THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 22, 1995 TAG: 9511220679
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals consider this season's string of five consecutive shootout losses the equivalent of a bad stretch at the poker table.
It's a strong analogy, for both goalie and shooter agree it takes a poker face to win these one-on-one battles.
``It's an act-and-react thing,'' Admirals forward Trevor Halverson said. ``You act on what the goalie gives you.''
Too many times this season, Admirals rookie goaltender Darryl Paquette has given away his hand before the last card is dealt. He admits the need to develop a ``poker face.''
``Basically, I'm going to get better at this,'' said Paquette, who played at the University of Cape Breton last season and is contracted with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League this season. ``There'll come a day when I get everything right. Right now, I'm making the first commitment.
``In the game, I can be patient enough and outwait the shooter. I've got to start doing that in the shootouts. . . . I'm making my move as soon as a guy drops a shoulder or moves his stick. I've got to stay out of my net a little longer and stand up a little longer.''
Just in case that next shootout opportunity comes tonight at Scope against the Roanoke Express, the Admirals practiced shootout rushes for an extended length of time Tuesday morning.
``Our skaters need the practice too,'' Admirals coach John Brophy said. ``A lot of times we're only scoring one out of five times, and that isn't good enough.''
The only Admiral with consistent success is Halverson, who has scored on four of five shootout attempts this season.
Brophy says that Halverson is a guaranteed shooter every time out and that Dominic Maltais and David St. Pierre are almost certainties. After that, it comes down to who's hot and who's not.
``You like to send your skill players in there, but maybe a defenseman would do better next time out,'' Brophy said.
The Admirals' string of shootout losses stretches beyond this season. In fact, it's almost a year long. The Admirals went 0 for 9 on their shootout attempts against South Carolina goalie Jason Fitzsimmons on Dec. 7, 1994, Pearl Harbor Day, to start the streak.
Hampton Roads hasn't won a shootout since Nov. 26, 1994, and that one seemed all too easy. The Admirals only had to send three shooters onto the ice in a game at Richmond. Goalie Patrick LaLime turned away three Renegades shooters and the Admirals got shootout goals from Matt Malgrave, Jim Brown and John Porco.
The East Coast Hockey League once employed a five-minute overtime period prior to shootouts but did away with the overtime period this season.
Nonetheless, the Admirals have a losing streak going in either format. Counting shootout losses, overtime losses and a playoff overtime loss, the Admirals have dropped 11 straight games going beyond regulation.
Brophy has no answer for the shootout slide other than bad luck.
``You just got to keep trying,'' Brophy said. ``We've been our own enemy in some instances. When you're peppering a team in the third period just to get to a tie, you're usually chewing up the ice in front of that goal.
``When the shootout rolls around, you're left skating through a snowbank.'' by CNB