THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 31, 1995 TAG: 9508310559
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PHILADELPHIA LENGTH: Long : 139 lines
You know it's not ice hockey when cheerleaders prance onto the floor of the Spectrum. Dressed in scanty attire befitting dancers at a strip bar, they gyrate to the sound of grunge rock as the crowd awaits the introduction of the Philadelphia Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs then skate onto the plastic surface on roller blades, emerging one-by-by one from a large dog house. They are greeted by a recording of a barking dog, which is played at ear-splitting level over the public address system.
The crowd of 4,000, whose average age might be 17, squeals with delight.
Four minutes into the game there have been 11 shots on goal. By the end of the first quarter - there are four quarters instead of three periods - Philadelphia has taken a 5-3 lead over the Orlando Rollergators.
At game's end there have been 88 shots on goal. The final score: Philadelphia 13, Orlando 7.
Welcome to roller hockey, an offshoot of ice hockey that appears destined to spread to Hampton Roads next summer.
Blake Cullen, president of the Hampton Roads Admirals, has tentative plans to form a roller hockey league with other members of the East Coast Hockey League. Failing that, the Bulldogs plan to play a Roller Hockey International game at Scope next summer to test the market's potential for the RHI.
``Bringing the Bulldogs to Norfolk for a game is a natural,'' said John Page, a Spectum executive who helps run the Bulldogs.
Indeed it is, for the Bulldogs have a distinct Hampton Roads flavor. The team is coached by Admirals assistant Al MacIsaac. Admirals defenseman Rob MacInnis was the team's leading regular-season scorer this summer with 49 points. Player-coach Kent Hawley helped the Admirals win an ECHL championship.
Goaltender Mark Bernard, forwards Jimmy Brown, Shawn Wheeler and Don Martin and defenseman Perry Florio are former or current Admirals with the Bulldogs, who were eliminated from the RHI playoffs last week.
The league is stocked with minor-league stars, most from the International and American leagues and the ECHL. Former Admirals star Victor Gervais, now with Anaheim, was fourth in the league with 78 points.
In spite of its minor league flavor, the RHI bills itself as a sport for the 1990s, an Extreme Game of sorts marketed primarily to Generation X. Games are televised weekly on ESPN2, the hip version of ESPN that spices its broadcasts with interviews from the bench while games are in progress.
Many RHI teams employ unusual marketing strategies. The Bulldogs drew 8,000 earlier this year when everyone who brought a dog was admitted free. It nearly turned into a disaster when one of the dogs tried to attack Bruzer Bulldog, the team's mascot.
On the night Philly bested Orlando, Bulldog cheerleaders circulated through the crowd, tossing out T-shirts and souvenir pucks. They did dance routines in the aisles and coaxed fans to juke with them. At halftime, they competed in a remote-control car race.
``They're marketing this game to kids, the ones who have grown up on roller blades,'' Brown said. ``The kids love the game because it's fast-paced and high-scoring.''
Though similar to ice hockey, roller hockey is indeed intentionally more high scoring. The puck is plastic and moves faster than an ice hockey puck. There are no blue lines, and thus few offside calls and no two-line passes to interrupt play.
``I can have a player standing at my goal line get the puck and throw it all the way up to the (opposite) red line and it's legal,'' MacIsaac said. ``It's more like basketball than ice hockey. Everything is fast break.''
There's one less defender than in ice hockey, which also makes it easier to score. An average of 14.3 goals were scored in Philadelphia's 24 games.
``With one less defender, there's more room for skilled players to do their stuff,'' Hawley said. ``There are a lot more breakaways. First-time fans are overwhelmed by the offense.''
Bernard's goals-against average was 5.67 this season, which would be grounds for dismissal in the ECHL, but was the third-best in the 19-team RHI.
``The hardest thing for a goaltender to adjust to is moving laterally,'' Bernard said. ``Ever tried moving side-to-side on roller blades? You have to hop. You can't slide like you can on ice skates.
``The other thing is that the puck goes a lot faster. It's two ounces lighter than a regular puck and it just flies. You don't have a prayer of stopping some shots.''
In spite of its wide-open nature, roller hockey isn't thriving in Philadelphia or anywhere else in the RHI. The Bulldogs averaged 3,261 fans in 12 home games at the Spectrum, which literally stands in the shadows of Veterans Stadium, home of the Phillies and Eagles. That's just under the league average of 3,825.
The Bulldogs lost $800,000 in 1994 and may have lost nearly that much this season.
The news media hardly acknowledge the team's existence. The daily newspapers have yet to staff a game and the team usually has to buy air time for the Bulldogs to make it on television.
``With the Phillies, Flyers, Eagles and 76ers all in town, it's tough,'' MacIsaac said. ``The only thing we have going for us is that we're an indoor sport in air conditioning, and it's called hockey.
``I've been talking to a number of other clubs and they're all losing money.''
Even the Anaheim Bullfrogs, who lead the RHI in attendance at 10,038 per game.
``They give away a lot of tickets,'' MacIsaac said. ``Everyone does. It's going to take a while for the sport to establish itself.''
Yet the league has a multiyear contract with ESPN - the championship series between Montreal and San Jose is being broadcast this week and next - and a long-term outlook.
Philadelphia's owners - actor Tony Danza, NHL player agent Ron Salcer and the Spectrum - acknowledge that they've lost money and will lose more before the team begins to draw well.
``It's going to take time, but roller hockey will find its niche in this market,'' Page said. ``Our fans love the sport. We need time to develop more of them, and the ownership here is committed to giving us that time.''
MacIsaac said he knows one way to rake in more fans - encourage fighting. The rules now mandate a one-game suspension for fighting, and that's a hefty penalty in a league where every player is paid $175 per game.
``They may have to institute fighting for the benefit of the league,'' MacIsaac said after the victory over Orlando. ``Intimidation is part of any sport. We need that in this league.''
They also need product recognition. ``Roller hockey'' and ``Bulldogs'' aren't the first things to roll off the lips of Philadelphia sports fans in the summertime. Many are unaware that the Bulldogs exist.
``Roller hockey is not a recognized sport yet,'' MacIsaac acknowledged. ``It's going to take time in the big markets. Who knows? At this point, roller hockey might draw better in smaller markets.''
A theory that apparently will be tested in Hampton Roads. MEMO: A roller hockey team might be coming to Scope/C7
ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
The Bulldogs' Jim Brown, left, tries to stop Orlando Rollergator
Steve Sanger-mano during a roller hockey game at the Spectrum.
Dana and Gloria Kelley, members of the Hampton Roads Admirals
Booster Club, cheer on Admirals playing for the Philadelphia
Bulldogs.
PAUL AIKEN
Staff photos
Philadelphia's Jason Weaver emerges from the dog house at the
Spectrum. The Bulldogs averaged 3,261 fans in 12 home games.
by CNB