Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 16, 1992 TAG: 9202160224
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
REBELS LET ONE GET AWAY
Don't print those East Coast Hockey League playoff tickets yet, Roanoke Valley Rebels.The Knoxville Cherokees, fighting for their playoff lives in the Eastern Division, came off the deck Saturday night at the Vinton LancerLot, dealing the Rebels a 6-5 overtime loss.
The victory kept Knoxville very much alive in its attempt to overhaul Roanoke Valley for the final Eastern playoff berth. The Cherokees (16-29-5) trail the Rebels (18-26-5) by four points with a month left in the 64-game regular season.
"This was a must-win situation for us," Cherokees coach Bill Nyrop said. "The guys realize the seriousness of the situation and tonight they reacted accordingly. This thing will probably go down to the last week of the season now."
After having their five-game home winning streak snapped, the Rebels could think only about what could have been. A victory in regulation would have put them up seven points on Knoxville in the standings. An overtime win would have given them a six-point lead.
"It's a frustrating loss because we could have pulled the knockout punch tonight and put them away," said captain Bill Whitfield, sitting in a quiet locker room.
"This won't make things any easier. Of course, this club doesn't seem to want to do anything the easy way."
For a while, things looked easy enough for the Rebels. They led 2-0 after the first period and appeared on the way to what would have been their 10th win in 12 home games.
In the second period, the Cherokees struck for five unanswered goals in a span of 9:08.
The Rebels fought back to tie on goals by Peter Kasowski, Wayne Muir and Brett Stewart, whose breakaway red-lighter with 10:05 left in regulation squared things at 5.
In the five-minute overtime, the Rebs failed to score on a two-minute power play, then watched Knoxville win it when Shawn Lillie dug the puck out of the corner and planted a perfect centering pass on Troy Mick's stick. Mick lifted a quick wrist shot into the top left-hand corner of the net to end it.
"That last [goal] should never have been. The puck should never have gotten to where it did," Rebels coach Roy Sommer said.
Sommer conceded his club, which had been improving the past few weeks, let victory get away.
"If we had played the way we have been playing, this game would never have gotten to overtime," the frustrated coach said. "The game should have been over early. But some guys just didn't play very well for a game of this magnitude. And that, well, I just can't understand."
Knoxville's second-period offensive onslaught was the key blow.
"It was just a total breakdown," Rebels forward Brett Stewart said. "Here, we're in a position to snuff out their playoff hopes and we let that happen. I can't figure it."
Said Whitfield: "I think we panicked after they scored the first goal on a power play. We lost our composure, and the next thing you know, they've got four more."
Sommer, after giving his troops a postgame tongue-lashing, seemed to be dazed by the loss.
"For some reason or another, we just keep giving Knoxville life [in the playoff chase]. Why, I don't know," he said.
\ ICE CHIPS: Goalie Mike James, whose stellar play has helped revitalize the Rebels, was the victim of Knoxville's second-period scoring assault. Sommer yanked James in favor of backup Dan Bouchard at 11:05 of the period after Knoxville's fourth goal. . . . Defending ECHL champion Hampton Roads visits the LancerLot at 6 p.m. today. \
see microfilm for box score