ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 30, 1997 TAG: 9701300056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
Larry Moberg saw another great goaltending performance Wednesday night, only this time he had a better view.
Instead of from his customary hunkered-down, back-up goalie slouch on the Roanoke Express bench, Moberg witnessed proceedings from crease-level and posted the greatest performance of his professional ice hockey career, which now consists of nine on-ice appearances.
The back-up backstopper, who had not appeared in a game since Dec.28 when he outlasted Raleigh 4-3 in a shootout for his first victory, tossed a 5-0 shutout at the high-powered but cellar-dwelling Knoxville Cherokees before 3,341 new members of the Larry Moberg fan club at the Roanoke Civic Center.
The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but had been postponed 24 hours because of a problem with the civic center's ice-making system. That was OK with Moberg. He's used to waiting to get a chance to don the mask and goalie pads.
``It was getting near the end of the month,'' he said. ``I guess I was due for a start again.''
The quiet netminder who came to Roanoke from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks knows the deal. There's a certain guy on the club named Dave Gagnon, whose most recent claim to fame came last Saturday when he became the franchise leader in career victories with 38. A two-time East Coast Hockey League playoff MVP, Gagnon is only regarded as one of the best goaltenders ever to suit up for an ECHL club.
``I'm playing behind the best goalie in the league,'' said Moberg. ``I have to make the most of my opportunities when I get them. I can learn so much just from watching Dave.''
Which he does a lot. Wednesday, though, Gagnon got to enjoy somebody else make a 41-save effort. After the final horn, Express players mobbed Moberg as if he had just won the lottery, which may have been better odds than shutting out the Cherokees.
Knoxville is the third-highest scoring team in the league and had averaged 4.6 goals in five games against the Express. At the same time, Roanoke had averaged 5.8 goals in those games and poured on five more Wednesday to win its fifth straight against the residents of the East Division's basement.
Moberg also was on the ice during Roanoke's only other shutout this season. He played the final moments of a 3-0 win over Charlotte on Nov.1 when starter Paul Taylor left with an injury. His contribution Wednesday was greater.
``He was the star of the show,'' said Express coach Frank Anzalone.
If Moberg was nervous early, his teammates put him at ease by scoring thrice in the opening frame when Michael Smith flipped a rebound through the pads of Knoxville goalie Sergei Tkachenko at 8:50, Wayne Strachan drilled home a rebound on the power play at 12:06 and Jeff Cowan buried a behind-the-net feed from Ryan Equale at 16:37.
On the other end, Moberg was making a series of fine saves. He was in the right place at the right time more often than Forrest Gump. Or was that Gump Worsley? He somehow kicked away a wide-open wrist shot from Stephane Soulliere 11 minutes in and denied Matt Turek on a wrap-around 2 1/2 minutes later.
Jeff Jablonski roofed a shot at 18:20 of the second and Tim Christian deflected home a power-play shot while getting his nose broken by Mark Sakala's high stick with :39.5 left.
It was a fun night for everyone, as Roanoke (24-14-3) won its third straight game and Express players teased Gagnon about Moberg assuming his job.
``I'm not at all surprised by the way he played,'' said Gagnon, who got the night off to rest a sore left shoulder. ``He works hard in practice and is an integral part of this team. This was a great opportunity for him and I'm not saying it will be his last.''
ICE CHIPS: Rookie center Bobby Brown was scratched from the lineup Tuesday and was not in the civic center during the game. Anzalone refused comment other than to say Brown was ``in absentia.'' Several club sources said Brown, a contract player assigned to the Express from the NHL's Calgary Flames, left the Express after Tuesday morning's practice for unspecified reasons.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB