THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: Friday, February 2, 1996 TAG: 9602020580 SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals will be without their top scorer tonight when they host Nashville in the first of two home games in two nights. Serge Aubin, who leads the team with 63 points in 46 games, is out with an injured elbow and also likely won't play Saturday against Roanoke, trainer Rick Burrill said.
However, defenseman Claude Fillion is expected to play for the first time since injuring his knee on Dec. 9. Fillion, like Aubin a Quebec native, was one of the team's top players before being injured.
The Admirals are 15-3-5 at home, the third-best home record in the league, but have lost their last two home games and are 0-3-2 in their last five overall.
Ordinarily, that would be enough to send fiery coach John Brophy into a tantrum. But Brophy gave his team an encouraging pep talk before practice Thursday, and praised their play as of late. Players say he maintained an encouraging demeanor throughout the road trip.
``Our offense dried up a little bit, especially our power play,'' he said. ``We've faced some super goaltenders and our goaltenders have been super.
``I can't be upset because we played very hard on the road trip. We worked our guts out. We just didn't get the puck in the net and that will come.''
While the Admirals defense has been strong, the offense has been anemic. They have scored just two goals in their last three games. Thursday the team spent most of practice on offensive drills.
UNPLEASANT TRIP: Tuesday's 2-1 shootout loss at Tallahassee was made all the more bitter by the team's unpleasant reception there.
The Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center was the site of the Admirals two season-ending playoff losses last year, and the final 2-0 defeat was punctuated by controversy. The Tiger Sharks' only black player alleged that Brophy called him ``Buckwheat,'' a charge angrily denied by Brophy and Admirals president Blake Cullen.
Cullen wrote the Tiger Sharks a letter last spring demanding that they prove the allegation or apologize, and got no reply. Cullen said he interpreted Tallahassee's silence as an admission that the allegation wasn't true.
Regardless, Brophy's return was a major media event in the Florida state capital. The local newspaper and TV and radio stations all carried stories the coach alleged to have uttered a racist word. Brophy and the Admirals were harshly heckled and booed by the fans.
And it all happened in front of family. Brophy's brother, Tom, an Orlando resident, and a dozen nieces, nephews and grandchildren attended the game.
DIVISION RACES: Both the East and North division races are quite over, but it will take something just short of a miracle for anyone to catch Richmond and Toledo.
Richmond has 74 points to lead Charlotte and Hampton Roads, who are tied for second with 60. The Admirals will have to win nearly all of their 24 remaining games to catch the Renegades. Charlotte's chances are better, with 27 games left.
Toledo, which had five ECHL All-Stars, leads the North with 72 points, 14 better than second-place Wheeling.
Overall, Hampton Roads and Charlotte are tied for third in the league in points. That becomes important in the second round of the playoffs, when teams will be seeded on the basis of points. ILLUSTRATION: Gamewatch
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