THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512170274
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals played on television for the first time this season Saturday night. Fortunately for the visitors, the game wasn't beamed back to Virginia.
The Admirals won 2-1 over the lowly Raleigh IceCaps but did so on a night they sleepwalked through most of the game and won in large part because of a temper tantrum by their coach.
Raleigh led 1-0 after two periods that must have been as captivating to the TV audience as two hours of C-SPAN. Neither team seemed interested in playing, especially the Admirals, who managed to keep it close because of the heroics of goalie Todd Hunter.
Enter John Brophy, the Admirals' coach. Raleigh was controlling play at 2:18 of the second period when he abruptly called a timeout, an unusual move that early in a hockey game.
Brophy then unloaded on his players, kicking the bench and hitting the boards as he screamed. Most in a contingent of about 300 Admirals fans in the Dorton Arena crowd of 3,157 cheered as Brophy ranted and raved. He raged for so long that referee Derick Woodworth threatened him with a delay-of-game penalty.
``Most of what he said,'' forward Jeff Kostuch said, ``you couldn't print.''
Whatever he said was effective. The Admirals hit the ice with renewed vigor and took control. Two minutes after the outburst, the Admirals knotted the score on a Dominic Maltais slap shot from a few feet in front of the net.
The game winner came at 9:12 from Sean Selsmer, who parked in front of the net as Chris Phelps took a slap shot from the point. Selsmer was hammered by a Raleigh defender as the shot came his way and redirected the puck over goalie Chad Lang's shoulder as he was knocked to the ice.
Limited to just one shot in the first 11 minutes of the third period, Raleigh poured it on in the final nine. Shots at 13:30 and 16:36 hit the Admirals' goal post. Then, with Raleigh on a power play at 18:46, the IceCaps pulled Lang to take a 6-to-4 man advantage.
The IceCaps then pummeled Hunter with shots, including four that he swatted away in the final 38 seconds.
The victory was a sweet one for Hunter, who was traded from Raleigh to Hampton Roads last season and back to Raleigh just before training camp this season. He was then cut after four days of camp in Raleigh and has spent most of the season with Lakeland, Fla., of the Southern Hockey League.
During a pregame interview on a Raleigh radio station, Hunter took a shot at IceCaps coach Kurt Kleinendorst. He said he'd rather play in Norfolk than in Raleigh because he likes playing for a coach who's honest with him.
At game's end, Hunter skated to the center of the ice and celebrated by waving his stick in the air as he was mobbed by teammates.
``It's the best feeling in the world to come in here and take two points that way,'' he said. ``I'm glad the boys rallied back.''
Brophy wasn't in a celebrating mood. He bypassed the locker room and walking directly onto the team bus.
``I know it must have been hard to get up after last night's game,'' he said of the Admirals 8-1 shellacking of Roanoke Friday at Scope. ``But if you're going to be a first-place team, you've got to take control of a game like this.''
The victory left the Admirals, who are 6-1-2 in their last nine games, within four points of first-place Richmond in the East Division.
``We owe this one to the coach,'' center Steve Richards said. ``He did what had to be done.'' by CNB