Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 12, 1993 TAG: 9312120007
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
You've got enforcers and agitators. Muckers and grinders. Tough guys and finesse guys.
Then there are the heads. Count Pat Ferschweiler in this small, select group.
If there is such a thing as a cerebral hockey player in the rough-and-tumble East Coast Hockey League, it's Ferschweiler, a rookie center for the Roanoke Express.
"I do think quite a bit on the ice; that's just the type of player I am," Ferschweiler said. "The strongest part of my game is that I think the game well. I think that gives me a big advantage reading plays.
"Sure, a lot of players just go on instincts, and that's the type of players they are. You have to go with your strong suit, and mine is definitely thinking the game and making the right play."
Using his head isn't new to Ferschweiler. The 23-year-old native of Rochester, Minn., graduated with honors in the spring from Western Michigan University, majoring in finance with minors in accounting and business.
Take the hockey stick out of his hand and throw a suit on him and Ferschweiler could pass for a Wall Street stock broker. At the Roanoke Valley Sports Club meeting in November, the balding hockey player deked most of the audience when he stepped to the podium.
"That guy doesn't look like a hockey player. He looks more like a CPA," an onlooker said.
"Yeah, put a suit on me and I suppose I can fool some people," Ferschweiler said, grinning. "You know, I think it must be the head. When I was 12, people were saying, `You're going to be bald by 20.' [Baldness] just runs in the family, so I knew it was coming. What can you do? It's been there since Day One."
So has the game of hockey. Growing up in Minnesota, there's not much choice, Ferschweiler conceded.
"Every kid back home plays hockey," he said. "I was a rink rat as a kid. There was an outdoor rink two blocks from my house. My brother and I would walk down there and play till dark. I was 3 years old when I first started skating, but you had to be 4 to play in organized games. So I was 4 when I played my first game. I've been playing ever since and just loving it."
Out of high school, Ferschweiler went to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he failed to make the team as a walk-on. Yearning to play hockey again, Ferschweiler dropped out of college and entered the junior ranks.
Express coach Frank Anzalone, then at Lake Superior State, recruited Ferschweiler, only to lose the center to Western Michigan.
"I think Pat wanted to be a Laker," Anzalone said. "But it came down to the fact that I had a partial [scholarship] and Western had a full. I had checked with the NCAA and I was the only one who knew he was eligible. Western called and, as always, sometimes I'm stupid. I told Western that he was eligible. They hadn't known that."
When Anzalone got the Express job during the summer, one of the first things he did was call Ferschweiler.
"He was the first first player whose number I got," Anzalone said. "Mike Smith [Express defenseman who played for Anzalone at Lake Superior] was first, Ferschweiler was next. And he hasn't let me down."
Despite having what he calls "average skills," Ferschweiler entered Saturday's game against Hampton Roads as the Express' leading scorer. The hard-working 6-foot-1, 190-pound center had seven goals and 17 assists in 20 games. Ferschweiler recorded the first hat trick in Express history in the club's fourth game and has a team-high five three-point games.
"It's surprising that he's our leading scorer," Anzalone said. "He may not end up there, but he does a lot to help you win. He's very smart and he works continuously hard.
"Pat is not a big goal-scorer, but I think he has a legitimate shot to be a good anchor at the next level [American or International leagues]. I don't know if he can be a star, but he can in his own right because right now he's the star on this team."
Roanoke's second line, a unit with Ferschweiler flanked by wings Tony Szabo and Jeff Jestadt, has been the Express' blue-collar trio this season. Roanoke's No. 1 Russian line may have a skills edge, but it can't match the work ethic of Ferschweiler and his mates.
"That line keeps the puck in the other team's end," Anzalone said of Ferschweiler's trio. "You always know that that line is going to work down low. Those three guys do a lot of things that help you win."
Mention hard work and Ferschweiler's blue eyes light up.
"Frank thinks you should bring your hard hat and lunch bucket and get to work everyday, and I tend to agree with that," Ferschweiler said. "A lot of players at this level have the skill, but not everybody comes to play every night."
When the the nights finally run out, Ferschweiler will don that suit that fits him so well and find himself a new office.
"I wouldn't be having this much fun if I were working," he said. "I love playing hockey every day. I love waking up and coming to the rink. The money is not great, but if you move up, it gets better."
Making $300 a week in the ECHL, Ferschweiler laughed when asked how much his finance degree comes into play.
"Luckily, my degrees come in handy here," he said. "They're certainly needed to divvy up this big check I get every week now. Now I know where to invest it all . . . ."
The Express certainly has gotten a good return on its investment.
"Pat Ferschweiler gives a coach exactly what he wants from a player," Anzalone said. "He's smart. He's heady. And if you don't have a guy like him, you're in trouble."
by CNB