THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510260592
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals thought for a moment that they heard the fat lady singing.
Turned out she was just warming up. And by the time her post-game performance began, it wasn't sweet music.
The Admirals let a 5-3 lead slip away in the game's final five minutes, then flopped in a shootout, falling to the Columbus Chill, 6-5, in front of 5,083 at Scope Wednesday night to kick off a four-game homestand.
The Chill's Derek Clancey scored on a power play with just under five minutes left, then Matt Oates evened matters with 41 seconds remaining after Columbus (5-1) had pulled goalie Bill Pye to create a man advantage.
In the shootout, both teams scored on two of their five attempts - Jamie Spencer and Oates for Columbus, Serge Aubin and Trevor Halverson for the Admirals - forcing extra shooters.
Scott Bell, the Chill's third extra shooter, snuck a quick wrist shot past Darryl Paquette's left shoulder and Jeff Kostuch failed to answer when it was the Admirals' turn.
``We took two days off and looked like we drifted off to California,'' Admirals head coach John Brophy said. ``We took the laziest way to get a point.''
And after last season, it's a manner in which the Admirals have grown too accustomed. They were 3-8 in overtime games a year ago.
The Admirals get a chance to wipe this one from their immediate memory Friday night when the Raleigh IceCaps pay a visit.
The Admirals (3-1-1) appeared to have the Chill beat when Dominic Maltais buried a shot from low in the left circle for a power-play goal after a perfect setup pass from Sergei Voronov. It was Maltais' second goal of the night and was good for a 5-3 lead with 5:58 remaining.
But just six seconds later, Admirals forward Sean Selmser was called for hooking, leading to the late collapse.
``It's a strange game,'' Paquette said. ``You feel comfortable for a moment, but you don't let up.
``They did the damage on the power play and robbed us of some momentum. Things from there just didn't go right.''
Admirals captain Rod Taylor, who added two goals of his own, said matters began to degenerate long before the late Columbus comeback.
The Admirals actually blew two two-goal leads in this one. The first came early in the second period after Maltais scored on a breakaway and Taylor scored a second-effort goal after gathering the puck behind the net.
Up 3-1, the Admirals got in an end-to-end game with the Chill that was not to Brophy's liking.
The Chill cut the lead to 3-2 on a Gary Coupal slap shot through traffic, then tied matters at 3-3 with seven seconds left in the period when John Varga, the ECHL's leading scorer, pumped home a driving slap shot from the left circle on a 4-on-4 push down the ice.
``There was a time there when we kind of fell into a line rush in the second period,'' Taylor said. ``Brophy doesn't like that back-and-fourth kind of play, and while we have certain guys who can do it, it's not our style.
``This is something we've got to learn from. We've got to pick up better in the neutral zone.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by HUY NGUYEN, The Virginian-Pilot
The Admirals' Chris Phelps sends the Chill's Jamie Spencer flying in
the first period.
by CNB