Wednesday, March 26, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
It didn't take long to get everything back to the way it used to be.
With seven seconds left in the second period of the Las Vegas Thunder's IHL game against the Manitoba Moose at the Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday night, a ticket holder was compelled to yell at the press box from his seat after witnessing a nasty scene.
"I'm a Thunder fan," the man screamed in outrage. "Even I'm ashamed of that." He then left.
What he and the rest of the crowd experienced was the Las Vegas return of Sasha Lakovic, the bruising forward with a hair trigger. With the Thunder down 3-1, Lakovic charged from the blue line to nail Moose goaltender Fred Brathwaite, who had left the crease to play the puck. After tagging Brathwaite, Lakovic dropped his gloves and dared all comers to take him on.
None did. But the Moose made sure Lakovic's antics weren't for naught. He was assessed a five-minute charging major and a game misconduct. On the ensuing power play, Manitoba scored two goals and cruised to a 6-3 victory.
"I didn't think it was a smart play, but I thought it was smart of us for not retaliating," said Brathwaite, who attended training camp with the Thunder prior to this season. "It was a big point in the game. It was a turnaround for us."
Even though he knows that nailing a goalie is one of the biggest no-nos in hockey, Lakovic said his motive was retribution.
He had just left the penalty box after mixing it up with old Thunder teammate Jeff Ricciardi and claimed during that scuffle Brathwaite hit him.
"There was a little commotion before (the Brathwaite hit)," said Lakovic, who in his lone season with the Thunder broke the team record for penalty minutes in a season with 416. "He gave me a cheap shot so I gave him a cheap shot back.
"But it wasn't a good game for me. I didn't keep my head in the game."
Las Vegas head coach Chris McSorley refused to blame Lakovic for the loss.
"Sasha needs to realize he can impact the outcome of a game by creating big contact in the offensive zone, but not on the guy with the most equipment," McSorley said.
Meanwhile, Thunder goalie Parris Duffus struggled. While he was deluged by 38 shots, the goals he allowed weren't spectacular. All six were scored by different players and only one -- Andy Schneider -- has more than seven goals on the season. Schneider now has 14.
Brathwaite was sharp on his end, stopping 37 of 40 shots.
Las Vegas received goals from Darcy Loewen, Alexander Semak and Darin Smith. Semak has at least one goal in each of his three games since joining the Thunder last week.
Steve Bancroft recorded three assists, while Patrice Lefebvre had two.
Thunderbolts
* HURTS IN SPURTS: The Thunder's injuries are mounting. Defenseman Ruslan Salei will be out at least a week with a minor left shoulder separation, according to head coach Chris McSorley. Five minutes into Tuesday's game, Salei lost his balance and fell into the boards, landing on the shoulder. He didn't return and had his arm placed in a sling. Thunder trainer Van Parfet said Salei, a left-handed shooter, will have an MRI today to determine the injury's severity. ... Left wing Ken Quinney was a scratch as he recovers from a strained medial collateral ligament of his left knee, which he suffered Monday at Utah. He was limping noticeably. ... Defenseman Jeff Serowik (groin) and backup goaltender Andre Racicot (groin and knee) still struggle with nagging injuries. ... Left wing Andrei Bashkirov, however, returned to the ice after missing four games with a bad wrist.
* VORONOV TO TOLEDO: Defenseman Sergei Voronov was sent to Toledo of the East Coast Hockey League following Tuesday's game. In 17 games with the Thunder, Voronov had a goal, three assists and 50 penalty minutes. Voronov is the property of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
* RHEAUME SENT HOME: Former Las Vegas gimmick goaltender Manon Rheaume was cut from the Canadian national women's team Tuesday. Rheaume left the Reno Renegades of the West Coast Hockey League 10 days ago to pursue her dream of playing for her country, but the first woman to play pro hockey was beaten out by the relatively obscure Lesley Reddon and Danielle Dube. Rheaume made history in 1992 when she played in a National Hockey League exhibition game for the Tampa Bay Lightning. She played for the Thunder in 1993-94.
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