DATE: Thursday, April 3, 1997               TAG: 9704030631

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   57 lines

LARKIN GRATEFUL HE WASN'T THE GOAT HIS PENALTY GAVE ROANOKE THE POWER PLAY IT NEEDED TO FORCE OVERTIME.

No one among the 4,709 spectators at Scope, or on the Hampton Roads Admirals' bench, was more pleased and relieved than defenseman Mike Larkin when the Admirals won their playoff opener 4-3 in triple overtime against Roanoke early today.

The Admirals led 3-2 and were controlling the game when Larkin was assessed a two-minute minor for charging at 10:57 of the third period. It was the second close call against Larkin by referee Terry Koharski, and the second time Larkin reacted vehemently to a penalty.

As he was skating to the penalty box, barking at Koharski, Larkin banged heads with Roanoke' J.F. Tremblay, the player Larkin had charged. He was assessed a five-minute major for head butting and a game misconduct.

The penalties gave Roanoke a seven-minute power play in which the Express scored the tying goal, sent the game into overtime and left Hampton Roads a man short for an exhausting extra-period game.

``We'd better win,'' Larkin said as he dressed between overtime periods. ``Or I'm dead.''

Larkin said he never intended to head-butt Tremblay, that he lowered his head and tried to bump the Roanoke forward to goad him into taking a swing at Larkin.

But Trembly apparently didn't see Larkin and lowered his head at the same time, resulting in a harder collision than Larkin said was intended.

``I think everyone in the arena knew I didn't do that maliciously,'' Larkin said. ``Believe me, if I had wanted to head-bump the guy, he wouldn't have any teeth left.''

Larkin, a muscular 6-foot-3, 210-pound second-year pro, was livid with Koharski for the five-minute penalty and for calling the playoff game as closely as he did.

``Everyone knows I'm not that kind of player, I'm not a guy who takes cheap shots,'' Larkin said. ``Giving them seven minutes of a power play and kicking me out of the game at that point of a playoff game, that was a bit much.

``This is playoff hockey. The refs are there to make sure the game doesn't get out of hand. You're going to get the extra push, the extra shove, especially from a guy like me, a big defenseman, in the playoffs.''

Larkin said his emotional second-period outburst against Koharski probably influenced Koharski to deal with him harshly in the third period.

``I'm sure it did,'' he said. ``The refs are human. They hold grudges against guys.

``I gave it pretty much to him after the first call, and I'm the kind of guy who when I get called on a penalty, I go to the box. I talk with refs. I have a good rapport with them. I'm not known around the league as a whiner.'' Pausing, Larkin said. ``Damn, I hope we win this game. We'd better win.''

Fortunately for Larkin, they did. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/The Virginian-Pilot

The Admirals' Mike Larkin, right, checks Jeff Loder. Larkin later

was assessed a costly game misconduct.

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