ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 8, 1996 TAG: 9612100021
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-9 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: HOCKEY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR.
Bobby Brown's professional hockey career mostly has gone backwards since his first game, which hasn't necessarily been a bad thing.
Sure, things haven't gone the way he expected since his auspicious debut for the Roanoke Express on Oct.17. After all, it's tough to improve upon bagging a hat trick in your first game as a pro.
Brown, though, really has been backpedaling for about three weeks. Skating backward as a defenseman, that is. Injuries on the defensive side forced Express coach Frank Anzalone to move the rookie centerman to the blue line, where he has played well despite a lack of experience.
``It's been an adjustment,'' said Brown. ``A welcome one.''
Brown needed a change. After his first-game hat trick at Knoxville, the next 23 games yielded just four more goals. His plus-minus rating dipped to a Manitoba-like wind-chill factor of minus-15.
The truth is, Brown wasn't mentally on his game when the season started. A member of the Calgary Flames' 50-man roster, Brown, a 21-year-old native of Winnipeg, had gone to camp with both the Flames and with the American Hockey League's Saint John (New Brunswick) Flames before being sent to Roanoke.
The assignment to the East Coast Hockey League disappointed him more than he let on.
``Maybe I was letting outside distractions bother me,'' said Brown. ``I started to have doubts after what had happened in Saint John. It made me wonder. I guess I hadn't accepted the fact that I was going to be here [in Roanoke] for an extended period of time. Now, I know this is going to be my team for the year. I realize this is a good league with good players. I've taken the philosophy that I'm going to do what I can to help this team.''
That's why he reacted enthusiastically to the move to defense. Not many young guys with visions of scoring goals in the NHL would relish getting moved from center to defense in the minors.
``It's been sort of a blessing in disguise,'' said Brown. ``I had the hat trick in the first game then tailed off. By concentrating on playing solid defense, it's taken my focus on scoring points. The pressure's off.''
Plus, Brown is such a student of the game, he welcomed the opportunity to learn more about the game's fundamentals. When Dave Stewart went down with an injury and when defensemen Tim Hanley and Bill Holowatiuk left the team for personal reasons, Brown volunteered to play a position he had played only briefly in juniors.
``One of the things I've thought is important is being versatile,'' said Brown. ``I'll play anywhere. I guess some players disregard certain aspects of the game.''
He has a respectable 16 points in 24 games. Perhaps not the numbers he thought he'd have at this point of the season, but there's little doubt he's making a worthwhile contribution on defense with his speed and athletic ability.
``When I first started to play defense, I missed forward,'' he said. ``If and when I do go back to forward, I'll probably miss defense. I'm having fun again.''
DAILY GRINDERS: For much of November, Express players didn't dwell on their arduous 17-games-in-30-days schedule. After the grueling month ended, though, a few players acknowledged the wear and tear had taken its toll.
Even veteran left wing Jeff Jablonski admitted it was tough to maintain the intensity to play well on a nightly basis. That didn't stop him from scoring two goals with a pair of workmanlike moves in a 4-3 shootout loss to Hampton Roads on Nov.30.
``My work ethic hasn't been the best lately,'' Jablonski said after that game. ``I realized I had to go out there and work harder. We all did.''
No ECHL team plays as many games in a month as the Express had in November. Roanoke is a little over 1 1/2 months into a 5 1/2-month schedule, yet it already has played more than a third of its 70-game slate.
Still, the Express could have done a lot worse than its 9-6-2 November record. With only eight games scheduled in December, the Express hopes it can rest, recover from injuries and get in some much-needed practice.
``A lot of time between games should allow us to re-focus,'' said Brown. ``We can actually practice and work on combatting other [team's] styles of play. Guys who have a sore shoulder or a sore ankle have time to heal. Even with all the [series of] three games in three nights, we kept playing hard. We showed a lot of character.''
ICE-LESS AGE: The lack of a full-time ice rink hindered the Express again this week. With the Roanoke Civic Center playing host to Walt Disney's ``Beauty and the Beast'' ice show, the Express was forced to take an overnight trip to Charlottesville to practice Wednesday and Thursday. The team practiced again in Charlottesville on Saturday before busing to Richmond for today's game.
``Somebody told me we'd have to drive two hours to practice and I thought they were wrong,'' said Brown. ``In juniors, there were times when we couldn't practice in our regular rink and we'd dress and drive in our cars 15 minutes to the nearest rink. I thought that was bad.
``When you go to an area where you have to get up at six in the morning and drive two hours to practice, it opens your eyes. This is our chosen life, though. It doesn't change the fact that the guys love to play.''
ICE CHIPS: Defenseman Cory Peterson, who was claimed off waivers from Raleigh two weeks ago, finally reported to the Express this week. Roanoke also claimed defenseman Bob Davis off waivers from Jacksonville and was waiting for him to report by week's end. Local emergency back-up goalie for life Rick Kelley suited up for the Express Nov.23 at Raleigh when Larry Moberg was out of town attending a wedding. Kelley didn't see any action as Dave Gagnon allowed just one goal before the Express lost 2-1 in a shootout. With the shootout loss to Hampton Roads on Nov.30, Roanoke is 1-3 in shootouts.
AROUND THE ECHL: South Carolina center Mike Ross was named the Sherwood/ECHL player of the month for November. Ross averaged two points per game during the Stingrays' 8-2-2 November run that saw them gain 16 of a possible 24 points in the East Division standings. He had 16 goals, eight assists and two hat tricks during November.
LENGTH: Long : 106 linesby CNB