THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603240275
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Richmond and the Hampton Roads Admirals will renew unpleasantries Wednesday night in the first round of the playoffs. The Renegades saw to that Saturday night with a 5-2 victory over the Admirals in what often more resembled professional wrestling than professional hockey.
At one point in the third period, the Admirals had four men in the penalty box, the result of a series of skirmishes that broke out among the most unlikely combatants.
There was Richmond coach Roy Sommer trying to crawl over the bench for a piece of Admirals forward Aaron Downey, seconds after Downey had decked Richmond's Trevor Senn at mid-ice.
There was Admirals goalie Mark Bernard, just 1:14 into a relief stint for Darryl Paquette, ejected from the game after making repeated charges at a variety of Renegades players. At one point, Admirals trainer Rick Burrill had his arm around Bernard's neck, feverishly talking into the goalie's ear, desperately trying to calm him before he would do something that would keep him from participating in the playoffs.
And there was Admirals center Mike Barrie. Late in the game, he left the penalty box 22 seconds before the end of a penalty and began taking on Renegade after Renegade.
When play was in session, Richmond took advantage of numerous penalties against the Admirals to score five consecutive goals during the latter part of the first period and the first nine minutes of the second period.
After Rod Taylor, honored in pregame ceremonies as the Admirals' most valuable player, scored from his knees to give Hampton Roads a 1-0 lead, Richmond went to work.
Dmitri Pankov scored the first of his two goals on the night to tie the score. But the real damage came when Richmond, already ahead 2-1, scored three times in 1:20 to put the game away.
Pankov started the barrage with his second power-play goal, this one at 7:39 of the second. Sixty-five seconds later, Murphy took a feed from Brendan Flynn and slipped the puck past Paquette for a 4-1 edge. Mike Taylor then closed the spree with a shot past Paquette at 8:59.
Coach John Brophy pulled Paquette in favor of Bernard to start the third period. But Bernard was tossed from the contest before he ever faced a shot.
Defenseman Chris Phelps finally scored Hampton Roads' second goal late in the third period, giving the home team brief, but unwarranted, cause for optimism.
NOTE: Richmond defenseman Brian Goudie was placed on indefinite suspension Saturday after hitting linesman John Shiery with the puck late in Friday night's loss to Hampton Roads. ECHL commissioner Pat Kelly will make a more definitive ruling on the length of Goudie's suspension Monday, but it likely will be between five and 10 games. In addition, the Renegades will not be allowed to replace him on their playoff roster, meaning they'll ride out his suspension with 19 players. Goudie, an ex-Admiral who is one of Richmond's steadiest defensemen, had three goals and nine assists in 53 games. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot
The Admirals' Sergei Aubin carries the puck away from Richmond's
Martin Roy during the first period.
by CNB