THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502050206
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
For the first time since joining the ECHL, the Hampton Roads Admirals clearly dominated the Greensboro Monarchs this season, winning seven of 11 regular-season games. But you'd have hardly known it Saturday night, when the Monarchs had the last laugh of 1994-95.
Taking advantage of Hampton Roads mistakes that led to a self-inflicted shortage of players, the Monarchs rolled past the Admirals, 5-2, before a cheering crowd of 9,754.
The Admirals lost five players - four to game misconducts and another to an injury - and fell on their own swords by accruing 22 penalties. The Monarchs scored four power-play goals, including two with a 5-on-3 man advantage.
A victory would have moved the Admirals (27-16-4) past Charlotte and into second place in the East Division. The loss to the last-place Monarchs means the Admirals trail Charlotte by a point and first-place Richmond by three heading into a five-day break, much to the chagrin of coach John Brophy.
``Every time we play that team it's the same thing,'' he said. ``We don't come to play, so we get players hurt and take dumb penalties. When you come to play those things don't happen. . . . We had six shots in the first period, and then started taking dumb penalties. You tell me if we came to play?''
Greensboro surely did. Monarchs forward Jeff Gabriel set the tone 1:24 into the first period when he sent Admirals center John Porco through an open door and onto the Greensboro bench.
The Admirals got in their licks, too. They had 61 of 87 first-period penalty minutes and gave Greensboro seven power plays in the game's first 30 minutes.
Moreover, the Admirals lost two of their ECHL All-Stars - defenseman Chris Phelps and left wing Rick Kowalsky - to game misconducts in the first period. That left Hampton Roads with 15 skaters.
Matt Mallgrave then went to the locker room late in the second period with a sprained ankle after hitting a rut in the ice. Ron Majic and Brian Goudie were lost to game misconducts in the third period, leaving Brophy with five skaters on the bench.
``It was just a bad night,'' Admirals defenseman Rob MacInnis said. ``We didn't play with any discipline.''
Two power-play goals by Davis Payne - the second at 9:46 of the second period - gave the Monarchs a 2-0 lead. But it would have been far worse without the physical play of the Admirals' defensemen and half a dozen sparkling saves by goaltender Todd Hunter.
The Admirals cut the lead to one on Mike Nemirovsky's tip-in of a Goudie shot at 15:50 of the second period, and appeared on the verge of controlling the game when Greensboro was assessed three penalties in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the period. But they were shut out on three power plays, including two with a 5-on-3 advantage.
Things rapidly fell apart in the third period. Mark DeSantis flipped in a wrist shot from the blue line at 1:20 to make it 3-1. Three Admirals penalties then led to three Greensboro power plays, and the Monarchs got goals from Arturs Kupaks and Doug Evans to blow the game open.
``I thought the purpose of playing this game was to move into first place,'' Brophy said. ``Tonight we played like a last-place team.'' by CNB