ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 22, 1995 TAG: 9512220023
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
The Roanoke Express, mired in a season-high four-game losing streak, suffered another loss when it was announced Thursday that center Craig Herr could be out two weeks with a fracture of a bone in his lower vertebrae.
The injury comes at a bad time for the Express, which goes to Richmond tonight having scored just six goals in its losing streak. It also comes at a time when Richmond Renegades coach Roy Sommer has been predicting tonight's game could be a violent affair.
Sommer apparently was angered by a fight between Roanoke's Jason Clarke and Richmond's Jay Murphy last Saturday and has been quoted in a Richmond newspaper promising a payback.
The Express will go into battle without Herr, the team's second-leading scorer with 27 points. He sustained the injury to his right transverse process, a small bone in the lower lumbar region that aids back movement, when he was cross-checked by Hampton Roads' Dominic Maltais in a game Dec.15. Maltais received a five-minute major penalty for boarding on the play.
Herr remained in that game and played in Roanoke's next two games Saturday and Sunday before X-rays revealed the injury Monday morning. His status is listed as day-to-day but he has been asked to stay off the ice for at least 10 days by team physician Brent Johnson.
``There's no problem with the spinal column itself,'' said Express general manager Pierre Paiement. ``He'll probably be out two, maybe three, weeks, certainly not less than two.''
Richmond and Roanoke met just six days ago at the Roanoke Civic Center in a game the Renegades won 3-2. That game featured an altercation involving several players after the game ended.
Sommer told the Richmond Times-Dispatch he believed Express coach Frank Anzalone sent Clarke after Murphy early in the third period.
Anzalone ``knew we had a short bench,'' Sommer said. ``He was trying to get guys off the ice. I'm not going to forget that. ... I believe an eye for an eye. We've got guys like Brian Goudie, Garry Gulash [and] Martin Roy who can fight.''
ECHL commissioner Pat Kelly said he contacted both teams, warning them that any incidents during tonight's game would be closely watched.
``I hope, personally, that it's nothing but paper talk,'' said Kelly. ``I contacted the coaches, the owners and told them we're not going to stand for any of this. They're all on notice that if anything happens, they'll have to pay the consequences.''
The Renegades will be without ECHL penalty-minutes leader Trevor Senn, who will be serving the third game of a five-game suspension he received for throwing his stick into the stands a week ago.
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