THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 2, 1996 TAG: 9603020410
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Although there were 40 minutes of hockey still to play, one got the sense after the first period of Friday's game between the Hampton Roads Admirals and Charlotte Checkers that it was not the home team's night.
The Admirals, winners of two straight entering the game, had two goals waved off by referee Jeff Smith, key elements of what turned into a 5-3 loss to their East Division opponents.
Smith negated the first score when he ruled that forward Joel Poirier was in the crease in front of Charlotte goalie Nick Vitucci as teammate Serge Aubin scored. He wiped away the second, a slap shot by Rod Taylor, by ruling that Taylor was offsides.
Those calls, combined with a first-period shot by Aubin that hit the post, left the Admirals and a crowd of 7,130 with the impression they weren't beaten as much as robbed.
And it came on a night the Admirals set a franchise record by not drawing a single penalty. In addition, two combined two minutes in penalties served by both teams also is a Hampton Roads record.
``Sure the (goals) were good,'' said Aubin. ``Maybe Joel (Poirier) was just inside the crease, but they shoved him in there with two guys. It wasn't his fault. And those two goals, they turned out really big.''
Despite a clear territorial advantage, the Admirals trailed 2-1 after one period after a late-period defensive lapse.
First, Admirals goalie Mike Torchia tried to clear the puck through the center of the rink. It was intercepted by a Checker, who forced Torchia to cover the puck, creating a faceoff in Admirals end.
Charlotte won it and Eric Flinton tipped in a pass from Mike Kempffer for a 1-1 tie.
Later in the period, Gerry Daley and Darryl Noren worked a perfect 2-on-1 fast break in front of Torchia. Daley finally slid the puck past the sprawling goalie to give the visitors a 2-1 edge.
Daley, Flinton and forward Darryl Noren would be thorns in the Admirals' side. Flinton had a pair of goals and two assists; Noren scored one and assisted on two others, including Flinton's game-winner at 7:25 of the third period. Daley had a goal and two assists.
``Everything we did the night before to get the win (over South Carolina) we didn't do as well this game,'' Admirals coach John Brophy said. ``We get the two goals that are called back, both which were good. Still, we are leading 3-2 to start the third and end up losing 5-3. Can't be happy with that.
``This late in the season, everything looks bigger, seems more important. We've got to come back (tonight) and beat Johnstown.''
Combined with Roanoke's loss to South Carolina, the Admirals were able to maintain sole possession of fourth place. But with eight games left in the regular season, they trail the third-place Stingrays by four points.
The Admirals played much of the second period as they did the first, dominating the action.
Aubin, after passes from Sean Selmser and Poirier, finally slipped the puck past a screened Vitucci to draw the Admirals even at 2-2 with less than eight minutes remaining in the period.
Little more than two minutes later, Taylor and Selmser worked a two-on-one fast break, Taylor beating Vitucci and sending the Admirals in front by one.
Then, the collapse.
Noren scored two minutes into the period, a shot that appeared to bounce off an Admirals skate and into the net, to tie the score.
Later, Flinton turned an Admirals' turnover into a slap-shot goal. Finally, Francois Bouchard completed a 2-on-1 break with a score off his own rebound to cap the scoring.
``The giveaways were just atrocious,'' Brophy fumed. ``We didn't play as good in our own end as we need to.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Gamewatch
by CNB