Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 26, 1993 TAG: 9311260103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The impenetrable barrier goes by the name of Mark Michaud.
The Hampton Roads goalie swatted away 35 shots in registering his first shutout of the season in the Admirals' 3-0 victory over the frustrated Express.
"It's nice to look up and see a doughnut on the scoreboard in this league," Michaud said. "You don't see too many shutouts here because it's such an offensive-minded league. There's a lot of snipers, and most of the games have at least six goals scored. So it's really nice to get one."
The shutout was the fifth this season in 153 ECHL games. The Express (7-10) was shut out for the first time in franchise history.
"Give the guy [Michaud] credit," said Roanoke defenseman Will Averill. "We had some good shots to score, but he was there every time for the save. He was seeing the puck through screens and everything. He had a real solid game."
The Express continued to be choked by its weak power play. Roanoke was 0-for-7 with a manpower advantage, extending its scoreless power-play streak to 24 opportunities covering 5 1/2 games.
"It's a big problem, because in this league your power play can win or lose games," Averill said. "I thought at times tonight we moved the puck really well and got some good shots from the point. But the guy shut us out and that's the bottom line.
"We got some shots and that's all you can ask for. As the game went on, he got more and more confident. Hey, Michaud stoned us. That's it."
Meanwhile, Hampton Roads (11-3) cashed in twice on the power play. That's no surprise, because the Admirals entered the night as far and away the ECHL's No. 1 power-play unit, scoring on 28 of 77 chances (36.4 percent).
"We got two power-play goals and killed every one," said John Brophy, the Hampton Roads coach. "We won the game on that, plus the goaltending. The goalie was super.
"We knew they [the Express] were struggling on the power play. When the power play breaks down you get frustrated and it's tough to work it. You live off the power play in this league."
Forward Kelly Sorensen got the Admirals started toward their fourth consecutive victory, scoring on a power play with 1 minute, 29 seconds left in the first period.
Sorensen, parked in the slot, got a stick on defenseman Ron Pascucci's high wrist shot and directed the puck out of the air past frozen Roanoke goalie Dan Ryder.
Sorensen made it 2-0 at 5:27 of the second, ripping a high drive from the right wing over Ryder's stick shoulder.
Coach Frank Anzalone, who is quickly becoming the ECHL's "Captain Hook," then made his sixth goalie change in 17 games, replacing Ryder with Jim Mill.
Roanoke spent the rest of the second period knocking on a door that Michaud refused to open.
"We had four or five great chances in a short span . . . Lev [Berdichevsky], Oleg [Yashin] . . . ," Anzalone said. "Let's face it, Michaud was very sound, but we had our chances. We seem to keep finding [a hot goalie] every night. It's unbelievable."
Victor Gervais' blue-line power-play slap shot that whizzed past Mill with 8:47 left sealed the victory. Hampton Roads is 22-1-3 vs. Roanoke's ECHL franchises since 1989-90.
"We like it here," Brophy said, grinning. "For some reason or another, good things seem to always happen for us in Roanoke."
\ ICE CHIPS: The loss snapped the Express' two-game winning streak. Roanoke is 4-4-0 at home. . . . The crowd of 5,150 was the third consecutive 5,000-plus figure for Roanoke . . . Defenseman Claude Barthe didn't dress for the Express because of a lower-back strain. . . . Goalie Manon Rheaume posted her second victory Thursday, turning aside 25 of 26 shots in Knoxville's 8-1 rout of visiting Huntington. . . . Roanoke takes today off before heading to Raleigh on Saturday. The Express beat the current East Division-leader 3-2 on its last trip to Dorton Arena. . . . After Saturday, the Express plays four games - all at home - in 17 days.
\ EXPRESS 5, RENEGADES 4: Oleg Yashin scored with 1:37 left in overtime to lift Roanoke to a come-from-behind victory at Richmond on Wednesday night.
Yashin's second goal capped Roanoke's rally from 4-2 down. The victory marked the first time in the Express' brief franchise history that it had rallied to win when trailing after two periods. Entering Wednesday, Roanoke had been 0-7 in games in which it had trailed heading into the final period.
Ilja Dubkov, Dan Dorion and Chris Potter had the other Roanoke goals. Will Averill and Jeff Jestadt each had two assists. Defenseman Claude Barthe set up Yashin's game-winner.
