THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996 TAG: 9601170489
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals treated Erie goaltender Olie Sundstrom as if someone had stitched a bulls-eye on the back of the net and the back of his sweater.
In snapping a two-game losing streak, not only did the Admirals beat Sundstrom for nine goals in an easy 9-4 victory Tuesday night at Scope, they also just plain beat him.
In addition to the two teams setting an Admirals record with 100 shots on goal (53 by the home team), they combined for 287 penalty minutes. That's the second-highest total in Hampton Roads history and the third-highest in league annals.
When play was in session, Rod Taylor did most of the damage against Sundstrom. Taylor scored the first of his four goals 22 seconds into the game, garnering a hat trick in the first period. His best goal of the game was No. 2, a blast from a bad angle at the right circle that found the upper corner.
He added a fourth goal in the final minute of play, finishing off the best night enjoyed by any Admiral this season.
Taylor's final tally also gave him 301 career points as an Admiral. Only one other player in franchise history - Brian Martin, with 346 - has more. But in becoming just the 10th player in ECHL history to exceed 300 points, Taylor surpassed Martin with 172 goals.
``I want the team to come to me and look to me to score,'' said Taylor, who has 14 goals in his last 12 games. ``I want to be the man.
``It's a shame it had to turn into a fiasco.''
The mood of what had been a squeaky-clean game changed abruptly with 11:40 left in the second period and Hampton Roads up 6-1.
When Sundstrom wandered behind his net on what seemed a routine play, the Admirals' David St. Pierre bounded into him, sending him sprawling. It touched off several mini-skirmishes that resulted in 42 minutes of penalties.
It also led to coach John Brophy's ejection on a game misconduct when he argued that Sundstrom's getting just a two-minute penalty for pummeling St. Pierre - who required five stitches to close a head wound - was way too lenient.
``Nobody wanted to get tied up in this kind of b.s.,'' Brophy said. ``It's a shame the game got into that. But when the goalkeeper keeps getting in the way behind the net, what are you supposed to do?''
It happened again in the third period. This time, the Admirals' Mark McFarlane crashed into Sundstrom. The officials levied 115 penalty minutes from the resulting altercations.
With two minutes to play, Erie sought revenge. Jeff Hoad bull-rushed Admirals goalie Mark Bernard behind his net. When it was over, four Panthers and three Admirals were on their way to an early shower, something Sundstrom probably wishes he'd have had the luxury of enjoying.
``We wanted to play tighter,'' Taylor said, ``but we wanted to stay out of the penalty box, too. This was a freak thing.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Rod Taylor gets a close-up of the first of his four goals in Tuesday
night's victory at Scope. He now has 301 career points as an
Admiral.
by CNB