THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603010586
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
The occasion passed like a freighter cutting through the middle of the foggy Atlantic, silently and without notice. On Feb. 21, Rod Taylor played in his 287th game as a Hampton Roads Admiral, one more than the previous career record-holder, Dennis McEwen.
It came in a 7-3 loss at South Carolina. Taylor did what has become his trademark in five seasons with the Admirals. He scored a goal and played each shift like it was the last of his career.
``I didn't even think about that it had happened until somebody told me,'' Taylor said after practice Thursday. ``What makes it special to me is that I played on this team for five years. Not too many guys in this league can say they played on a team in the East Coast Hockey League for five years. Some might think it's a joke - you know, you're stuck down in `The Coast' - but it means quite a bit to me that Mr. (Blake) Cullen, coach (John) Brophy and coach (Al) MacIssac had the faith in me to have me stick around.''
They wouldn't have had it any other way.
``What stands out is that he's excited to play here,'' Brophy said. ``He's not looking to go somewhere else. He's a pure goal-scorer, got a great shot, plays with great intensity. He's meant everything to this team every year he's been here.''
Cullen calls Taylor ``the No. 1 clutch scorer, in my opinion, in franchise (history). He's the reason I never voted to eliminate the five-minute overtime. It was automatic that he was going to win it for you in overtime. That's why he's such a great playoff player.
``In overtime scoring, he's there with Brian Martin and Dennis McEwen - but the one I think of first because of the way he'd go bouncing off the walls. The minute there's an overtime, everyone said, `Get it to Rod.' I still feel the same way.''
Games played speaks to his longevity. Taylor's other records and near-records speak to his skill. With a team-high 32 goals this season, he has more than any Admiral ever, 180. He is third on the team's all-time assist list with 134. In about a month, he'll have a fighting chance to surpass Harry Mews' career playoff points record of 48. He's 10 behind.
And he may have scored the most exciting goal in franchise history. Taylor's shot beat Greensboro 5-4 10:04 into overtime to clinch the 1992 East Division playoffs and set up the Jack Riley Cup finals against Louisville. It capped a dramatic comeback from a 4-2 deficit with 10 minutes to play and left him with a play he remembers in smallest detail almost four years later.
``The night was incredible,'' Taylor recalled. ``I don't think I've ever been in a place (Scope) that loud. You had to go over to somebody on the ice and yell in their ear to be heard.
``One shift after I got a penalty, they tried to get it out of their end. I kept it in with my glove and it landed down next to (ex-Admiral) Steve Martell. He fired it, (Greensboro goalie) Nick Vitucci hit it with his stick, it came up the glass, maybe seven or eight feet. He debated whether to get the puck or stay in his net and he kinda got caught halfway. I skated in, picked up the puck off the glass with my hand, put it down behind the net. He tried to scramble back across the net, but I put it in the short side. That was the playoff game right there.''
And the pinnacle of Taylor's career. In a four-game sweep of Louisville, Taylor averaged a goal a game. For the entire playoff series, he scored 16 times, with 10 assists.
``It was a good time, lots of fun. I showed what I could do,'' he said. ``Other than my third year, when I had 54 goals, I think I've otherwise been rather hit-and-miss.''
Maybe Taylor and Vitucci will relive the moment tonight. Vitucci leads the Charlotte Checkers into Scope for a 7:30 faceoff in a season that hasn't been the best for either man.
Taylor says he doesn't want to alarm anyone, but for the first time he is seriously thinking about his future in hockey. It's possible that means leaving the Admirals after this season.
``It's been the most frustrating season in the world,'' he says. ``Everything's been a factor, and that includes me. I've been a real factor. If I retire, it would probably be because I'd like to get into coaching. A lot of things can happen, but my body is feeling the toll. I've had a lot more nagging injuries. I put pressure on myself for everything to be perfect this season, probably too much pressure.''
Whatever happens, Taylor's place in Admirals' history is secure as far as Cullen is concerned.
``When we won our second championship in Louisville, it was his picture that appeared in the paper, scoring a goal,'' he said. ``Every time I look at it, and reflect on that season, I think of him first.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot
Rod Taylor has a team-high 32 goals for the season and a club-record
180 in five years.
by CNB