ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702180036
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
TIM CHRISTIAN CAPS a third-period comeback that beats Knoxville.
The Roanoke Express was about to leave for an extended trip without taking care of business at home. The doors were unlocked, an iron still was plugged in and the gas stove was left on.
Thanks to Tim Christian, the Express can hit the road with a clear frame of mind.
Christian scored two third-period goals, including the winner, in Roanoke's come-from-behind 4-3 victory Saturday over the Knoxville Cherokees in an East Coast Hockey League game at the Roanoke Civic Center.
In playing its last home game before embarking on a four-game road swing, Roanoke (28-17-4) won for the first time in its past four home games. The Express was 0-2-1 at the civic center last week and was coming off a brutal 4-3 shootout loss to Richmond on Friday in a game Roanoke led 3-0 at one point.
Blowing a lead never was a concern Saturday until Christian put the Express ahead 4-3 with a backhand wraparound shot past Knoxville goalie Sergei Tkachenko with 5:58 left. That completed a third-period rally from a two-goal deficit and left it up to Roanoke goalie Dave Gagnon to close the deal, which he did by making several clutch stops in the final minutes of a 38-save night.
``We needed this one,'' said Christian, whose eight goals in Roanoke's past 11 games made him the team's third-leading scorer with 38 points. ``We were really down [after Friday's game]. It was devastating. We've been in a funk and needed to get out of it. Better now than later.''
Of course, who better than the Cherokees to cure Roanoke's ills? The Express has won seven in a row against Knoxville (14-32-2) since dropping the first game of the season Oct. 17. In losing their ninth straight, the Cherokees watched their road record fall to 1-20 this season.
Eight days ago, Knoxville's team bus broke down on the way to Roanoke and forced the start of that game to be delayed more than an hour. Saturday, the Cherokees were wishing they could have rolled out of town an hour early, when they were holding a 3-1 lead.
Knoxville, which made several personnel moves in hopes of bettering the ECHL's worst record, led 1-0 on a power-play goal from Sean Halifax at 12:43 of the first, then led 2-1 when Herbert Vasiljev lifted a backhand shot high over Gagnon at 8:30 of the second and 3-1 when Stephane Soulliere scored on a breakaway with 1:32 left in the period.
During the second intermission, ``I just asked the guys to relax in the third and just focus on playing hard,'' said Express coach Frank Anzalone. ``We were going great for a while, and now we're not going so great. [Knoxville] was really pumped to beat us. We just needed to relax.''
Christian helped ease Express worries by tipping in Duane Harmer's drive from the right point 43 seconds into the third period. Suddenly, it was a one-goal game.
``That gave us some momentum,'' Anzalone said.
Then, Roanoke got the break it had been waiting for an entire homestand: J.F. Tremblay sent a shot from the left side that was well wide of the goal, but it hit Vasiljev's skate and eluded Tkachenko to tie the score with 9:38 left.
``It hit a skate ... [or] a couple of skates,'' said Tremblay, who had been scratched so often in recent weeks he required Calamine lotion. ``It went in, so we'll take it. You don't ask how, you just ask how much do you get for that? You can always use a break.''
The only other tie was in the first period, when Roanoke's Chris Lipsett scored his first goal since Jan.25 off a smooth behind-the-net feed from Sean Brown at 14:41.
Christian's wraparound was the difference, and it came with 5:53 left. After that, Roanoke killed a Knoxville power play and withstood 1:14 of six-on-five skating after Knoxville pulled Tkachenko.
``This was important,'' Christian said. ``All these games at home are important. After what happened [Friday] night, we deserved this one. We deserved that one, too.''
ICE CHIPS: The Express plays six of its next seven games on the road and does not return to the civic center until Feb.25, when it plays Hampton Roads. The Express visits Charlotte on Tuesday, then tackles a three-games-in-three-days stretch with games at Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Mississippi on Feb.21-23. ... Rookie defenseman Matt O'Dette was scratched from the Roanoke lineup for the first time this season. ... The Express had been 14-1 at home when leading after two periods before blowing a 3-1 lead to Richmond and losing in a shootout Friday.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: JANEL RHODA STAFF. Sean Halifax (left) of Knoxvilleby CNBtries to run Tim Christian of the Express off the puck during early
action Saturday night in their East Coast Hockey League game at the
civic center.