Goalie Dan Ryder, who relieved starter Jim Mill after Chris Foy beat Mill with a 50-foot slap shot that gave Richmond a 3-2 lead at 2:24 of the second period, picked up the victory.
The victory was Roanoke's third in nine road games and moved it into a sixth-place tie with Richmond (6-7-2) in the ECHL East. AGATE THURSDAY'S GAME Hampton Roads 111-3 Roanoke 000-0
First period-1, Hampton Roads, Sorensen 8 (Pascucci, Curley), 18:31 (pp). Penalties-Szabo, Roa (holding), 17:36; Roa bench (unpsortsmanlike conduct), 20:00.
Second period-2, Hampton Roads, Sorensen 9 (Perkovic), 5:27. Penalties-Perkins, HR (holding), 10:21; Wheeler, HR (holding), 11:50; Perkovic, HR (holding), 15:51; Dorion, Roa (high-sticking), 17:54; Yashin, Roa (cross-checking), 19:47.
Third period-3, Hampton Roads, Gervais 12 (Goudie), 11:13 (pp). Penalties-Walcott, HR (interference), 5:00; Roa bench (too many men on ice), 6:42; Chaput, HR (holding), 6:58; Yashin, Roa (high-sticking), 10:57; Chaput, HR (holding stick), 13:50; Perkovic, HR (hooking), 16:13.
Power-play opportunities-Hampton Roads 2 of 5. Roanoke 0 of 7.
Shots on goal-Hampton Roads 9-10-9-28. Roanoke 12-11-12-35.
Goalies-Hampton Roads, Michaud, 11-3-0, (35 shots-35 saves). Roanoke, Ryder, 6-5-0, (11-9); Mill, (3:27 second, 17-16).
Referee-Jared Ruddy. Linesmen-Kevin Kierst, John O'Brien.
A-5,150. WEDNESDAY'S GAME Roanoke 2111-5 Richmond2200-4
First period-1, Richmond, Phillips (Vandeberghe, Hnilicka), 8:33. 2, Roanoke, Yashin 10 (Dubkov), 13:28 (sh). 3, Roanoke, Potter 4 (Thomas, Averill), 14:30. 4, Richmond, Flynn (Phillips, Colbourne), 16:13 (pp). Penalties-Morissette, Roa major (fighting), :47; Gregor, Rmd major (fighting), :47; Jestadt, Roa (slashing), 1:37; Vandeberghe, Rmd (high-sticking), 1:37; Derksen, Rmd (slashing), 2:13; Dubkov, Roa (slashing), 10:17; Potter, Roa (holding stick), 12:19; Morissette, Roa (holding stick), 15:21.
Second period-5, Richmond, Foy (Derksen), 3:24. 6, Richmond, Phillips (Flynn, Foy), 5:44 (pp). 7, Roanoke, Dubkov 7 (Jestadt, Averill), 19:55. Penalties-Morissette, Roa (high-sticking), 5:26; Berdichevsky, Roa major (fighting), 5:58; Hartwell, Rmd major (fighting), 5:58; Blum, Rmd (slashing), 5:58; Szabo, Roa minor-major (slashing, fighting), 7:03; Flynn, Rmd major (fighting), 7:03; Morissette, Roa (cross-checking), 12:01; Schuler, Rmd (roughing), 12:01; Potter, Roa (slashing), 16:29; Colbourne, Rmd (high-sticking), 16:29.
Third period-8, Roanoke, Dorion 3 (Jestadt, Ferschweiler), 5:55. Penalties-Thomas, Roa (slashing), 2:02; Hartnell, Rmd (holding), 2:02; Rmd bench (too many men on ice), 3:52; Szabo, Roa (roughing), 5:03; Derksen, Rmd (roughing), 5:03.
Overtime-9, Roanoke, Yashin 11 (Barthe), 3:23. Penalties-Ferschweiler, Roa (high-sticking), 3:11; Colbourne, Rmd (high-sticking), 3:11.
Shots on goal-Roanoke 7-12-13-2-34. Richmond 12-8-8-2-30.
Power-play opportunities-Roanoke 0 of 4; Richmond 2 of 5.
Goalies-Roanoke, Mill (13 shots-10 saves); Ryder, 6-4-0, (2:24 second, 17-16). Richmond, Hnilicka (34-29).
A-4,208.
Keywords:
HOCKEY
by CNB