Corpus Christi Online - / Albuquerque doctor backs another WPHL team

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Saturday, Jan. 9, 1999
Albuquerque doctor backs another WPHL team
By MARK BUTTON
Staff Writer

   AUSTIN -- Western Professional Hockey League president Rick Kozuback owes a debt of gratitude to a chiropractor.
   Not his back doctor, although recent developments with the New Mexico Scorpions franchise were becoming a pain in his . . . side. The chiropractor in question is Michael Plaman, who bought the New Mexico franchise Thursday just hours before the Scorpions became the first WPHL team to go bankrupt.
   One of the original six members of the league, New Mexico, as most IceRays fans know, employed Corpus Christi coach Taylor Hall and players such as Chris Robertson, Regan Harper, Jody Praznik and Mike Tomlinson during the 1996-97 season. New Mexico was owned by NHLers Bernie Nichols and Joe Murphy until Thursday. It was Nichols and Murphy who fired Hall after he led the Scorpions to the WPHL's best regular-season record in 1996-97.
   This year, decreased attendance and high game-day costs waned the interest of Nichols and Murphy, who turned control over to his father, Pat Murphy. Pat Murphy failed to pay the Scorpions' rent to the New Mexico State Fair Commission, which owns Tingley Coliseum, where the team plays.
   New Mexico was given a 30-day extension on the rent, which expired Thursday. Albuquerque native Plaman, who also owns the Shreveport Mudbugs, stepped in at the 11th hour and purchased the franchise.
   "We're happy that this has happened," Kozuback said Friday at the site of the 1999 WPHL All Star Game. "We now have a strong local ownership interest in New Mexico."
   Plaman reworked the team's licensing agreement and he and his ownership group will receive an undisclosed percentage of parking and consessions from home games. New Mexico has seen a drop off in attendance of about 1,000 per game this season.
   Scorpions ticket prices will fall under the new regime, from the $6-$20 range to $7-$14. Also, the number of cheap seats will increase from 300 to about 5,000. Tingley Coliseum holds 10,120.
   Plaman's group is the second to own two teams in the WPHL. The group that owns Austin also owns the Arkansas Glaciercats.
   "This is becoming more and more prevalent," Kozuback said. "The ECHL has cross ownership, the CHL does . . . we don't have a problem with it. If we have a franchisee that knows how to run a team, we're better off if they run more than one."
   Kozuback said the league will vote next year on whether it will allow trades between teams with common ownership.
   Plaman, 49, owns and operates 12 clinics in and around Albuquerque, N.M.
   FIRST SELLOUT: The WPHL has sold tickets for all 7,741 seats inside the Travis County Exposition Center for today's 1999 All- Star Game, the first to sell out.
   The game will also air live, on FOX Sports Southwest, starting at 7 p.m.
   "We do have tickets available for standing room only," said Craig Jones, the Austin Ice Bats' director of business.
   HOMECOMING: Jim Burton, coach of Team World, was a WPHL All Star in 1996-97 when he played for Austin.
   Team World consists of the best 18 players from the seven non-Texas WPHL teams. Team Texas is comprised of the players from the 10 Texas teams, including Corpus Christi's Chris Robertson and Regan Harper.
   Burton's opponent, Team Texas coach Jeff Triano, also played in the WPHL in 1996-97. A former Amarillo Rattler, Triano was an assistant at Odessa last year before being hired as the head coach of the Arkansas Glaicercats.
   PLAYOFF INFO: The top three teams in each of the three WPHL divisions will qualify for the 1998-99 playoffs, which begin March 23.
   The next three teams with the best records, from any division, will qualify for the postseason as wild cards, bringing the total number of playoff teams to 12.
   The three division winners will receive first-round byes. First round playoff series will be a best-of-three format. Second round games will be best-of-five and the semifinals and finals will be played in a best-of-seven format.
   Teams from the Central Division will be split to accommodate an Eastern and Western Division in the playoffs. The Central Division teams will be divided based on geography.
   "Wherever travel is easiest," Kozuback said.
   ICERAYS OFF: IceRays coach Taylor Hall gave the team time off from Friday to Sunday and he will hold an optional practice Monday.
   "We didn't have a Christmas break, so this is a good time for the guys to relax a little and get their minds of hockey," Hall said.

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