Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 19, 1994 TAG: 9410190054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
There's an indoor blimp that flies 'round and 'round the so-called Roundhouse. The kids - Don Rickles used to call them hockey pucks - followed the prize-dropping dirigible like the Pied Piper.
Talking hot air, there's another large presence in the Roanoke Civic Center rafters, too, in distinctly speaking new public address announcer ``Slam'' Duncan.
However, for those like the 4,722 spectators who watched the opener of the Express' second ECHL season Tuesday night, the real intrigue is down below on the frozen floor of the arena.
That's where the Express flew to a 5-3 victory over the Hampton Roads Admirals, a club that all but owned the Roanoke rookie franchise in 1993-94.
A year ago, when the fans were just happy to have a new team in an old home in a franchise that many inside the ECHL figured would be little more than a caboose, the Express' success on and off the ice spun heads and turnstiles.
This season, the paying customers will want more than promotional pucks and whistles. And from the first-night performance against the big and tough Admirals, it appears there will be other reasons to Express yourself than Magnetic Schedule Night.
As opening nights go, the Express' second one wasn't an easy skate off the ice. Fans complained about a lack of programs at some gates. Some of the sold-out dasher-board signs appear to be done in invisible paint.
The beer mugs that were supposed to be given out to the earliest arrivals became a postgame pickup. The last thing Hampton coach John Brophy needed was a glass mugging.
Although the 4,722 customers was somewhat disappointing to club executives who were hoping for a crowd in the 5,500 range, the attendance was higher than last season's average crowd of 4,653. The Express learned last season that Tuesdays are tough in this town.
However, compared to the Hindenberg owner Larry Revo tried to float in the LancerLot two years ago, the second Express club promises to be a real rampage.
By the end of the first period of the second opener, the Express had shown much more verve and versatility than Frank Anzalone's overachieving team of last year.
There's obviously more talent on this team, which includes seven returnees. The stickhandling was stronger and the passing crisper. The penalty-killing play, while leaky on this night, wasn't as resignedly fatal to the Express as last year, either.
There were even some shifts when the Express could have forechecked Hampton into the McDonald's parking lot across Williamson Road. There was more polish and organization to the line-changing, too.
The defense didn't allow the Admirals to simply sail on goal. And in the nets, it's apparent that two-time ECHL champion postmaster Dave Gagnon is a money player - even if club president John Gagnon still signs the checks.
After last season's surprise and the job Anzalone apparently has done recruiting and building this team, the best thing the Express coach can do is keep being Frank.
In an 18-club league that's enjoying prosperity, there should be no surprise if the Express is one of the most improved clubs.
Gagnon - the owner, not the goalie - sees the ECHL heading South in another way. Louisville returns next year after a sabbatical season, probably to be joined by new teams in Pensacola and Jacksonville.
Gagnon said Reading, Pa., already has filed an application fee for 1996-97, and he figures on expansion franchises for Greenville and Columbia, S.C., and Mobile, Ala., that season.
There should be no question which direction the Express is heading, however. Although there still will be a Foam Finger Night, the best promotion this club should have is on the ice.
by CNB