Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 23, 1991 TAG: 9102230301
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The imposing query now is will the Rebels ever win another game?
The Rebels continued their path toward an early vacation Friday night, losing 4-1 to the Cincinnati Cyclones at the Vinton LancerLot.
The loss was Roanoke Valley's season-high sixth straight and 18th in 24 games.
And just like that, a club that only two months ago looked like a playoff shoo-in is riding a one-way road to early elimination.
"Not to be negative, but things do look bleak," said Rebels coach Claude Noel. "There's no easy way out of this. Realistically, we're not out of [the playoff chase], but right now there is no tomorrow. You can't keep putting off games. We knew we had to win this game."
Much easier said than done. So far, the Rebels without a cause are one-for-February.
Noel said his club hasn't mailed in the season - yet.
"Nobody, I think, is just playing this thing out," Noel said. "If I thought that, that person or persons would be gone and we'd play the rest of the games short-handed."
Cincinnati (31-22-3) got all it needed for its fifth straight win in the second period, as Chris Marshall and Steve Cadieux scored off two Roanoke defensive giveaways.
After Ron Jones teased the crowd of 1,904 with a goal 65 seconds into the third period, Marshall's power-play goal 88 seconds later erased any dream of a Rebels comeback.
The Rebels (22-26-7) remain two points behind Erie and Nashville, which both have played one less game, in the chase for the final playoff spot. Roanoke Valley has nine games left, six on the road.
\ ICE CHIPS: The Cyclones have won two straight over the Rebels after three losses. . . . The Rebels were 0-for-3 on the power play. They have scored four goals in their past 60 power-play opportunities. . . . The teams boarded their buses for the 450-mile ride to Cincinnati, where they conclude the season series in a sold-out game tonight.
by CNB