Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 23, 1993 TAG: 9312230078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In a move that he was hesitant to make three weeks ago, Express coach Frank Anzalone has split up the Express' highly touted Russian line of Ilja Dubkov, Lev Berdichevsky and Oleg Yashin.
Since Anzalone split the Russians three games ago, the Express has impressed, going 2-0-1 against East Coast Hockey League heavyweights Greensboro and Hampton Roads.
"I think the line changes have helped the Russians a little," Anzalone said. "I didn't want to do it at first because of the language barrier. But then I said heck with it. There is no language barrier. The truth of the matter is, those Russians understand the guys in the locker room a lot better than we all think."
Anzalone said the Russians appear to turn their games on and off like a light switch. At times, they're great. At other times, they're invisible, he said.
"I've been very disappointed with them lately," Anzalone said. "If they spoke better English, they would have to be a whole lot more accountable for their play. Quite frankly, I think they've been awful lately."
The Russians have combined for 40 goals, but they've watched the other clubs score more often. The trio's combined plus-minus quotient is minus-22.
"If they want the ice time they demand, they have to be productive," Anzalone said. "They have to take that responsibility. I recruited them to be major ingredients.
"I've told 'em many times if you don't score in the game I can live with that. But your work ethic has to be as hard as everybody else's. When the work ethic is questionable, I have a real problem looking them in the eye.
"In order for them to be good, they have to be good 80 percent of the time. That's why Lev and Oleg are here. They are as elite players as other (Russians), but they have their reasons why they're not NHL prospects."
Anzalone said the line switches have been effective to this point.
"I don't think it's produced glorious numbers but it has produced better play," he said. "We're more involved in other team's zone now."
To make the changes, Anzalone was forced to break up his most effective line of center Pat Ferschweiler and wings Tony Szabo and Jeff Jestadt.
"That line was becoming such a dominate line, a go-to line it was causing two problems," Anzalone said. "Number one, the players would have the wrong impression about how I felt about that line. That line deserved all recognition it was getting, but sometimes that can play the wrong song in locker room.
"Also, that line does a good job of playing below the other team's goal line, which may not produce a goal but it does produce time of possession. I thought by putting one of those guys on each line it might help the others to learn to go in and work down low, too."
\ MODELING MOOSE: Express captain Dave "Moose" Morissette, who has reached cult hero status in Roanoke, says he would like to settle down in the Star City when his playing days end.
"I'm from a small town (Baie-Comeau, Quebec ), so I really like Roanoke," Morissette said. "I really enjoy the people in Roanoke. They've really been nice to me since I came here."
Morissette, who soon will be seen in life-sized promotional cardboard cutouts at local Kroger stores, said he would like to eventually start his own business in Roanoke.
"I think I'm going to start a modeling school," the Express enforcer said, laughing.
"I can see it now. I can have Frank (Anzalone) in the centerfold of my first catalog."
\ RAMBUNCTIOUS RYDER: Roanoke goalie Dan Ryder has become the Ron Hextall of the ECHL.
In 20 games, Ryder has accumulated 32 penalty minutes, including one of only five match penalties levied this season in the ECHL, for tripping linesman John Horan after a fight in Richmond on Oct. 29.
Ryder leads all ECHL goalies in penalty minutes. His total ranks fifth on the Roanoke roster.
"Dan is a high-spirited, emotional guy," Anzalone said. "I thought for sure he was going to get thrown out against Toledo last week (when Ryder skated the length of the ice and tackled Storm goalie Nick Vitucci). I wish he wouldn't do that."
\ ICE CHIPS: Roanoke has gone 6-2-1 over its past nine games to move ahead of Richmond into sole possession of sixth place in the ECHL East. If the ECHL playoffs started today, Roanoke would qualify as the single wild-card entry. The top five finishers in each of the three divisions automatically qualify. . . . Tonight's contest at South Carolina starts a rugged stretch in which Roanoke plays 10 of its next 13 games on the road through Jan. 16. . . . Express forward Gairin Smith left the club Tuesday for Switzerland, where he will play for Team Canada in the Spangler Cup. Smith is expected to miss the next six games, returning to the squad Jan. 2. . . . The ownership group of the IHL's Atlanta franchise has reached an agreement to purchase Nashville's ECHL club. Atlanta president Richard Adler said his goal is for the NHL to return to Atlanta. If that happens, he will move his IHL team to Nashville. . . . Paul Pickard has been named head coach and director of operations of the Huntington Blizzard. Pickard replaces Bob Destocki, who stepped in an interim basis after the firing of Bob "Battleship" Kelly earlier this month.
by CNB