THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 9, 1996 TAG: 9603090557
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
It is what you'd tell a 5-year-old as you helped him lace on his skates:
``Stop the puck before it reaches your end. Stay with your man as long as he is in your assigned area. Keep the ice clear in front of the goalie. Communicate with each other.''
But watch the ECHL for awhile. The Hampton Roads Admirals are one of the few teams employing such a system. Watch them work on it day after day, week after week, and it no longer seems so simple.
``It's discipline,'' says Admirals defenseman Bob Woods. ``You've got to stay on your side of the ice. You can't cross over. You've got to sit back, read the play, watch it develop, be smart.
``You've got to be smart to play this way because it's not just running around, hitting guys.''
The system seems to be working better than at any time this season. The Admirals have won four of their last five games entering tonight's contest at Raleigh (7:30, WTAR AM-790).
``We're getting back to how we used to play against team after team after team,'' coach John Brophy said. ``We didn't seem able to get it in place as much as we are now.''
The wings play man-to-man and are responsible for the area from the middle of the faceoff circle to the boards, all the way down the ice. Centers and defensemen are responsible for everything in between.
On defense, the idea is to throw up a wall at center ice, take the opponents out of their offense, force them to dump the puck and chase it. Destroy their rhythm. Make them take bad shots.
``The center has to play down low, help the defense,'' center Serge Aubin said.
``The No. 1 thing is not to give up shots from the slot. The rest, the goaltender takes care of. Communication is a big part of the game, especially in our zone.''
On offense, it takes each player doing what he does best - and no more.
Those who handle the puck best have more freedom to carry it into the offensive zone. Those who don't are supposed to dump it in, wait patiently for a better opportunity. It's not the most exciting method, but it can be brutally efficient.
``When we play it perfectly, you can see their frustration because there's nothing there for them,'' Woods said. ``They get to the blue line, we have four guys across and all they have is a dump. Teams that are very offensive, that like to go and wind 'er up, they don't like that style.''
Woods and Aubin, who both have been in NHL camps, say the Admirals' system mirrors those employed there. A player hoping to advance to that level must master it. So why doesn't everyone teach it? A couple of factors conspire against it.
ECHL teams have young players. Many played in junior programs where free-wheeling, high-scoring games were the norm. Many come with the notion that if they're not scoring, they won't be noticed by the leagues above them.
``Players all want to put numbers on the board,'' Brophy said. ``At home, it's especially tough because the crowd gets them going and they want to be the guy who wins the game for everybody.
``You want to continue up the ladder? Teams don't look for players (who didn't make the playoffs). They wait and grab whatever made the best teams the best teams. I can say that, but it has to come from within.''
And the constant roster juggling, caused by injuries and call-ups, robs a team of necessary cohesiveness.
``What's hardest is that you know what to do, but it's the first year you're with your winger,'' Aubin said. ``It seemed to me like it was Christmas before everybody felt good about the system and knew each other.''
Woods and Brophy say it may have taken longer than that. They credit the team's recent two-week road trip for bringing everyone onto the same page philosophically.
``I think it helped,'' Brophy said. ``Overall, we played very well. Even though we lost, it was 2-1, 3-2. I hoped it was coming and when we came home, we didn't play wide-open hockey or anything. We got beat by Charlotte and didn't play great, but the other games, we played good defense and played hard.''
That doesn't necessarily translate into fewer shots on goal. The idea is to dictate to the opposition where they come from.
``We want to force teams to take chances,'' Admirals assistant coach Al MacIsaac said. ``We want them to take low-percentage shots, from far away.''
In the Admirals' 3-2 victory over South Carolina on Feb. 28, goalie Mike Torchia faced 40 shots. But his save percentage that night was .952, five points higher than the league leader. After the game, he credited the defense for steering the Stingrays outside, where their shots were easier to handle.
The save percentage for Admirals goalies the last six games is .958. That's great work. And Brophy sees room for improvement once defensemen Chris Phelps and Sergei Voronov return from injuries.
``To play like we're trying, you have to have big defensemen,'' he said. ``We have them, they're just not playing. When they get back, I think we're going to be pretty good.'' by CNB