THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701100726
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NICK GATES, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: KNOXVILLE, TENN. LENGTH: 44 lines
A graybeard, whose stick has been like a magic wand throughout his East Coast Hockey League career, showed the Knoxville Cherokees he still can score goals.
Victor Gervais scored three times Thursday night and Hampton Roads fought off Knoxville 5-3 at the Civic Coliseum.
``He's capable of doing that,'' Hampton Roads coach John Brophy said. ``He's an excellent player, the best centerman in the league by a mile.''
The Admirals improved to 23-10-3. The Cherokees (12-20-1) are in a funk. They have lost six in a row, including five straight on home ice. They have only one win in their last 14 games and 0-2 since 29-goal scorer Kyle Reeves was suspended. Reeves was traded to Jacksonville on Monday and failed to report.
Ryan Mulhern and Alexander Alexeev also tallied for Hampton. Goalie Darryl Paquette raised his record to 16-6-3 with 24 saves.
Stephane Soulliere led Knoxville with a pair of goals and Chris Fees got the other. Trent Cavicchi suffered his sixth loss in goal in seven starts.
The Admirals, who hold a 4-1 lead in the season series between Eastern Division rivals, struck for goals by Mulhern and Gervais 69 seconds apart in the final two minutes of the first period to break Knoxville's spirit. It was a relatively penalty-free game between teams who historically have piled up robust minutes, particularly when facing each other.
Gervais, who holds the Admirals' record for most points in a season (118 in 1992-93) and is among the ECHL's top-10 scorers all-time with 331 points, put on a second-period clinic.
The Admirals center put on a spin move in the slot and wristed the puck off the inside of the far post 6:04 into the second period for another goal. He scooped up a rebound on the tape of his stick and rifled in a backhander for his hat trick at 16:26. The power-play goal - Darren Johnson was in the box for unsportsmanlike conduct - was his 10th of the season. ILLUSTRATION: SUMMARY
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