Odd events land forward in city

Augusta Lynx coach Stan Drulia had to do a little homework before he completed a trade with the Louisiana IceGators on Tuesday.

Drulia was about to swap Lynx forward Jim Shepherd for IceGators forward Dan Sullivan, but there was a small catch. Sullivan was in Louisiana because the Reading (Pa.) Royals shipped him there after the ECHL suspended him for "making multiple obscene gestures" during a game against the Wheeling (W.Va.) Nailers.

After talking to Royals' coach Derek Clancey, Drulia felt better and completed the trade.

"This thing is so blown out of proportion, it's not even funny," Drulia said. "I had a great talk with Derek Clancey in Reading about him and he would love to have him on his hockey team still."

The suspension came after a Nov. 7 game in Wheeling, during which Sullivan was accused of dropping his pants in front of fans and one of the Nailers' owners.

Sullivan didn't dress for the game because of an injury and he and two teammates sat in the stands for the game. Sullivan said he was walking up a set of stairs at the arena and Nailers' fans were taunting him and throwing things at him.

"From what people said, I'm not the 6-foot-3, 240-pound monster who bent over and pulled his pants down in front of 5,000 people," said Sullivan, who will play in his first game with Augusta tonight in Pensacola, Fla.

He said his action was directed at one of the fans, but insists that he showed no skin and it was not in front of thousands of fans, like it was reported.

"The (Wheeling) owner will tell you that it was me full-fledged, bent over with my pants to my ankles, when I have a number of witness that said I didn't do anything," Sullivan said Thursday after practice. "I was sticking up for a teammate. I was protecting someone, which I do on the ice, and it just got out of control."

Reading suspended Sullivan after the incident and the league issued a 12-game suspension Nov. 25. On Dec. 16, the Royals traded Sullivan to the IceGators for future considerations.

Reagan Rome, one of Sullivan's teammates who was with him in the stands for the game, told the Winnipeg Sun newspaper that he thought the incident was overblown.

"He didn't really moon them," Rome told the paper. "... It was just a little spin-around."

Sullivan said he understands Reading's actions, though he would have preferred to stay in Pennsylvania.

"I didn't want that," he said. "I wanted to go back there. ... If you're a real pro, you move on, you don't go backwards, you take steps forward. That's what I'm just trying to do with my career."

The Lynx hope he will make those strides with them.

"He knows his role," Drulia said. "He's going to go up and down his wing. He can chip in offensively. He'll scrap when he has to scrap. He does the things that we need right now."

Reach Kristy Shonka at (706) 823-3216 or kristy.shonka@augustachronicle.com.

Gamenight

WHEN: 8:05 tonight and 7:35 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Pensacola Civic Center

RADIO: WRDW 1630 AM

WEBCAST: www.augustalynx.com.

THIS SEASON: The Lynx are 1-1 against the Ice Pilots, with each team winning at home. Augusta won the last meeting, 3-2 in a shootout.

ABOUT THE LYNX

COACH: Stan Drulia

RECORD: 14-21-5, 33 points, 11th place American Conference

KEY PLAYER: Sean Connolly is tied for second in the ECHL for defensmen with eight goals.

ABOUT THE ICE PILOTS

COACH: Dave Farrish

RECORD: 24-11-4, 52 points, 1st place American Conference

KEY PLAYER: Forward Tyler Beechey is second in the league with 49 points.

- Kristy Shonka