seven venues

Chesapeake’s Chris Rigotti hasn’t had much interest in attending hockey games at Scope the past few years.
    But on Saturday, Rigotti couldn’t resist digging his blue-and-gold Admirals jersey out of his closet and taking up residence in the old barn one more time.
    After all, his boys were back in town.
    In a blast from the area’s glorious hockey past, several stars from the Hampton Roads Admirals of the East Coast Hockey League returned to Scope on Saturday for the first Alumni Game.
    “It killed me when they took my team away,’’ Rigotti said. The Hampton Roads Admirals were replaced by the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League in 2000 after an 11-year run. “It still hurts today. There will never be another team like the Hampton Roads Admirals. Never.’’
    Longtime fans’ familiarity with the ex-Admirals became clear when word spread that Rod Taylor could not attend because of the recent death of his mother.
    The fans didn’t just mourn because they knew Taylor. Many fans mourned because they also knew Taylor’s mother.
    “She was really nice,’’ Chesapeake’s Debby Visser said.
    Old-style Admirals sweaters and jackets were plentiful among the crowd of about 4,000 that watched Victor Gervais, Dominic Maltais and several other former stars of the three-time ECHL champions do battle.
    ’’I’m kind of surprised mine still fits,’’ Virginia Beach’s Paul Cain said.
    ’’I guess liposuction really works,’’ his good buddy Denny Law replied.
    Although admittedly past their hockey prime, the ex-Admirals showed they still remember how to put on a good show.
    Midway through the first period, Greg Bignell and Shawn Wheeler dropped the gloves and went after each other for several seconds, then smiled and patted each other on the back as the song “Why Can’t We Be Friends’’ blared throughout the arena.
    Gervais, who scored 151 goals in seven seasons with Norfolk, still has his sweet wrist shot. And Glenn Kehrer notched five consecutive assists.
    Then again, defense was kept to a minimum — the goal horn blared so often Scope began sounding like rush hour in Manhattan.
    “This brings back a lot of memories,’’ said Blake Cullen, the original Admirals owner who dropped Saturday’s ceremonial first puck. “Those were the happiest days of my life.’’
    At game’s end, ex-Hampton Roads goalie and current Norfolk Admirals vice president Mark Bernard addressed the crowd and solved the mystery as to why the team’s three ECHL championship banners do not hang from Scope’s rafters.
    “We can’t seem to locate them,’’ he announced.
    Fans were then treated to a new banner, one recognizing all three titles, which will be displayed from now on.
    “Yeah, they weren’t as good as the AHL guys, didn’t skate as fast,’’ Rigotti said. “We get that. But we still loved them.’’