From: wilson@cs.ucf.edu (tom wilson)
Subject: LIGHTNING NEWS: Chi vs. TB 10/7, Hamrlik Contract
Summary: game notes available via e-mail
Organization: University of Central Florida, Orlando
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 21:26:35 GMT

THE TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING INFORMATION UPDATE              Tampa_____Bay
                                                          /../     \
CHI - 1 1 1 - 3                                          /../       \
TB  - 5 2 0 - 7                                         /../       //\
                                                       |../       //..|
1 - TB  Kontos 1   (Zamuner, Creighton)  4:43 (pp)     |./__     //_..|
    TB  Kontos 2   (Tucker, Zamuner)     5:41 (pp)     |.../      //..|
    CHI Russell 1  (Belfour!!!)         13:19          |../_    //....|
    TB  Semenov 1  (McRae, DiMaio)      13:50           \../  //...../
    TB  Hodge 1    (Reekie, Zamuner)    14:09            \/ //....../
    TB  Bergevin 1 (DiMaio)             17:21 (pp)       ///___LIGHTNING
                                                        //
2 - TB  Kontos 3   (Reekie)             11:33          /
    CHI Noonan 1   (Grimson)            17:06
    TB  Kontos 4   (Reekie, Crossman)   19:32 (pp?)

3 - CHI Goulet 1   (Graham, Smith)      14:44

Shots on goal: CHI  8-8-10--26
               TB  12-5- 7--24
Power-plays:   CHI 0 of 8
               TB  4 of 11
Goalies:       CHI Belfour, 0-1-0, 24 shots, 17 saves
               TB  Young, 1-0-0, 26 shots, 23 saves
Attendance:    10,425

-----

* Lightning strike early, win debut

What was the probability of Tampa Bay's beating the Chicago Blackhawks in the
Lightning's inaugural NHL game Wednesday?

Probably about the same as putting an NHL team in sunny Florida.

But the Lightning, a far-fetched climate-defying dream concocted by Phil
Esposito more than two years ago, officially have arrived. They did so in
grand style, welcoming the Ice Age to Florida by pounding the Chicago
Blackhawks, 7-3, in front of a sellout crowd of 10,425 at Expo Hall.

It was not as if Tampa Bay pulled out a squeaker, scraping and clawing for a
victory the way most expansion teams must. Consider that through 16 games last
season, the expansion San Jose Sharks had the same number of points (2) the
Lightning do this morning. And in 17 previous openers by expansion teams, no
team has scored as frequently.

No, this was a triumph delivered with an exclamation point, as Tampa Bay scored
five times in the first period and never let up on the throttle. The
Lightning's fans relished every icy second.

"We don't mind that the fans expect a lot out of us," Lightning coach Terry
Crisp said. "The truth is we expect a lot out of ourselves."

True, it was only 60 minutes of hockey, but for one night, a first-time fan
likely could not correctly guess which of these two teams played in the Stanley
Cup finals last spring, and which was on the ice for the first time.

Chris Kontos, a journeyman forward who earned his way onto the team only after
a terrific training camp performance, played the role of unlikely hero, scoring
four goals. He couldn't recall the last time he scored four goals, but he knew
it wasn't at the NHL level.

"It was definitely a thrill," said Kontos, who last played in the NHL for the
Los Angeles Kings in 89-90.

"It was a thrill for me just to get back to the NHL," he said. "It has
definitely been a long road back. I just want to play, have some fun, and show
what I can do. It's a long season."

The Blackhawks certainly wouldn't question his talent. Coach Darryl Sutter said
he could not recall ever seeing Kontos play in the NHL. He won't soon forget
him, though. Sutter also won't soon forget the heart and determination
displayed by the Lightning in a stirring performance.

"Obviously, we were not ready for the emotion in this building," Sutter said.
"They worked harder than we did."

Kontos was not the only Tampa Bay player to shine. Defenseman Joe Reekie, who
had 12 assists in 54 games with the NY Islanders last season, had four assists,
and Rob Zamuner had three, helping to set up the first two goals by Kontos.

Kontos scored power-play goals 58 seconds apart early, staking Tampa Bay to a
2-0 lead at the 5:41 mark of the first period. Chicago cut the deficit to 2-1
on a fluke goal by Cam Russell from mid-ice, as a seemingly harmless clear-in
bounced past goaltender Wendell Young.

Chicago's Ed Belfour faced eight shots in the first period and had to pluck
five of them from the net behind him.

Kontos scored twice -- both on a two-man advantage -- Anatoli Semenov, Ken
Hodge, and Marc Bergevin added goals, Zamuner had all three of his assists,
and center Rob DiMaio added two assists.

And then -- only after all of the above happened -- the puck was dropped to
start the second period.

"It just got out of control," Belfour said, still dazed and shell-shocked
from what he had seen.

-----

* Lightning Sign Hamrlik

Just hours before faceoff, the Lightning came to terms with defenseman Roman
Hamrlik, the top selection in June's NHL entry draft. Hamrlik, 18, who played
for ZPS Zlin in Czechoslovakia last season, signed a 3-year deal worth $1.5
million. The contract is $500,000 more than San Jose paid last year's first
pick, Pat Falloon. In five preseason games with the Lightning, Hamrlik (6' 2",
189 pounds) had 5 assists. "Roman is a key part of the foundation of the
future of the Lightning," Tampa Bay President/GM Phil Esposito said.
"Championship teams are built with defense."

-----

* Play Ball

With the crowd assembled in the stands, it was difficult to figure if the
linesman [maybe they meant referee] was going to drop a puck or baseball to
open the game. Among those in attendance: major-leagues [call it MLB!] Dwight
Gooden, Bobby Thigpen, Dave Magadan, Gary Sheffield, Fred McGriff, Wade Boggs,
and NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Tom
wilson@cs.ucf.edu - contact for the Tampa Bay Lightning

Tom
wilson@cs.ucf.edu - net contact for the Tampa Bay Lightning