Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 2, 1992 TAG: 9203020147
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Instead of looking like a team trying to make the East Coast Hockey League playoffs, the Rebels looked like a bunch that's already booked mid-March reservations for Florida in a 5-3 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday at the Vinton LancerLot.
There weren't many witnesses, though. The game drew the smallest Lancerlot crowd of the season - 1,066.
"A few guys out there just died," Rebels coach Roy Sommer said after his club lost its season-high sixth consecutive home game.
"We have a lot of guys on this team that can talk a good game," he said. "Well . . . I want to see some results. I'm getting tired of this crap.
"I want to see some guys who want to play and get their noses dirty. The knife is coming up for playoff rosters, and there are some guys who'd better watch out because they might be out of a job pretty soon."
If the Rebels don't end their present swoon, Sommer won't have to bother with a playoff roster. The only reason the Rebels still have postseason hopes is because the team chasing them, Knoxville, hasn't beaten anybody, either.
With 17 days left in the regular season, Roanoke Valley (20-32-6) leads the Cherokees (18-31-8) by two points in the race for the sixth and final playoff spot in the ECHL East Division. Knoxville has seven games left; Roanoke Valley six.
What's happened to the Rebels?
"I don't think anybody has quit. I just don't think our heads are into it," said forward Mark Woolf, his face still buried in a towel some 20 minutes after the final horn.
"But let's face it," Woolf said. "A lot of guys didn't show up today, and I was one of them. I don't know what our problem is."
The hardest-working Rebels were the third line of Bill Harrington, Graham Garden and Ken Blum. Defenseman Mike Barlage also showed up with his lunch pail, but it wasn't near enough to slow the Cyclones.
"Those four at least played with some heart," Sommer said. "They did play like they wanted to win."
For the second straight home game, the Rebels couldn't hold a lead. While the Cyclones must have thought they were at a practice - Cincinnati works out at home in front of crowds bigger than Sunday's - Roanoke Valley was assuming a 3-1 first-period lead.
Despite the lead, Sommer wasn't satisfied and let his club know it during the first intermission.
"We weren't playing that well," Sommer said. "I reminded them that [the Cyclones] have the firepower to come back."
Woolf, for one, apparently couldn't understand the negativism.
"There were some things said that weren't positive," he said. "Some guys apparently felt we didn't play that well."
It got worse. The Cyclones scored three goals in six-minute span midway in the second period to take control. Meanwhile, the Rebels looked lost.
"We had 'em 3-1 and Roy said we'd better watch them," forward Wayne Muir said. "I guess we went out and took them lightly. We thought they didn't want to play, either, I guess."
The small crowd, which got its biggest rise when it was announced that Bill Elliott had won the NASCAR race on Sunday, voiced its displeasure with a sea of boos after another Rebels power play short-circuited early in the final period. For the second straight home game, the Rebels were 0-for-5 on the advantage.
"We've definitely got to do some work [on the power play]," Woolf said. "I know I'm struggling and Stewy [Brett Stewart] is struggling. I haven't scored a goal in six games, and he hasn't scored in five. We've got to have more production from us. Me and Stewy have to score for this team to win hockey games."
\ ICE CHIPS: The Rebels' only alibi was the fact they were playing their fourth game in five nights. "It's really hard on the body," goalie Mike James said. "My legs feel like they weigh 100 pounds. And to play a team like that with a little more talent makes you scramble and do some desperate things. I think we'll be OK after we get rest and sleep." . . . The Cyclones played their third game in three nights. . . . Dennis Desrosiers, whose club is averaging 9,384 spectators per home game, on the sparse LancerLot crowd: "Some of our guys were joking about it before the game," he said. "I just told the guys the crowd would be no factor today. It wasn't your normal road-game atmosphere where people get right in your face, if you know what I mean." . . . Corey Lyons, Blum and Muir scored the Rebels' goals. . . . The Rebels have four days to regroup before resuming play on Friday at home against the East Division-leading Greensboro Monarchs. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB