DATE: Saturday, November 22, 1997           TAG: 9711220662

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: STAFF REPORT 

DATELINE: RALEIGH                           LENGTH:   43 lines

CEMAN'S 2 GOALS LEAD ADMIRALS BY RALEIGH

Rookie Dan Ceman may have gotten off to a slow start for the Hampton Roads Admirals, but when he started scoring, he caught fire.

Ceman scored twice, including a power-play goal at 16:36 of the third period that sealed the victory, as the red-hot Admirals defeated the the Raleigh IceCaps 4-2 on Friday at Dorton Arena.

After scoring one goal in his first nine games, Ceman has seven goals in the last four games. Rick Kowalsky also had a goal and an assist and is tied with Ceman for the team scoring lead with 16 points.

The Admirals, who have the ECHL's best record at 9-2-2, are 7-0-1 in their last eight games. They play tonight at defending ECHL champion South Carolina.

Ceman scored for the Admirals at 13:48 of the first period, assisted by Rob Bonneau and Alexander Kharlamov.

Raleigh struck back quickly, scoring 14 seconds later on a slap shot by Bryan Forslund that hit the skate of an Admirals defender and slid into the net.

Raleigh took a 2-1 lead at 3:26 of the second period. Brian Secord took a pass from Dan Kopec and found himself alone in front of the net, where he wristed the puck past goalie Sebastien Charpentier.

It was the first time Charpentier has trailed in a game this season, but the rookie shut out the IceCaps the rest of the way to run his record to 6-0-0.

Kowalsky tied the score 2-2 at 15:01 of the second period on a sparkling assist from defenseman Kayle Short. Short, skating on a 2-on-2, drew two defenders with a fake and centered to an open Kowalsky, who put the puck between goalie Joaquin Gage's knees.

Marty Clapton knocked in the game-winner at 10:00 as Ryan Mougenal drew two defenders away from the net with a 360-degree turn and fired the puck to Clapton.

Ceman then finished the scoring by wristing in the rebound of a blocked Mike Larkin shot.

The game began with fisticuffs - Raleigh's Richard Irwin jumped Admirals tough guy Ron Majic four seconds into the game. But Irwin left the ice bleeding and didn't return until the second period. Though Raleigh leads the ECHL in penalty minutes, there were no more fights.

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