ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 22, 1996 TAG: 9611220056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
The Roanoke Express watched a five-game winning streak end at home Thursday night, although the Express probably left its best game on Interstate 81, somewhere between Roanoke and Knoxville.
If ever a home team looked like it was feeling the effects of the road, it was the Express, which melted like an ice sculpture in Death Valley and blew a two-goal, third-period lead in a 3-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers in an East Coast Hockey League game before 3,511 fans at the Roanoke Civic Center.
The loss capped a three-games-in-as-many-days romp that had the Express winning at home over Wheeling on Tuesday, beating Knoxville on the road Wednesday then boarding the bus again to make the four-hour trek home.
If it's Friday, it must be Raleigh. Since the civic center has to take out the ice in order to host another event this weekend, the Express is traveling to Raleigh a day early to prepare for Saturday's game against the IceCaps.
``That,'' said Express coach Frank Anzalone, ``will feel like a road game.''
So did Thursday's. Judging by the shot totals, it was a miracle Roanoke (10-9-1) was even in the game. Charlotte (6-6-1), which had sunk to the bottom of the ECHL's East Division, held a 30-shot advantage - 49-19 - but Roanoke goalie Dave Gagnon made 46 saves. The Checkers needed a three-goal outburst in the third to win the game.
``This is such a big win for us,'' said Charlotte coach John Marks. ``We've been struggling. We've lost so many one-goal games. We caught Roanoke at the right time. The schedule favored us, there's no question about that. We played hard, though. To come in here and win is big for us.''
November's schedule has been brutal for the Express, but the team responded by playing its best hockey. Thursday's loss also ended a five-game home winning streak.
``We just kind of didn't get it done,'' said Anzalone. ``I think everybody was tired, mentally and physically. I think if the schedule had been taken care of, if more attention had been made to the schedule, things could have been different. But we have to take responsibility for what happened out there.''
Express vice president Joe Steffen said that when the schedule was released last summer, the Express tried to get Thursday's game moved to February, but Charlotte refused.
``I think they knew they'd get us at a good time,'' said Steffen.
The Checkers stunned the Express in the third with three goals in 2 minutes, 16 seconds. It started one second after the Express had killed off Charlotte's fifth power play. Mick Kempffer let fly from the right point with a shot that bounced out of Gagnon's glove, over his head and into the net at 4:31.
Fifty-one seconds later, a coverage breakdown led to a 2-on-1 breakout that ended with J.F. Aube burying a Matt Robbins centering pass. That made it 2-2, but it seemed like the reeling Express was behind. Just over a minute later, it was.
With the Express on its heels, Charlotte's David Brosseau took off unchecked down the right wing and wristed high over Gagnon to make it 3-2 with 13:23 to play.
``The Aube goal was embarrassing,'' said Anzalone. ``To let him walk in on our goalie like that is embarrassing.''
The Express was outshot 16-5 in the first period but kept things scoreless thanks to fine penalty-killing and some sparkling saves by Gagnon. Among the most notable stops was a block of a Todd Hall power-play slapshot early in the period and a terrific glove snag of David Brosseau's rocket at 8:28.
Charlotte fired most of its first-period shots during three fruitless power plays. Roanoke killed all five Checkers' power plays and has not allowed a power-play goal in five straight home games.
It didn't hurt that a couple of Checkers shots clanged harmlessly off posts in the first. Bill McCauley hit the left post at 7:30 and Darryl Noren nearly made Gagnon turn a backflip with a blast that ricocheted of the crossbar.
The Express was outshot badly again in the second - 15-8 - but was ahead on the scoreboard. The first goal came with a man advantage after Charlotte's Kimbi Daniels was sent off for boarding at 2:01. The Checkers lost another man, more or less, when Todd Hall's stick snapped. Ilya Dubkov came around on Hall's side, faked out goalie Evgeny Ryabchikov and scored at 2:50 of the period.
Roanoke made it 2-0 at 10:20 when Jeff Jablonski picked up the puck in the neutral zone and unleashed a missile from 70 feet that glanced off Ryabchikov before nestling into the net. The goal was Jablonski's team-leading 12th.
ICE CHIPS: Roanoke center Jeff Loder missed Thursday's game after injuring his elbow Wednesday at Knoxville. A number of East Coast Hockey League dignitaries have appeared in the civic center the last few days. ECHL president Rick Adams attended Thursday's game along with his assistant Jim Mill, a former Roanoke goaltender. Andy Van Hellemond, the longtime NHL referee who is now the league's senior vice president of hockey operations, viewed Roanoke's 5-2 win over Wheeling on Tuesday Frank Serratore, general manager of the International Hockey League's Manitoba Moose, was in town Thursday. He had come down from Winnipeg to see Loder, who is under contract with Manitoba.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 linesby CNB