THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 19, 1997 TAG: 9702190581
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TIM STEPHENS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: BIRMINGHAM, ALA. LENGTH: 48 lines
It was vintage John Brophy: greeting old friends with a punch in the gut as he returned to the ice where he coached the World Hockey Association's Birmingham Bulls in the 1970s.
Then, with Dominic Maltais and Alain Savage scoring two goals each, his Hampton Admirals went out and greeted the modern-day Bulls about the same way, taking a 7-3 victory in a battle of second-place East Coast Hockey League teams Tuesday night.
Birmingham (27-17-5) took a 2-1 lead early in the second period, only to see Hampton Roads (34-14-3) strike for three goals in a four-minute span later in the period. The Admirals added another goal on a power play only 24 seconds before intermission for a 5-2 edge.
The Admirals outshot the Bulls 51-30 to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. The only bright spot for Birmingham was a third-period assist by Dany Bousquet, who extended his scoring streak to 23 games.
Hampton Roads, in second place in the East Division, set the tone in the first period but had only a 1-1 tie to show for it. Keeping the South Division's Bulls penned in their zone for much of the period, Hampton Roads fired 15 shots at Bulls goalie Greg Dreveny while allowing Birmingham only eight shots.
Birmingham, however, made the most of its limited opportunities. After a turnover near the Bulls' blue line, Burt Henderson passed the puck to Mark Donahue just past center ice. Donohue then found Mike Latendresse unchecked behind the Admirals defensemen, and Latendresse beat goalie Darryl Paquette gloveside on the breakaway for a 1-0 Birmingham lead at 11:07.
Hampton Roads tied it when Victor Gervais fired a shot from just outside the crease that Dreveny blocked, but Maltais was there to knock in for his 31st goal at 17:46.
Birmingham got another quick goal at 5:10 of the second when Lance Brady beat Paquette off an assist from Max Williams. Maltais again answered, set up perfectly by Gervais, who skating unchecked through the Bulls' right side, then passed through the slot to a wide-open Maltais at 7:38 of the second.
Hampton Roads used aggressive forechecking to score a short-handed goal moments later. After a turnover in the Bulls' zone, Dreveny blocked a shot by Randy Pearce, but couldn't stop the rebound shot by Savage, whose 22nd goal made it 3-2. Pierce scored two minutes later for a 4-2 lead, then Savage got his second with 24 seconds left.
``We jumped out quickly and we forechecked very well,'' Brophy said. ``We worked hard for 60 minutes and everything seemed to go right. We needed a game like this.''