THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 29, 1995 TAG: 9503290571
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE, FLA. LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Beaten at their own game Tuesday by the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks, the Hampton Roads Admirals must win tonight or their season will end. And they must do so without their best player.
The Tiger Sharks, reputed to play a swift finesse game, checked and pounded the Admirals into submission, 3-2, in overtime in a bitter contest at the Tallahassee Leon County Civic Center.
The Admirals' playoff hopes were dealt a major blow when John Porco, the team's leading scorer, suffered a broken collarbone when he was slammed into the boards early in the third period. He is lost for the season.
The series resumes tonight at 7 at the same site, with Tallahassee holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. Hampton Roads must win to force a fifth and deciding game Friday at Scope.
``We've got to win,'' Admirals coach John Brophy said. ``It will be tough without Porco, but we've got to find a way.''
Tallahassee's Joe Engfer scored the game-winner with the same formula the Tiger Sharks have used in eight of their 10 playoff goals against Hampton Roads. He followed two teammates into the Admirals' zone and waited for a rebound of a missed shot.
He was rewarded when a Don Parsons slap shot was blocked by Admirals goaltender Corwin Saurdiff. WithSaurdiff still sprawled on the ice after the save, Engfer slapped the puck into an empty net just 2:09 into overtime.
The Tiger Sharks have won twice, Brophy said, because of a lack of forechecking by Admirals forwards. Too often, she said, they have allowed Tiger Sharks to skate unimpeded.
Hampton Roads took its only lead of the game, 2-1, on a power play after goaltender Mark Richards blocked shots by Brian Goudie and Matt Mallgrave. The second rebound fell in front of Richards' leg, and Trevor Halverson dug it out and wristed it into the net at 8:40 of the third period. But by then the physical nature had taken its toll on Hampton Roads. Porco was already gone, and Mike Nemirovsky was felled by a stick at 9:18.
As was the case with most collisions that left players sprawled on the ice, there were no penalties. The plays were rough but appeared clean.
With less than eight minutes remaining, three Tiger Sharks skated untouched from their own blue line to the Admirals' zone. Greg Geldart, who had scored the game-winner for Tallahassee in the series opener with just 10 seconds left, slapped in the tying goal at 12:25.
Any hopes of an Admirals rally in regulation ended at 16:47, when Nemirovsky was called for tripping, giving the Tiger Sharks a two-minute power play. Tallahassee didn't score, but spent most of the final 3:31 pounding Saurdiff with shots. The Tallahassee onslaught continued into overtime, when the Tiger Sharks' 32nd shot of the game found the net.
The game ended on an ugly note. As the teams were skating off the ice, Tallahassee's Parsons began taunting Brophy. Brophy responded by going after Parsons.
Brophy declined comment on the incident, but not Tallahassee coach Terry Christensen.
``I have a lot of respect for anyone who has coached in the NHL,'' Christensen said of Brophy, who coached the Toronto Maple Leafs. ``I can't believe anyone who's been at that level would act in that manner. It was appalling.'' by CNB