Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 61

SCOREBOARD PAGE 7 BASEBALL 2 BASKETBALL 6 HOCKEY 4 BRIEFING 7 SECTION PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 1997 PENGUINS 4, FLYERS 1 a urn rn ttri ii rrnCLn tL JD)TD Ji ILLLLLil Ji Ji JI JIM r1" i1 urn mill, Hi i j. 1 'if' 1, til' .1 L. RON COOK Mario scripts near perfect final scene 2 short-handed goals put Flyers' clinching on hold, extend Lemieux's career By Dave Molinari Post-Gazette Sports Writer They came to say goodbye to Mario Lemieux, and that probably was a good idea. Odds are he never will play another game at the Civic Arena. But if not, Lemieux gave the fans one final memory to cherish, scoring a dramatic goal as time wound down to secure the Penguins' 4-1 victory against Philadelphia in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series at the Civic Arena last night.

The victory enabled the Penguins to avoid the embarrassment of being swept for the first time since 1979, but they remain on the brink of elimination. The Flyers, who have a 3-1 lead, will try again to close out the series Saturday at 7:35 p.m. at the CoreStates Center in Philadelphia. Because the Penguins have lost their eight consecutive games in that city and are 0-14-1 in their past 15 on the road, their chances of forcing a sixth game at the Civic Arena Monday seem minuscule. Nonetheless, the Penguins insist they are capable of extending the series.

"We believe we're going to beat them over there and come back again," defenseman Darius Kasparaitis said. That seems unrealistic, but so does the notion of the Penguins scoring two shorthanded goals on the Flyers in one period. They managed to do that during the opening 20 minutes last night, however, becoming just the 23rd team in playoff history to manage that feat. Almost as important, they did not allow the Flyers to score on seven tries with the man-advantage. "Our penalty-killing was exceptional," Penguins Coach Craig Patrick said.

"Not only did we kill the penalties, but maybe we could have had another goal shorthanded." Two turned out to be plenty, but the most memorable goal of the evening was the one Lemieux got at 18:56 of the final period to close out the scoring. He pulled in a lead pass from Ian Moran, then broke in alone on Flyers goalie Garth Snow before burying a shot between his legs. That sparked an ovation that went on for minutes, a salute that quite possibly was the final one Lemieux will receive from his home fans. "That was the first time I cried on the ice in a long time," Lemieux said. "It was perfect," Patrick said.

"Absolutely perfect. You couldn't write a better script than that." And the Penguins would be hard-pressed to imagine a better start than the one they got last night, as Moran took a feed from Joe Dziedzic and threw a shot over Snow's right shoulder at 1:09 of the first period. Philadelphia countered almost instantly, as Shjon Podein snapped the puck under Wregget's glove at 1:45, but then the Penguins' penalty- SEE PENGUINS, PAGE E-4 Twenty years from now, a million people will say they were there to see Mario Lemieux's final goal at the Civic Arena. So what if only 17,355 were able to pack into the place last night? If ever there was a reason to exaggerate, it was this night Let's face it Everybody knows the Penguins are cooked against the Philadelphia Flyers even after their impressive effort last night. The 4-1 victory was nice because it meant the home club, which once, not too long ago, had visions of hoisting the Stanley Cup, avoided the shame of being swept out of the first round of the playoffs.

But other than that what did it mean? Considering the Flyers are a superior opponent and the Penguins haven't won a road game since Les Binkley was in net, the end figures to come in Game 5 Saturday night at the CoreStates Center. The only really intriguing aspect of the night involved Lemieux. Maybe it didn't matter much if the Penguins won or lost But it seemed critical that he do something special, that he give us one final Mario Memory in his final Pittsburgh appearance. We expected nothing less. That's how much he has spoiled us with his greatness during the past 13 years.

For a long time, it looked like it wouldn't happen. Lemieux didn't have so much as a point even as the Penguins were building a 3-1 lead on goals by Ian Moran, Ed Olc-zyk and Petr Nedved. He had some decent scoring chances five shots in all but, as has been a problem this entire series, he couldn't beat goaltender Garth Snow. The second period became the third period. Suddenly, there were fewer than two minutes left Things were looking bad, not just for Lemieux, but for Pittsburgh's other departing superstar.

Rod Woodson was booed loudly when he appeared in the "Let's Go Pens" video on the Arena scoreboard during the second period. Thanks far SEE MARIO, PAGE E-4 1 SERIES FACT BOOK THE SERIES DATA Record: Flyers, 3-1 Next game: Game 5, Saturday, 7:30 p.m., in Philadelphia. TV: Fox Sports Pittsburgh. Radio: WTAE-AM (1250). INSIDE The 'other' guy: While everyone wanted to say goodbye to Mario Lemieux, what about Joe Mullen? Notebook, Page E-4.

