THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 12, 1994 TAG: 9411120377
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Perhaps the next time the Hampton Roads Admirals hit the ice they won't wait until the third period to begin playing with gusto.
After digging themselves into a four-goal hole, the Admirals came charging back against the Greensboro Monarchs, pelting goaltender Bill Horn with 15 shots in the final period.
But it was too little, too late. The archrival Monarchs got an empty-net goal at 19:08 by Darryl Noren and walked away with a 6-4 victory Friday before a sellout crowd of 8,990 at Scope.
The loss, the third in a row for Hampton Roads, dropped the Admirals to 5-6-1 and into last place in the ECHL's East Division. It is the worst start ever for the Admirals after 12 games.
The Admirals don't have to wait long to seek revenge. The two teams meet again tonight at 7 in a game being televised regionally by Home Team Sports.
Rookie Colin Foley, who had three goals in 11 games before Friday, had a hat trick for Greensboro, scoring all of his goals in a 12-minute streak in which the Monarchs extended a 2-1 lead to 5-1.
Admirals coach John Brophy was aghast at his team's poor first-period effort. So were some fans.
As Brophy was leaving the ice, a fan yelled, ``they've got to play more than just the third period.'' Brophy shrugged and walked away dejected.
``How long do people have to wait for this team to play?'' Brophy said.
``We've got 9,000 people here in a full ------- building and the players get treated pretty ------- good in this city, and you tell me you can't get ready to play a game that you know you have to win because you're going into their building tomorrow night? That's pretty damn sad.''
The Admirals held a 15-minute, closed-door meeting after the game. At one point, Kelly Sorensen could be heard exhorting his teammates to ``skate a full 60 minutes.''
Afterward, the players echoed Brophy's comments.
``We're a family here, we're all brothers,'' team captain Trevor Halverson said. ``If you've got something to say you say it in the dressing room.
``We weren't ready in the first period. That's been happening a lot lately, and we've got to turn it around. That's what we talked about.''
So did Brophy, who has won either a division or league title in four of his five seasons in Norfolk.
``We had one guy (Bill Lang) released today,'' he said. ``What the ---- do they think they're here for?
``We prepare a team as good as we know how. We work at it every ------- day and they work hard in practice. They work their ----- off in practice. But where does it go from 12 o'clock to 7:30 at night?
``The only time we don't play hockey well is when we don't move our feet, and moving your feet is the name of the game.
``How do you move the football down the field if you don't run with the ------ or pass it. The only way to get the puck down the ice is to pass it or skate it. It's the same thing.
``Where did our ------- players all ------- disappear to?
``We knew we were playing a good hockey team. Every team in our division is pretty good. You can't play weak against any team.''
The Admirals clearly weren't weak in the final two periods. John Porco scored his 12th goal of the season at 8:50 of the second period to begin an Admirals rally.
Ron Pascucci and Chris Phelps added goals in the third period to cut it to 5-4.
Halverson then missed the net by inches at 18:55 of the third period, in which the Admirals so dominated that it looked like a 20-minute Admirals power play.
But 13 seconds later the Admirals pulled goaltender Patrick Lalime just as Noren received a pass at center ice. He flipped the puck into the net before Lalime made it to the bench. ``Once we got a little intensity and push in us, they didn't get the shots they'd been getting,'' Brophy said.
``That (the third period) is the way it should be all the time. We showed we can ------- play hockey when we want to play.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff color photo by LAWRENCE JACKSON
Kelly Sorensen crashes into Greensboro goalie Bill Horn in front of
Dwayne Gylywoychuk during the Monarchs' 6-4 win.
by CNB