April 6, 2002

Slumping Barons lose again
John P. Wise
Special to The Plain Dealer

Cincinnati - Struggling Cincinnati needed some offensive punch, and it too, just 75 seconds for newcomer Tomas Kopecky to give the Mighty Ducks the life they Needed in a 4-2 defeat of the Cleveland Barons last night.

Kopecky, among the Detroit Red Wings' top prospects, beat Cleveland goalie Vesa Toskala 1:15 into the game with his first shot of his first shift.  The 2-year-old, who skated three scoreless shifts with the Ducks last season, had just finished a season in juniors when he was recalled to Cincinnati on Thursday.

"I guess he caught us off-guard a little," Cleveland center Graig Mischler said.  "He wasn't somebody we spent a lot of time preparing for."

Kopecky's effort was matched a short time later, at 3:48, when Cleveland defenseman Jesse Fibiger scored a power play goal, his fourth of the season.  But Cincinnati defenseman Drew Bannister scored late in the middle period, and Antti-Jussi Niemi added another goal for the winners, who led, 3-1, late in the game.

But Mike Craig cut the visitor's deficit too 3-2 when he scored his team-leading 35th goal of the season with 1:21 remaining.  Though the Barons have been eliminated from the playoff race, Mischler said pride kept the team in it those last 81 seconds.

"Each guy wants to finish hard," he said.  "We only have two games left, but it's still too early to shut it down."

With Toskala pulled from the net, however, Cincinnati's Jarrett Smith scored an empty -net goal with 18 seconds left to ice the matter.

The Barons have won only four times since Feb. 16.

"It's disappointing not to make the playoffs, but our goal now is to get 70 points, and we can do it if we win these last two games,":  Cleveland coach Roy Sommer said.  "These guys have to be professional about it and keep playing hard."

The Ducks (33-33-10-3), headed to the postseason for the second straight year, hope Kopecky will add some firepower to a team that spent last night breaking a five-game winless streak in which it scored only six goals.

The teams will finish their season series with another game tonight at the Gardens at 7:35.  Cleveland, 28-40-6-4, closes its season tomorrow when Rochester visits Gund Arena.