THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 7, 1995 TAG: 9512070486
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
A proposed roller hockey league that would have included Norfolk appears to be dead.
Hampton Roads Admirals president Blake Cullen proposed last summer that the six East Coast Hockey League East Division teams form a roller hockey league. But last week he mailed a letter to the owners in Richmond, Roanoke, Charlotte, Raleigh and South Carolina indicating he is ``reluctant to pursue roller hockey here at Scope for this coming summer.''
Richmond owner Harry Feuerestein called Cullen to say he agreed and Roanoke owner Pierre Paiement recently told the Roanoke Times that he also is not in favor of starting a roller hockey league.
``It's such a big undertaking, and with everything else going on, I don't think the timing now would be right,'' Cullen said.
The timing is especially poor in Norfolk and Richmond because of the Canadian Football League. The Shreveport Pirates have moved to Norfolk and will be playing in part during the summer. The Baltimore Stallions are contemplating a move to Richmond.
Cullen said he will promote a Philadelphia Bulldogs game this summer at Scope. The Roller Hockey International team is coached by Admirals assistant Al MacIsaac.
``We definitely will have a game here,'' Cullen said. ``I would like to test the waters.''
CALL-UPS: Admirals defenseman Chris Phelps was called up Tuesday by Utah of the International Hockey League. He is expected to rejoin the Admirals in time for Saturday's game in Columbus. . . . Goaltender Shamus Gregga, who began the season in Hampton Roads, has been called up from Huntington by Cleveland of the IHL to replace Patrick Lalime, who was promoted to the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. Gregga was the backup goalie for Lalime in Hampton Roads part of last season. Gregga's callup means he'll miss playing against his old teammates Sunday when the Admirals are in Huntington. . . . Defenseman Alexei Krivchenkov, called up from Hampton Roads by Cleveland last week, apparently won't be coming back. The Penguins, who have Krivchenkov under contract, were so impressed with his play in Norfolk that they want him to stay in Cleveland, their IHL farm team. He had a league-best plus-minus of plus-15 when he departed Norfolk. ``He's won't be back,'' Admirals coach John Brophy said.
NEW CAREER: After working for 25 years at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Gary Mansfield has retired to pursue a boyhood dream.
The 45-year-old Portsmouth native has always wanted to be a trainer or equipment manager for a professional team. For the past five years, Mansfield lived out that fantasy by working as a volunteer equipment manager for the Admirals. Though unpaid, he often worked a 40-hour week for the Admirals, who also employ his wife, Verna, as an administrative assistant.
Much to Mansfield's surprise, Cullen recently asked him to become the Admirals first full-time equipment manager. To accept would mean resigning from the shipyard, where he had worked his way up from his first job as a laborer to become a nuclear systems mechanical inspector.
But he never hesitated. ``This is what I've always wanted to do,'' he said. ``Not many people have the opportunity to start a second career like this.''
AROUND THE ECHL: One statistic that has many ECHL officials worried is the league's average attendance, which is down about 500 from this time last season at 4,734. Two expansion teams - Jacksonville (2,238) and Louisville (3,781) are among the league's worst draws. Johnstown (2,555), Erie (2,312) and Huntington (2,012) are also down. Louisiana, which is based in Lafayette, La., continues to be the league's best attendance story. Though based in one of the league's smallest markets, the Icegators are averaging 9,708. South Carolina is second at 7,647 and the Admirals third at 6,962. The Admirals are about 5 percent behind their ticket sales from last season. . . . Richmond leads the ECHL with an 87.71 penalty killing percentage, and that's fortunate for the Renegades, because they're killing a lot of penalties. The Renegades lead the ECHL with an average of 51.5 penalty minutes per game. The Admirals, who led the ECHL the last two seasons, are eighth with 36.2 minutes. . . . Admirals forward Jeff Kostuch leads the ECHL in shooting percentage with eight goals on 27 shots (29.6 percent). . . . Johnstown's Trevor Jobe leads the league with 43 points. The Admirals Trevor Halverson is 12th with 33. by CNB