I want the chance to show I can play.''
Cleveland already has two goaltenders, but said LaLime: ``That does not bother me. If I play well, they will have to play me.''
Contract terms were not revealed, but sources said it is a multiyear, six-figure deal.
TALKIN' BASEBALL: Pete Michaud, radio voice of the Admirals, has been named the lead broadcaster for the Vero Beach Dodgers of the Class-A Florida League.
Michaud, an Indian River High School and Old Dominion graduate, worked the 1992 and 1993 seasons for a Class-A team in Springfield, Ill., but had no baseball contract last summer. He has worked in local broadcasting since 1980, when he was a part-time newscaster for WNIS while still at Indian River.
He was negotiating with Double-A Portland, Maine, but decided to accept the Vero Beach offer rather than wait.
His baseball job shouldn't interfere with his duties with the Admirals.
``If it had been a Single-A job in a lesser league, maybe I would have gambled on it,'' Michaud said. ``But the way I look at it, working in Single-A for the Dodgers is like working Double-A for a lot of other organizations.
``I'm excited to get back into it. Minor league baseball is unique in that there's no money to be made, and the hours are incredible. You're off about one day per month. But if you want any hope of making it to the big leagues, it's a route you have to take.''
Admirals president Blake Cullen, a major league baseball administrator for 22 seasons, said Michaud will make it.
``He's big-league in every way,'' Cullen said. ``Somebody we're going to lose him to a big-league club, either hockey or baseball.''
ANOTHER SELLOUT: Only nine tickets remain for Friday's game with Charlotte at Scope, and they are expected to sell early today. It will be the Admirals' sixth sellout of the season and the third in a row.
ICE CHIPS: Forward Colin Gregor and defenseman Tom Menicci, both recently activated from injured reserve, will be the guests on the Admirals Report on WTAR, AM-790, tonight at 7:04. Most of the Admirals won't be listening, however. They'll be at a skating party at the Haygood Roller Skating Center in Virginia Beach, beginning at 7. It is open to the public; admission is $5. It is sponsored by the Admirals Boosters Club. . . . Admirals veterans Rod Taylor and Dennis McEwen will be featured at 5 p.m. Sunday on ``Timeout with Jack and Chic,'' shown on Cox Cable Channel 11. by CNB