THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 21, 1995 TAG: 9512210498
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Since the first week of the season, South Carolina Stingrays coach Rick Vaive has been signing and cutting players almost nonstop in an effort to remake his struggling team into a winner.
It looks like he may have succeeded.
Buoyed by a sparkling game in goal from Sean Gauthier and solid special teams play, the Stingrays blew past the Hampton Roads Admirals 4-2 Wednesday before 6,001 at Scope. It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Stingrays (12-12-3) and their second in a row over the Admirals (15-5-9).
The night was an historic one for Admirals forward Rod Taylor, whose first-period assist tied him with Victor Gervais on the team's career scoring list with 285 points.
But Taylor hardly could savor the honor. Incensed by a minor slashing penalty against Taylor a minute into the second period, Admirals coach John Brophy sat him downfor the rest of the period in an apparent effort to send a message.
``Rod Taylor should be scoring goals for this team, not sitting in the penalty box,'' Brophy fumed.
When asked about tying Gervais, Taylor said: ``I don't even care about that.''
Brophy didn't just pick on Taylor. At game's end, he spent 12 minutes in the locker room, yelling at the Admirals. It was his most animated postgame tongue-lashing of the season.
``They played better than we did and we didn't play very hard,'' Brophy said. ``We practiced like a bunch of dogs this week and that's how we played.
``It was our most disappointing game of the year.''
South Carolina took control in the second period, in which the Admirals spent most of their time killing penalties. The Stingrays had five power players, including two with a 5-on-3 advantage.
Admirals goalie Todd Hunter kept the Admirals in the game with several diving saves during the South Carolina power plays. Ironically for the Admirals, it was a shorthanded goal by Kevin Knopp, who picked off a pass and slapped it through the legs of Hunter, that put South Carolina up 3-1 at 15:16.
The Admirals managed just two shots in the first 19 minutes of the second period. Trevor Halverson's second goal 19:57 - he knocked in the rebound of the Dominic Maltais shot with a defender draped across his back - cut the lead to 3-2 going into the third period.
But South Carolina's Mark Rupnow scored at 3:37 of the third period to advance the lead back to two, which was more than enough for Gauthier.
Gauthier, who scored a goal for South Carolina Tuesday in Raleigh, swatted away 16 Admirals shots in the third period, and saved his team from a curious blunder by Dan Fournel.
With South Carolina leading, 4-2, at 9:36 of the third period, Fournel was penalized for elbowing Admirals defenseman Sergei Voronov. Not satisfied with having elbowed Voronvo, he jumped on Voronov and smothered him with punches.
It was the first career fight Voronov, a first-year player from Russia. He acquited himself fairly well, dodging most punches thrown by Fournel.
Fournel, meanwhile, was assessed four penalties, including an instigating minor, which includes an automatic one-game suspension.
The Admirals were rewarded with a four-minute power play, and when Scott Boston added a delay of game penalty 1:30 later, Hampton Roads had two minutes with a two-man advantage.
But Gauthier smothered six power play shots to keep the Admirals at bay.
``We just didn't play well,'' Halverson said. ``We were half asleep the whole game. We stunk.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/The Virginian-Pilot
Admirals forward Sean Selmser, left, and Stingrays forward Mike
Tardif go at it in a scuffle of little consequence during the second
period of Wednesday's game.
by CNB