ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9601020030
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: HOCKEY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR.
It's one thing to lose your players to teams in other leagues with whom you have a working agreement, but when you begin losing players to teams affiliated with your rivals, then it's time to draw the line on the ice.
That's what Roanoke Express general manager Pierre Paiement and coach Frank Anzalone had to do during the past week when goaltender Matt DelGuidice was called up by the Albany (N.Y.) River Rats of the American Hockey League.
Call-ups are part of minor-league hockey, to be sure, but usually players are called up by an affiliate of their current team. Roanoke's only affiliation is with the International Hockey League's Minnesota Moose.
Albany is the AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, and it was Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello who contacted Anzalone on Tuesday about borrowing DelGuidice for a while. Anzalone was unable to contact Paiement, so he left the decision to DelGuidice.
The former NHL goalie, who has seen his playing time reduced since the Express signed Daniel Berthiaume, was on the Express' bus waiting to go to Raleigh, N.C., for Tuesday night's East Coast Hockey League game when Anzalone told him Lamoriello was on the phone. DelGuidice was supposed to start against the IceCaps that night.
Which leads to this interesting plot twist: Raleigh is affiliated with the Devils, and Lamoriello got DelGuidice's name from Kurt Kleinendorst, the IceCaps' coach.
``I just thought that was suspicious,'' Paiement said. ``I was upset about that. Kurt and I talked about it [the next night when the IceCaps came to Roanoke] and I told him how I felt. I just thought it was suspicious that Matt was called up to [one of the IceCaps'] affiliations on a night when we were playing'' Raleigh.
In fairness to Kleinendorst, DelGuidice was on a list with several other ECHL players the Raleigh coach submitted to Lamoriello. Kleinendorst, who coached in the IHL last season and is well-respected in minor-league circles, often is asked for the names of players in his league who might be able to play at a higher level.
``I know Pierre was upset, but Lou asked me who some of the top players in our league were,'' Kleinendorst said. ``It happens all the time. I put Matt's name on there because I know he's a good player and I think a lot of him. ... I have to credit Frank for letting him go up there. That will probably help Matt, give him some confidence. I think Frank knows me well enough to know I wouldn't purposely try to get one of their players taken from them.''
Usually, Albany would have taken a goalie from Raleigh, but the IceCaps had no one to offer since they had lost two goalies to injury. The loss of DelGuidice left Roanoke with only Berthiaume, who has been hampered by a sore back.
Paiement called Lamoriello on Thursday and asked that DelGuidice be returned. Lamoriello complied.
``There had been so many crazy rumors going around,'' Paiement said. ``People said they heard Matt got mad and quit the team or that he had signed somewhere else. Of course, none of that was true.''
The situation was reminiscent of events two years ago, when Express forward Lev Berdichevsky was ``loaned'' to the AHL's Adirondack (N.Y.) Red Wings. That loan lasted virtually the entire season.
This time, an Express player didn't get lost in upstate New York.
``Yes, you could say we're glad Matt is back,'' Paiement said.
HERR STATUS: Knowing the ECHL has promised to crack down on players who apply dangerous cross-checks does nothing to help ease Craig Herr's pain.
Herr suffered a fractured bone in his lower back when he was cross-checked by Dominic Maltais of Hampton Roads on Dec. 15. The injury occurred at a time when the ECHL was notifying players they would be fined for any cross-check that could injure another player.
Herr hasn't played since Dec. 17 and may miss the team's Florida trip next week.
AROUND THE ECHL: League commissioner Pat Kelly voided Raleigh's waiver claim of ECHL All-Star defenseman Tim Roberts from Wheeling last week because both teams are under the same ownership. The teams are not allowed to make trades with each other, and Kelly has disallowed most other types of transactions. ... Toledo traded Angelo Ricci, who has 18 goals, to Louisville for former NHL player David Goverde.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 linesby CNB