Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 11, 1992 TAG: 9201110268
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
REBELS ASLEEP IN HOME LOSS
Not even the friendly confines of the Vinton LancerLot was enough to shake the Roanoke Valley Rebels out of their doldrums.The Rebels continued to hibernate Friday night, losing 6-2 to the Raleigh IceCaps an East Coast Hockey League game before a crowd of 2,501.
The loss extended the Rebels' losing streak to a season-high seven games.
After losing six straight on the road, the Rebels (11-18-3) had hoped their first home game since Dec. 26 would bring an end to their losing ways.
"We were back home and I thought we were going to have a good game," said Rebels coach Roy Sommer, whose club had won three straight games and five of its previous six at the LancerLot before Friday.
But no matter where a team plays - at home, on the road or on a frozen pond in Saskatchewan - it must have some ammunition.
"We've got about four guys out there who shouldn't even be on the ice," Sommer said. "It's tough. We're definitely outgunned."
Raleigh (13-21-2), which has won five straight to overtake Roanoke Valley for sixth place in the seven-team Eastern Division of the ECHL, scored on two power plays in the first period and never looked back.
The Rebels pulled to 4-2 with 11:17 to play, but Raleigh put away the victory with two goals on a five-minute power play, the result of a fighting penalty to Rebels enforcer Frank "The Animal" Bialowas.
With his club facing a string of four more road games starting tonight in Louisville, Sommer said he realizes the deck continues to be stacked against his troops.
"We just need a break or a bounce," Sommer said. "We need to win a game to stop this snowball. If we can just hang on until we get some players back from injuries, we'll be OK again, I believe."
Sommer did receive some good news Friday when he learned center Peter Kasowski will rejoin the club Monday. Kasowski had 51 points in 22 games before being called up on Dec. 17 to Salt Lake City of the International Hockey League.
"Getting Kasowski back will be a big help," Sommer said. "Lord knows, we need it right now."
\ ICE CHIPS: Defenseman Steve Chelios, younger brother of NHL star Chris Chelios, has been picked up by the Rebels. Chelios played briefly in Vinton last year before being traded to Johnstown. He has played for at least six ECHL teams in his two seasons in the league. Chelios replaces defenseman Mike Barlage, who may not return because of the death of his father. . . . Veteran forward Greg Neish, who had been out since suffering a serious eye injury last season, has been reinserted into the Rebels' injury-racked lineup and skated Friday night. . . . Rebels forward Ron Jones and No. 1 goalie Mike James, two of four players hurt on last week's road trip, are expected to be play this weekend. Forward Wayne Muir said it will be another two weeks before he returns from injury. . . . After tonight's game in Louisville, Ky., the Rebels travel to Toledo, Ohio, where they face the Western Division-leading Storm for the first time. . . . The crowd of 2,501 was the Rebels' fourth-largest of the season. . . . The Greensboro Monarchs obliterated the ECHL's game attendance record last Friday when they drew 13,456 against the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds. The Cincinnati Cyclones held the record of 10,122, set this season. \
see microfilm for box score