Monday, December 20, 1999
Ducks take fight out of the 'Blades
Cincy unbeaten vs. Kentucky this season
BY JOHN P. WISE
Enquirer contributor
Two cranky hockey teams met at the Gardens Sunday, each completing a stretch of three games in three days. Dozens of punches were thrown and 132 penalty minutes were assessed.
The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks won in a technical knockout.
Cincinnati beat the Mid-Atlantic Division-leading Kentucky Thoroughblades 5-3 to stay unbeaten in six games against Kentucky.
Jeremy Stevenson scored twice and Torrey DiRoberto had a goal and two assists for his first career three-point game.
“The points come when you have good linemates,” DiRoberto said.
Johan Davidsson added a goal and an assist for the the Ducks, who play Tuesday at Louisville. The Ducks don't return home again until Jan.2, when Kentucky returns for what likely will be another physical matchup. It's the back-end of a home-and-home in two nights.
“I like playing against those guys,” Stevenson said. “I look forward to playing them again soon. What comes around goes around.”
The Ducks move to 14-8-6-2, and their 36 points keep them in third place, just one point behind idle Louisville and eight behind Kentucky. Cincinnati, victorious only twice in twelve meetings between the teams last year, is now 4-0-2-0 against the Thoroughblades this season.
The entire game was physical Sunday, but the real ugliness started when the outcome seemed already decided with less than a minute left.
That's when Kentucky's Chris Heins earned a game misconduct penalty for blindsiding Ducks defenseman Jay Legault at the 19:15 mark. Heins, expecting few Christmas cards from Cincinnati after his slashing of Ducks star Bob Wren a month ago, earned a game misconduct. Wren's been out since with a bad knee.
Only 23 seconds later, the hockey game looked like the Meanest Man Contest, as several one-on-one bouts littered the ice. Forty-seven penalty minutes were issued. As Phil Audet was battling with Kentucky's Matt Bradley, linesman and hopeful peacemaker Barry Conway got Audet's skate in the face. The gash required 13 stitches.
“Every time we play this team, they play very undisciplined,” Stevenson said. “That's how guys get hurt and careers end.”
Ducks coach Moe Mantha preferred not to address questions about Kentucky coach Roy Sommer, who's never been known to discourage his players from turning a loss into a brawl late in the game.
“(Kentucky's) probably frustrated that they're a little better than us on paper, but that we played harder and got the win,” Mantha said.
Kentucky ....... 2 1 0—3
Cincinnati ....... 2 1 2—5
First period - Ken Friedman 6 (Hannan, Courville) 12:03; Cin Stevenson 6 (Davidsson, Jacques) 14:29; Cin DiRoberto 6 (Legault) 17:47; Ken Roed 5 (unassisted) 19:04.
Second period - Cin Davidsson 6 (DiRoberto) 5:08; Ken Armstrong 3 (Craig, Heins) 16:19 (ppg).
Third period - Cin Stevenson (2) 7 (Shaw, Kwiatkowski) 4:34; Cin Balmochnykh 4 (DiRoberto, Kuznetsov) 12:11.
Shots on goal: Ken 13-12-7 32; Cin 14-12-8 34. Power plays: Ken 1-for-5; Cin 0-for-3. Goalies: Ken Kiprusoff (29 saves); Cin Naumenko (29). Attendance: 4,011.
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