DATE: Monday, October 6, 1997               TAG: 9710060161

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: YORK COUNTY                       LENGTH:   70 lines

SURGERY GIVES GOALIE ANOTHER LEASE ON LIFE

Corwin Saurdiff faced a difficult choice.

He could suffer the rest of his life from colitis, a disease of the colon that often left him bedridden and unable to digest food for weeks at a time.

Or he could undergo 13 hours of surgery that could have left him partially paralyzed or with a colostomy bag to collect bowel movements attached to his hip.

He chose to go under the knife at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and 14 months later, was healthy and on the ice Sunday for the Hampton Roads Admirals as they opened preseason camp at the Ice Palace.

The 25-year-old goalie hasn't played in nearly two years - colitis forced him to quit after four games during the 1995-96 season - and the rust showed in the Admirals first intrasquad scrimmage. He gave up seven goals in 50 minutes.

Yet coach John Brophy isn't discouraged.

``Corwin Saurdiff was a great goaltender here when he was sick,'' Brophy said. ``Who knows how well he can play now that he's well.

``It's going to take time. He hasn't played in two years and faced a lot of tough shots today.''

None tougher than the one Mother Nature slapped him with. He's suffered from colitis since he was a child, but it worsened two years ago. He became so anemic from blood loss he was hospitalized in Norfolk. By late December 1995, the Admirals sent him home to Warroad, Minn.

After seven more months of agony, he elected to have surgery.

``I knew the surgery was dangerous,'' Saurdiff said. ``I knew there was a chance I wouldn't be standing here now. Basically, they took my colon out and reformed my small intestine to work as my large intestine.

``I figured I'd take one year off of hockey, from the game I love, for a lifetime of feeling good.''

And Saurdiff feels good.

``Our first practice this morning was tiring,'' he said. ``All of coach Brophy's practices are tiring.

``But instead of the colitis kicking in, now the adrenalin kicks in and I take off. There's nothing holding me back. There's no reason I shouldn't be in the best shape of my life.''

In shape enough to make the Admirals? That remains to be seen. There are two contracted goalies on the roster - Jason Saal, who had 50 shutout minutes in Sunday's scrimmage, and Sebastian Charpentier, who is to report from Portland later this week.

Brophy plans to keep two goalies, and Saurdiff has no contract.

But Saurdiff does carry an impressive resume. On March 19, 1995, he became the first ECHL goalie to score a goal. His stick from the 5-2 win over Charlotte is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

He finished that season 13-6-2 with a 3.14 goals-against average, all better than the stats compiled by Patrick Lalime, the Pittsburgh Penguins star who split time with Saurdiff in goal.

``Coach Brophy is one of those people who plays whoever is hot, whoever is playing best,'' he said. ``Patrick Lalime and I proved that. Coach Brophy alternated with us, and went with the guy who was hot.

``That's why I came back here, because this organization has done so much for me. There's no place else I wanted to play.''

Notes: Forward Joel Poirier, who had knee surgery during the offseason, is skating but won't be able to play until mid-November. . . . Troy Sweet, a rookie from Toronto, had two goals and was involved in a fight with Reggie Brezeault, a former Roanoke Express player. ``Two goals and a bloody nose, that's a pretty good day of hockey,'' general manager Al MacIsaac said. . . . Defenseman Mike Larkin and forward Ron Majic aren't in camp yet. Brophy expects them later this week. ILLUSTRATION: HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

Goaltender Corwin Saurdiff returned to the Admirals after nearly two

years off the ice, the result of colitis and surgery to correct it.

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