THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 11, 1997 TAG: 9702110454
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 68 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals' 4-3 shootout victory over Raleigh last Friday was a baptism of fire and ice for defenseman Mike Larkin.
He was playing his first game since tearing knee cartilage and undergoing surgery in early December. After a couple of months of rehabilitation, the 23-year-old former University of Vermont star hoped to get back in slowly - skate a shift here, a shift there.
But with the Admirals missing five players because of call-ups and injury, the here-and-there shift quickly became every other shift.
Larkin was on the ice with 1:50 to play in regulation when Victor Gervais scored the tying goal. It came moments after Larkin and defensive partner Neil Martin each made exceptional plays to keep the puck in the Raleigh end.
``I didn't expect to play that much and Saturday I was sore,'' Larkin said. ``But it was a good sore, the kind of sore you enjoy because you won. I just iced my knee down and went about my business.''
Ice bags are a numbing reminder to Larkin of the hell his knees have been through since he decided to make a career in hockey. He had surgery on his right knee twice last season, the old-fashioned, slice-and-splice variety. Larkin, who doubts that knee will ever be the same, ices it regularly.
``I anticipate I'll ice it the rest of my life,'' he says.
The cartilage in the left knee fared better and Larkin feels that, in time, it could actually be stronger than it was when healthy.
``I feel like I at least have one good knee, which is a real confidence booster,'' he said. ``If they had to do to my left knee what they did to the right, I would not be playing right now. I want to walk when I'm 30.''
Larkin is an outgoing character who throws himself into hockey. A high school All-American in Vermont, he was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks at age 18 but chose college instead. He played on top-10 teams his last two seasons at the University of Vermont, where he is the school's all-time leader in penalty minutes.
`I'm the John Brophy of Vermont hockey,'' he says with a laugh.
Larkin is a big fan of Brophy's, calling him the best coach in hockey for someone looking to get back in shape after an injury.
``He adds some grit,'' Admirals captain Randy Pearce says of Larkin, who played just nine games in Hampton Roads a year ago. ``He plays hard and he plays smart and he'll add some leadership.''
Larkin would liked to have done that during his rehab but decided instead to keep a low profile. There were games, he said, when he hesitated even entering the locker room with the team between periods, unsure he'd be welcome.
``Some guys don't like that because when you're not playing, they don't think you're really part of the team,'' he said. ``It helped that we're winning. It would have been a lot harder to sit in the stands and watch if we were losing.
``Winning made coming back a lot smoother because the mental anguish was not there.''
MALTAIS, TOO: The pillaging of the Admirals continued Monday when leading scorer Dominic Maltais was called up to Portland of the AHL. In 46 games with the team, Maltais had 30 goals and 37 assists. He is the third Hampton Roads player called up by the Pirates in little more than a week, joining Ryan Mulhern and Rick Kowalsky. Admirals management ventured no guess as to when any of the three would return.
In addition, Alain Savage and Andy Weidenbach are still in Cleveland of the IHL. Wing Aaron Downey left Monday for Manitoba of the IHL. He is expected to miss Friday's game against Raleigh, though he should return in time for Saturday's important road game against second-place South Carolina.
Meanwhile, Neil Martin left for Orlando after last Friday's game to join San Antonio of the IHL. He played one game for the Dragons, then returned to Hampton Roads and practiced Monday.