One more time: Would it be Mario Lemieux's last game? Fans knew it was a possibility. Story, Page E-4. playoff updates PG Link: For scores and updates throughout the NHL playoffs, call PG Unk at 261-1234 ext. 3400. 1 Peter DianaPost-Gazette Ed Olczyk and Petr Nedved celebrate Olczyk's first-period goal, part of the Penguins' three-goal blitz.

SOMETHING SPECIAL Ditkd, Goldberg, Schmidt numbers to be retired THE SCORE INSIDE i r' ill An MWnW IKW IWy.m r''' I Aim i g.i? asm Pirates slip by Phillies Johnson hits game-winner with RBI single in eighth By Bob Smizik Post-Gazette Columnist The Pirates run toward respectability continues. The team from which so little was expected won another game last night, this time waiting until two outs in the eighth inning before starting the winning rally. And once again they received important contributions from any number of players. Esteban Loaiza offered up another fine start, Ricardo Rincon continues to confound National League hitters, and Mark Johnson returned to the land of the contributing with a rocket single that drove home the go-ahead run in the eighth. Jason Kendall threw in a near-perfect throw to second base in the ninth inning, and Jermaine Allensworth and Al Martin didn't get the ball out of the infield but got base hits to give life to the winning rally.

It all added up to a 3-2 win for the Pirates, which evened their record at 9-9 and kept them in second place in the National League Central. Loaiza, who has been the Pirates' best pitcher this season, held the Phillies to two runs and seven hits before departing for Rincon with two out and twqon in the eighth. It was the longest start of the SEE PIRATES, PAGE E-3 'New' Pitt set for '97 Season includes new times, ticket plans, but old numbers By Shelly Anderson Post-Gazette Sports Writer Pitt Athletic Director Steve Pederson wanted to do something special for a football news conference yesterday, so he called everyone to the Pittsburgh Athletic Association. There, surrounded by the stately high ceilings and fancy window coverings inside the old building, the Panthers dipped into the past to recognize three of their most prominent football players and looked ahead by announcing their 1997 schedule and a progressive season-ticket campaign. At Pitt's homecoming Sept.

18 against Miami, a Thursday night ESPN game, the school will retire Marshall Goldberg's jersey No. 42, Mike Ditka's No. 89 and Joe Schmidt's No. 65. Goldberg, a running back, helped lead Pitt to the 1936 and 1937 national championships and was part of the "Dream Backfield" of 1938 under Coach Jock Sutherland.

Ditka, an NFL Hall of Famer who played for the Chicago Bears and coached them to the Super Bowl championship following the 1986 season before entering broadcasting, now is back in coaching with the New Orleans SaintsAt Pitt, "Hammer" was a tight erid, linebacker and punter for Coach John Miche-losen, 1958-60. He also played baseball and John BealePost-Gazette Pitt Athletic Director Steve Pedersen introduces the future while remembering the past. Beat-a-bull? Chicago doesn't seem so invincible heading into the start of the NBA playoffs. Page E-5. HOCKEY NHL PENGUINS 4: Flyers 1 Rangers 3 Panthers 2 Senators 1 Sabres 0 BASEBALL National League PIRATES 3 Phillies 2 Mets 10 Reds 2.

Rockies 7 Marlins 3 Giants 4 Braves 3 Expos 4 Cubs 3 Cardinals at Dodgers, late Astros at Padres, late American League Indians 11 Red Sox 7 Yankees 10 Brewers 5 Rangers 2 Tigers 1 White Sox 11 Orioles 9 Twins at Athletics, late Blue Jays at Angels, late Royals at Mariners, late basketball for the Panthers and was an intramural wrestling champion. Schmidt was an All-American linebacker during Pitt's post-war struggles (1949-52). He was a star despite playing for four coaches and battling through injuries. Schmidt later starred for and coached the Detroit Lions. The honor brought back memories for the three honorees.

Goldberg, the only one of the three in attendance yesterday, had Ms jersey retired by an NFL team, but not No. 42. Toward the end of his career with the Chicago Cardinals, Goldberg said he was persuaded to play one more season before he devoted himself full-time to the machinery business. As a joke, he switched to No. 99 for that year.

That's the number retired in his name about the time the Chicago-St. Louis-Arizona Cardinals moved to Phoenix. After high school, Goldberg was registered at Notre Dame and planned to play there before his father and Sutherland "persuaded" SEE PITT, PAGE E-5.