THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701100691
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 66 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals not only put people in seats at Scope, they do it on the road. Last Saturday's game at North Charleston Coliseum, where the Admirals were visiting the South Carolina Stingrays, drew a crowd of 9,395.
``I think our rivalry with the Admirals is growing and is really beginning to show at the box office in both cities,'' said the Stingrays chief financial officer Gary Grondines.
A slew of business managers throughout the league could have said the same thing.
The night before, the Admirals and Stingrays drew 8,092 at Scope. In the week prior, Hampton Roads drew 8,168 for a home game with Charlotte; played before a capacity crowd of 11,088 at Richmond; and then played in front of 5,784 in a Sunday game in Roanoke at the same time as the Philadelphia-San Francisco NFL playoff game.
``We appear to be the best draw in the ECHL for whatever reason,'' said Brian Kelley, the Admirals director of business operations. ``Whether it's tradition or (coach John) Brophy or our competitiveness, we draw crowds.
``On the one hand it's frustrating. The home team wins 70 percent of the time in the ECHL, and when you get a good crowd it seems to lift the home team, which is bad for us when we're on the road.
``On the other hand, it's wonderful to be so popular and I think it also says something about our fans. When you look at that sellout in Richmond, there were a boatload of Admirals fans there. We look at those numbers constantly and we're always amazed.''
STAR APPEAL: If someone associated with the East Coast Hockey League ever boasts, ``We're where tomorrow's stars play today,'' don't summarily discount that claim.
Former Admirals goalie Patrick Lalime is the latest to make good.
Lalime, now with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was named NHL rookie of the month for December after posting a 7-0-1 record, including two shutouts. He leads the NHL in goals-against average at 1.94.
Lalime edged New Jersey Devils center Denis Pederson, Los Angeles Kings winger Brad Smyth and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Bryan Berard for the award.
Smyth is also an alumnus of the ECHL, having played for the Birmingham Bulls.
Lalime posted a 15-7-3 record with a 3.35 goals-against average for the Admirals two seasons ago. He spent most of last season with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International League.
``It's not a fluke that (Lalime's) playing well,'' said future Hall of Famer and Penguins teammate Mario Lemieux. ``He's a good goalie. He plays the angles and reads the plays.''
Lalime is one of four former Admirals goaltenders currently playing in the NHL. Olaf Kolzig (with Admirals in 1990-92) is playing for the Washington Capitals, Byron Dafoe (1991-92) for the Los Angeles Kings and Parris Duffus (1992-93) for the Phoenix Coyotes.
ICE CHIPS: The Louisiana IceGators continue to lead the league in attendance, averaging a whopping 11,263 per game. Next are South Carolina (7,040), Charlotte (6,921), Richmond (6,663) and the Admirals (6,529). . . . Forwards Ryan Mulhern and Rick Kowalsky have rejoined the Admirals after brief stints with the AHL Portland Pirates. Also back is center Randy Pearce, who joined the Pirates for one game earlier this week. ILLUSTRATION: GAMEWATCH
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