Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 31, 1995 TAG: 9503310061
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Express does not need to hear about how the Renegades won four consecutive games - as Roanoke was losing four in a row - to edge the Express by one point for the East Coast Hockey League's East Division title.
The idea that the Renegades might be a team of destiny is the last thing the Express wants to think about.
Still ...
``Richmond,'' said Roanoke goalie Daniel Berthiaume. ``They don't quit.''
The Express and the Renegades open a quarterfinal Riley Cup playoff series at 7:30 tonight at the Richmond Coliseum. Game 2 will be played at 6:05 p.m. Sunday in Richmond
The Renegades scored 25 goals in their first-round sweep of Columbus, a series that featured one of the greatest comebacks in ECHL playoff history.
After cruising to a 10-4 victory in the first game of the series, Richmond posted a 9-8 victory in double overtime. The Renegades scored twice in the last 1:30 to tie the score, with Blaine Moore tipping in the tying goal with 1.2 seconds left. Scott Gruhl won it for the Renegades in the second overtime.
Richmond mopped up with a 6-1 victory in Game 3.
``We know they can score 10 goals in a hockey game,'' said Roanoke coach Frank Anzalone, whose team was beaten 5-0 by the Renegades on March 18. A victory would have given the Express the East Division title.
The Renegades most likely won't score 10 goals in a game against the Express, which gave up the second-fewest goals in the league this season. But Roanoke will be hard-pressed to put the puck in the net against the rugged Renegades.
``I think they're expecting a low-scoring series,'' Anzalone said. ``It doesn't concern us what people have done against other people [in the playoffs]. I don't think that the Columbus-Richmond series has any effect on this series. We don't play the same style as Columbus - they're more of a wide-open team.''
Roy Sommer, the Renegades' coach, does not expect to see the offensive fireworks his team produced against Columbus.
``This [series] is going to be a lot more defensive than that [Columbus] series,'' Sommer said. ``If Roanoke gets three or four goals up on you, you aren't going to catch them. You're not going to come back like we did against Columbus.''
The Express was very disciplined in the last two games of its first-round series against Knoxville. Even though Roanoke lost late leads in both games, it rallied to win in overtime both times to take the series 3-1.
HOME ICE: Neither team defended its own ice very well against the other this season. Roanoke won three times in Richmond, once in overtime; the Renegades posted four victories, two in overtime, at the Roanoke Civic Center.
``If we win one game up there, it gives us a tremendous opportunity to be in the thick of this series,'' Anzalone said.
SCHRINER'S STATUS: Express forward Marty Schriner underwent arthroscopic surgery this week that revealed a couple of tears in the cartilage of his right knee. Schriner, who has not played since suffering the injury against Raleigh on March 14, will miss up to three more weeks of action. He won't be able to play again this season unless Roanoke advances to the Riley Cup finals.
AROUND THE ECHL: The first round of the playoffs was marked with upsets, none bigger than 16th-seeded Birmingham's three-game sweep of top-seeded Wheeling. The Thunderbirds, who won the Brabham Cup award for posting the ECHL's best regular-season record, were the fifth top-seeded team in seven years to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. ...
The Roanoke-Richmond winner plays the Birmingham-Tallahassee winner in the Riley Cup semifinals. Other quarterfinal matchups pit Dayton against Greensboro and Nashville against the winner of the Johnstown-South Carolina first-round series, which is tied 2-2 heading into today's final game. ... Richmond tough guy Shawn Snesar will miss tonight's game as part of a three-game suspension he received during Game 2 of the Columbus series. Snesar will return to the ice Sunday.
by CNB