Wednesday, April 22, 1998 | 5:27 a.m.
When the Las Vegas Thunder is trailing late in a game at the Thomas & Mack Center, a video clip appears on Si Redd Vision. The snippet was played often this season.
It comes from the acclaimed movie "Network," in which Peter Finch screams the famous line "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
Bob Strumm can relate, but he's not acting.
The Thunder general manager was incensed after the Thunder was beaten 5-2 by the Long Beach Ice Dogs in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals on Sunday. The Ice Dogs, who also posted a 6-3 victory in Game 1, can eliminate the Thunder when the best-of-5 series resumes Friday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Strumm is openly questioning the play of No. 1 goaltender Manny Legace and first-line center Jesse Belanger. He also is tired of defending the argument the Thunder is not winning because ownership is not willing to spend the money.
"It's the time of year for honesty," Strumm said. "It's time for everybody to step up and look in the mirror. I don't hide behind the excuse that we're not spending the money. And I don't expect the players to hide behind excuses either."
Thunder part-owner Ken Stickney claims his team is "right up against" the IHL's $1.3 million salary cap.
"If you want to blame me, blame me," Strumm said. "If you want to blame the players, blame the players. If you want to blame the coaches, blame the coaches.
"But I don't think the ownership should keep taking the bazooka that they didn't make the commitment to winning. I don't think for a minute the amount of money we're prepared to spend has been a factor at all."
The factor, according to Strumm, is a lack of production from certain players, particularly Legace and Belanger.
"Belanger and Legace have been no factor," Strumm said. "Those are two of our four highest-paid guys. Your best players have to be your best players, especially in the playoffs."
Head coach Clint Malarchuk has hinted he might bench Legace in place of rookie Konstantin Simchuk "possibly to shake things up a bit." Former backup Tim Cheveldae, who did not dress Sunday, apparently is out of the picture.
"I'm not going to point a finger anywhere," Malarchuk said. "Manny's a competitive guy. He hasn't had any breaks. We've played from behind, and that makes it hard.
"We might try something different, but I'm certainly not pointing the finger at our goaltending."
Strumm would back a Simchuk switch wholeheartedly.
"I'm not going to start coaching this team after not coaching it all season," Strumm said. "But I certainly have my own opinions, and (Simchuk) is a possibility.
"I don't think you can have a guy give up 11 goals in two games and not consider (a switch). We may not have any more chances to make that decision if we don't make the right one right now."
Such a decision was considered an impossibility when the Thunder signed Legace. Last season, with Springfield of the American Hockey League, Legace went 9-3 with a 2.01 goals-against average and two shutouts in the Calder Cup playoffs before getting suspended for swinging his stick at an official.
"I thought, obviously, Manny was here based on his performance last year in the American League playoffs and having the reputation of being the guy in the playoffs," Strumm said. "I looked at the goals from (Sunday) and had trouble classifying any of them as Grade A goals."
Legace, who missed Saturday's and this morning's practices to rest a nagging back injury, faced 42 shots in Game 1. He saw 37 more in Game 2 and argued to no avail with referee Joe Ernst on three goals.
"We thought about (playing Simchuk Sunday)," Strumm said, "but Manny wanted to play and insisted he was ready."
Simchuk, who earlier was named the West Coast Hockey League's rookie of the year, is 7-0 for Tacoma in its playoffs with a .915 save percentage.
But there is no such replacement available for Belanger, who has registered one assist in the postseason. He has taken two shots and is a minus-4.
"Belanger has yet to show up for this series," Strumm said. "If he ever decides to play, he's the guy."
Belanger led the IHL with 24 goals in 29 games before knee injuries hampered his play and eventually forced him to miss 20 games in February and March.
Strumm claims Belanger can be the key to turning around the Thunder's power play woes. It has converted one of 17 power-play chances in the postseason.
"Before Christmas he was the best player in the league," Strumm said. "To see a player go from the best player in the league to no factor in a game, you gotta believe it's within him. Nobody else can do it for him."
archive
