ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 16, 1996 TAG: 9601160044
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Express Notes
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
Whenever the Roanoke Express has needed some juice on its power line, Chris Potter has flipped the switch.
Potter has done more on-line work in recent East Coast Hockey League games than a teen-age computer wonk, shifting between two lines and sparking the Express to a pair of victories during the weekend. In the process, he's become one of Roanoke's hottest players by accumulating six goals and six assists in 12 games.
He has a goal and three assists in his past two games, including the tying goal in Saturday's game against the Dayton Bombers, which Roanoke won 3-2 in a shootout. All of his points in the past two games came after Express coach Frank Anzalone teamed Potter with Ilya Dubkov and Jeff Jablonski.
The Tim Christian-Dubkov-Jablonski line has been one of the best for the Express, but Potter gave the line a jump-start in Friday's 4-1 victory over Raleigh. Potter started Saturday's game with Dave Holum and Craig Herr, but moved back with Dubkov and Jablonski in the second period.
He immediately set up Jablonski for a goal by carrying the puck to the side of the net. In the third, he tied it with a mad rush to the goal when he got the puck to roll in after his first shot was stopped.
``When there are only three lines, you just mix and match,'' said Potter, whose plus-13 rating leads the team. ``We've done the same thing for a couple of nights. It doesn't always matter who you play with. You just make switches, and if you get a goal out of it, great.''
HAIR-RAISING: The combination of Jason Clarke, Jeff Jestadt and newcomer Karry Biette has been making a goal-scoring statement on the ice and a fashion statement off it.
Biette, who has game-winning goals in his first two games since coming to the Express from Erie in a trade last week, and Jestadt are sporting close-cropped, Mark Messier-style haircuts.
If the line continues to produce, will Clarke be the next guy in the barber's chair?
``No, that's not my style,'' Clarke said Saturday night.
Jestadt, though, thinks it wouldn't be a bad idea for his linemate to go under the clippers.
``He's next,'' Jestadt said. ``We'll get him when he's asleep.''
If Clarke gets the buzzcut, the new line could be dubbed the Receding Hair Line.
CHRISTIAN'S STATUS: Christian, the only Roanoke player selected to play in the ECHL All-Star Game Jan.23 in Tallahassee, Fla., is questionable for tonight's game against Charlotte because of a bruised right knee.
Christian, whose .297 shooting percentage is second in the ECHL, was injured with 10:12 left in Saturday's game against Dayton when he banged knees with a Bombers defender near the Dayton blue line.
Since the ice at the Roanoke Civic Center was covered for the Virginia Tech-George Washington game Monday night, Christian had not skated since Saturday. He said he would test the knee during this morning's skate-around.
``It's still pretty sore, but I'm optimistic,'' said Christian, who has 19 goals. ``I won't know [if I can play] until I skate.''
CHARLOTTE SPEEDWAY: The Charlotte Checkers come to the Roanoke Civic Center for the second time in seven days when they play the Express tonight at 7. Charlotte, which has won 21 of 31 games since an 0-5-1 start, beat the Express 6-3 on Wednesday and is third in the East Division, one point ahead of the Express.
In that game, Charlotte coach John Marks gave a different defensive look by sending two forecheckers into the Roanoke zone. The Checkers usually aren't that aggressive.
``We changed our system,'' Marks said. ``Frank's the kind of coach who really knows the way we like to play, so we gave a different look. This rink's a little smaller than others, so we got on players quicker.''
The Express has won both of its games since that loss, including a 3-2 shootout victory over Dayton on Saturday, and Anzalone believes his team is making better adjustments in dealing with opponents' speed. Dayton came out quickly Saturday by taking 20 shots but netting no goals in the first period. The Express did a better job of keeping up with the high-flying Bombers in the final two periods.
``We saw what the next level of speed is all about,'' Anzalone said. ``We made some necessary adjustments.''
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB