DATE: Wednesday, March 26, 1997             TAG: 9703260672

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   53 lines

PAQUETTE CELEBRATES HIS BIRTHDAY WITH SHUTOUT TAYLOR ENDS HIS GOAL DROUGHT; ADMIRALS ARE ELIMINATED FROM DIVISION-TITLE RACE.

Happy birthday, Darryl Paquette. Happy rebirth, Rod Taylor.

Paquette made his 26th birthday one he'll remember and Taylor broke the longest goal-scoring drought of a productive career Tuesday night as the Hampton Roads Admirals disposed of the Knoxville Cherokees 2-0 at Scope.

Dominic Maltais and Taylor scored 19 seconds apart in the second period, while Paquette stopped 33 shots as the Admirals added to their record single-season victory total with No. 44.

``Blah blah blah blah blah - and then we won,'' a jovial coach John Brophy said. ``It was good enough. I thought we played a great second period. Their goaltender played great, they played hard, and they're a much better team now than they were earlier in the season.''

Maltais' backhander past Knoxville goalie Stu Dunn was his 40th goal of the season. Taylor's 30th - and first in 14 games for the Admirals' all-time leading scorer - came on a rebound of Alexei Krivchenkov's wrist shot from the slot.

``It was a pretty weak shot, but after it went in, I couldn't believe I'd scored,'' Taylor said. ``I don't think one goal gets me out of a slump, but hopefully now they'll start to come in bunches.''

Paquette's shutout was his second of the season, one from tying Mark Bernard for the club's single-season record.

``My birthday has always been just another day for me,'' Paquette said, ``Nothing special. But this is one I won't soon forget.''

Not all the news was good. First-place South Carolina defeated Raleigh 8-7, ending the Admirals' bid for the division title. The Stingrays lead remains five points with two games left.

Although the Admirals held a 47-33 advantage in shots on goal, Dunn was the difference between a tight contest and a blowout. But with the crowd becoming increasingly antsy, Maltais finally escaped unnoticed down the right wing, got a perfect pass from Joel Poirier, drew as close to Dunn as possible, then stuffed the puck past the outstretched goalie.

``The goaltender actually made a nice play, touched the puck while it was on my stick,'' Maltais said. ``But I was still able to control it. I was going to be proud of the season I've had even if I didn't score 40 - but this makes it that much sweeter.''

NOTES: The dates have been determined for the Admirals' first two playoff games. Hampton Roads will host games Wednesday (April 2) and Friday (April 4), regardless of the opponent.

If it's Roanoke, the third and fourth games of the series will be played on the road Saturday (April 5) and Sunday (April 6) nights. If the opponent is Richmond, the third and fourth games will be played Sunday (April 6) and Tuesday (April 8) nights at the Richmond Coliseum.

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