Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - 'Rays forward Lewis Trolling for dollars

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Thursday, August 12, 1999

'Rays forward Lewis Trolling for dollars
Corpus Christi checker re-signs for next season, hopes for more offensive impact
By Mark Button
Caller-Times

Hockey nicknames are great.
   The Dominator. The Russian Rocket. The Great One.
   Some, however, aren't as endearing. Take the one Roger Lewis assumed last season.
   The Angry Troll.
   He really hated that.
   Made him ... well, angry.
   In truth, the 5-foot-6, 175-pound Corpus Christi IceRays forward was rarely ever angry - only when labeled so - but the oft-seen scowl he sported around the locker room seemed to suggest a habitual frustration of some sort.
   Not so.
   "I was never that angry. I'm just focused. That was the guys taking jabs at me," Lewis said in a telephone interview from his home in Houghton, Mich. "I guess I look angry sometimes, but it was mostly a joke. Really, I'm a pretty happy guy."
   The IceRays made Lewis fans happy Wednesday when they announced that he re-signed for the 1999-2000 season, which begins Oct. 13 at Memorial Coliseum.
   Last season, Lewis joined Brad Wingfield and Tyler Boucher on the IceRays checking line, affectionately known as the Troll Line (Boucher, who was traded to New Mexico this offseason, also stood 5-6). IceRays coach Taylor Hall used his checking line to play a defensive style of offense, often matching up his Trolls against the opponent's No. 1 scoring line.
   The thought was defend first, defend second, think about scoring third.
   This time around, Lewis wants to make more an impact around the net.
   "Now that Taylor knows me more, I think I'll get a chance to score more," said Lewis, who scored four goals to go with 17 assists in 66 games last year.
   Hall said Lewis should get his chance.
   "I have great confidence in Roger," Hall said. "He'll probably get more opportunities this season; he has one of the best shots on the team. I think he can chip in with some more goals this year."
   Team captain Jody Praznik said Lewis is capable of much more than defense.
   "For the most of the year, Taylor had him play a checking role," Praznik said. "It's kind of hard to score when you're programmed to do that. But he's a solid player and if he's gets the opportunity and he puts his mind to it, and know he can get it done. He may score a lot of goals next year."
   Though he didn't show up in the box scores much, hockey fans in Corpus Christi knew Lewis was an integral part of the team's success: IceRays fans voted the team's "Diamond in the Rough" award last year for being the team's unsung hero.
   The Lewis signing brings the current total to eight: Praznik, forward, league MVP Chris Robertson, goalie Jason Genik and forwards Mike Tomlinson, Geoff Bumstead, Quinten Van Horlick and Brent Hoiness.



Mark Button can be reached at 886-3613 or by e-mail at buttonm@scripps.com.

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