Crows want changes

Littler: Topeka coach confident his team can be successful despite
lagging attendance and sub-.500 record

By RICK DEAN
The Capital-Journal

They waited patiently in the corridor outside the dressing room
Wednesday night as Bliss Littler and his Topeka ScareCrows conducted
their final team meeting of the season.

The ScareCrows' first season as an expansion team in the United
States Hockey League had ended moments earlier on a sour note, a 2-1
loss to a league-championship contender, Lincoln. Topeka's first
experience with junior hockey produced a 25-30-6 record and no trip
to the post-season playoffs.

Yet, as he emerged from the locker room to find five National Hockey
League scouts waiting to talk to him and a couple of his players,
Littler was more convinced than ever his Topeka program is headed in
the right direction.

"We've got NHL people or college people here every night, so I know
the product is good," said Littler, the Crows coach. "Now we just
have to do a better job of letting people know it's good and getting
into the building."

Attracting spectators often proved as difficult as snagging
victories, true on both counts early in the season when Topeka made
the transition from three seasons of minor-league professional hockey
to the junior level.

Before the season began, the Crows said they needed an average of
around 2,400 spectators to break even financially. They didn't get
it. Wednesday's closing night crowd of 2,513 hiked the announced
season attendance to 63,732 spectators -- an average of 1,874 for 34
home games.

Putting more fans in the stands, and subsequently putting the Crows
on better financial footing, remains a top priority for the
organization. Winning more games would further that goal
considerably, and Littler firmly believes that will happen next year
when he expects to return between 12 and 14 players from a team that
won nine of its last 12 games.

"If you get 10 back in this league, that's a lot," he said. "We have
to upgrade our skill level some, but experience remains the best
teacher in this league."

By the time he begins practice next October, Littler hopes to add
several promising recruits to his returners. On Wednesday night, for
instance, a Boston-area prospect Littler called "a high-end talent, a
player who will make a difference for us next year," walked the
Landon Arena corridors and watched the NHL scouts and NCAA recruiters
watching the Crows.

Topeka's reputation could further improve in late June when the NHL
conducts its annual entry draft. Littler believes three Crows --
Vince Bellissimo, Tim Conboy and Erik Fabian -- will hear their names
called during the course of that draft.

That, Bellissimo says, also shows the Crows are heading in the right
direction.

"This organization is heading only one way, and that's up," said
Bellissimo, who will play at Western Michigan next season even if he
is taken in June's professional draft.

"There are 22 guys in there who started that. It's something we can
take pride in, even though we didn't make the playoffs," Bellissimo
said. "There's a good nucleus of guys coming back next year.
Hopefully, they can win a championship here in the next few years."

And winning 9 of their last 12 games is a positive that will help the
returning Crows, Bellissimo said.

"We could have made the playoffs, but we found out what it took too
late," he said. "We ran out of time. Next year, the guys will come in
knowing what it takes and should do well right off the bat."

Bellissimo leaves Topeka an established star in the league. His 37
goals this year were the most ever by an USHL expansion-team player,
and his 76 points were the second-highest total in the league.

"I had fun here and learned a lot," he said. "There's a good group of
guys here who pulled together at the end.

"I almost hate to take my equipment off now, because I know I won't
be putting it back on with these guys again."

Crows honors

Vince Bellissimo was named the team's Most Valuable Player at the
team's Annual Crows Club Banquet this week. The Toronto native led
the team in goals (37), points (76), assists (39) power-play goals
and game-winning goals.

Other award winners were Tim Conboy, Defensive Player of the Year
after joining the team after the season's midpoint; Adam Bartholomay,
Rookie of the Year after a 21-goal season; James Unger, Most Improved
Player; Erik Fabian, Community Service Award; and Justin Schabes,
Crow Club Fan Favorite.