THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290451
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
ECHL commissioner Pat Kelly handed down one of the harshest and most unusual and disciplinary actions in league history this week for incidents that took place in last Saturday's Louisiana-Hampton Roads game in Lafayette.
Kelly suspended IceGators defenseman Rob McCaig, the ECHL penalty-minutes leader, for 10 games and fined him $1,000. He also has made it part of the discipline for McCaig to pay the fine with a personal check, not something with the team's name on it.
Kelly also fined IceGators coach Doug Shedden $1,000, demanding a personal check, and suspended him for five games for failure to maintain control of his team.
In addition, Shedden is banned from the locker room and from having any communication with his players two hours before and during each game. Kelly incorporated that unusual twist into his ruling because when Shedden was suspended for three games earlier this season, he reportedly was caught in communication with his team.
McCaig left the penalty box with nine seconds remaining on a penalty to participate in a fight involving players from both teams in last Saturday game, won by the Admirals 6-2. He was assessed a minor, a major and two match misconducts.
No members of the Admirals were fined or disciplined.
PLAYOFFS: The league has changed its playoff format this season. The top five teams in each division will make the playoffs. Of the remaining six teams, the one with the highest point total will qualify as a wild card.
The first round will be three-of-five series between the first- and fifth-place teams, and second- and fourth-place finishers. The third-place team with the highest point total during the regular season will host the wildcard team. The two remaining third-place teams will play, with the higher seeding going to the one with the higher point regular-season point total.
Teams will be re-seeded for quarterfinals and semifinals, based on regular-season point totals. Again, it's best-of-five. The final round of the Jack Riley Cup proceedings will be best-of-seven with the higher seed having home-ice advantage.
Prior to Wednesday night's Hampton Roads-South Carolina game, first-round East Division playoff pairings would have been Richmond (1) hosting the Admirals (5); Charlotte (2) hosting Roanoke (4) and South Carolina (3) hosting Birmingham (wildcard). North Division pairings would have Toledo (1) hosting Dayton (5), Wheeling (2) vs. Columbus (4) and Louisville (3) hosting Nashville (3). In the South Division, Tallahassee (1) would host Knoxville (5) and Louisiana (2) would host Jacksonville (4).
ICE CHIPS: All-star defenseman Chris Phelps, out with a broken jaw since January, skated during practice Wednesday morning and could be back in two weeks. ... More than half of Admirals games this season (31 of 59) have been decided by one goal. Before Wednesday, the team was 10-8-13 in one-goal games. recently, they set an ECHL record for most overtime games in a season, with 20. Richmond had held the league record with 19 overtime games last season. with the Toronto Maple Leafs and with the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association. ... New Admiral Mike Barrie's brother, Len, plays with the Cleveland Lumberjacks, the Admirals IHL affiliate. ... Ex-Admirals goalie Todd Hunter, waived last week to make room for goalie Mike Torchia, was claimed by Charlotte. But he was waived again before donning a uniform. Chances are he'll wind up in Lakeland, Fla., of the Southern Hockey League, where he played earlier this season. by CNB