THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 27, 1995 TAG: 9511270141
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Shootout. It is a word that has come to be dreaded by fans of the Hampton Roads Admirals.
The Admirals' winless streak in shootouts, which had stretched to 10 games over two years, including seven this season, ended Sunday evening as the Admirals posted a 3-2 shootout victory over Raleigh.
Ironically, it was exactly a year before, on Nov. 26, 1994, that the Admirals last won a shootout, defeating Richmond on the road.
``It's like winning the Stanley Cup,'' Admirals coach John Brophy said. ``The longer it goes, the tougher it gets.''
David St. Pierre scored goal in regulation, then hammered in the winning shot in the extra session.
``It's good to win a shootout because we've been losing them all this year,'' St. Pierre said. ``In our heads, I think we thought we could win them. Now we're not scared to go back out into a shootout.''
Goaltender Mark Bernard was stellar, tallying 17 saves in regulation. In the shootout, his glove reached out to grab Curt Regnier's final blast to seal the Admirals' win. Bernard allowed only one shootout goal.
``We haven't had very much luck in shootouts,'' Bernard said. ``We were due for one. I guess tonight was the night.
``One night you could let all five shots in and the next stop them all. You can't plan for it. It's like we finally got the monkey off our back.''
The Admirals trailed 1-0 after Steve Potkin's second-period goal.
Potkin's high-sticking penalty later in the period proved extremely costly. He incurred a five-minute major and a game misconduct when he leveled the Admirals' Serge Aubin at 17:00.
Ten seconds into the third period, St. Pierre fired a power-play goal past a downed Brad Mullahy. One minute later, the Admirals grabbed a second power-play strike as Dominic Maltais lifted a shot into the net for a 2-1 lead.
Regnier scored with less then three minutes remaining to tie the game. Bernard withstood a late flurry of shots, and the Admirals overcame a shorthanded situation to hold the tie.
``It was a great defensive game,'' Brophy said. ``Bernard won the game for us.''
With the win, Hampton Roads (10-2-7) moved within three points of idle Richmond (14-3-2) in the East Coast Hockey League's East Division standings.
The Admirals will have a chance to trim that deficit further Tuesday night when they travel to Richmond for a head-to-head matchup.
Raleigh fell to 4-12-2. by CNB