THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 4, 1997 TAG: 9702040436
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 63 lines
It may turn out to be nothing more than a name on an exhibit, but former Hampton Roads Admirals goalie Mark Bernard may have earned a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Bernard, who spent all or parts of four seasons with the Admirals before leaving after last season to play for the Bracknell Bees of in Great Britain's Super League, was credited with four assists Thursday night - an accomplishment several sources say no professional goalie has ever achieved.
The NHL has told Bees officials that its single-game record for assists by a goalie is three. Same for the American Hockey League. The International Hockey League said it doesn't have a complete set of records, but what it had showed no one with more than three. Calls to the Hockey Hall of Fame weren't returned.
``It was a fluke,'' said Bernard, who entered the game with just three assists all season. ``But it was a night I'll never forget.
``The only thing that bothers me about it is that people will think the caliber of hockey played here isn't very good. That's not the case.''
In Bracknell's 9-6 victory over the Basingstoke Bison, Bernard didn't get his first assist until less than 30 seconds remained in the second period. Basingstoke was on a power play. Bernard saved a shot, then passed the puck to a teammate who scored on a breakaway.
Bernard's other three assists came in the final six minutes of play.
Assist No. 2 came when he fired a pass to a teammate whose clearing attempt took a strange hop off the boards behind the Basingstoke goalie, who had come out to play the puck. Instead, a Bees forward shoved the puck into the empty net.
A couple of minutes later, Bernard fed a defenseman, who scored on a long slap shot.
Finally, Basingstoke pulled its goalie and Bernard joked to a teammate that he'd like to score a goal. Instead, he made a save and passed the puck to one of his defensemen, who scored into the empty net.
``People here have told me not to use that stick anymore, in case the Hockey Hall of Fame wants it,'' said Bernard, who remembers former Admirals goalie Corwin Saurdiff's stick being shipped to Toronto after he scored a goal two seasons ago. ``It'd never happen again - and the nicest thing about it is that we won the game. That made it more special.''
There haven't been a lot of victories this season for Bernard or for the Bees, based in a bedroom community 30 miles west of London. The team is sixth in the eight-team Super League, which was formed this season from a merger of two rival leagues, and includes several former NHL veterans and about 15 ex-ECHL players. Bracknell is 12-19-2 with nine regular-season games remaining.
Bernard, who has played all but one game this season, faces an average of 41 shots a night. He has an excellent save percentage of .895. Ironically, even though he made hockey history, Bernard wasn't even voted player of the game.
``I don't think anyone realized the significance of four assists,'' Bernard said, laughing. ``The next night we lost, but I was named my team's man of the game. As I skated back out onto the ice, they made an announcement about my four assists, and that got a nice ovation.'' ILLUSTRATION: Mark Bernard performed his feat Thursday for Bracknell
of Great Britain's Super League.