Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 16, 1991 TAG: 9102160343
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a game that 3 1/2 weeks from now may be the one that cost them an East Coast Hockey League playoff berth, the Rebels squandered a three-goal lead in the final 16 1/2 minutes and eventually lost 6-5 to Johnstown in an overtime shootout.
Instead of getting a victory and two valuable points in the ECHL standings, Roanoke Valley (22-24-7) was saddled with its fourth straight loss.
The overtime loss was worth one point, but that's hardly what coach Claude Noel and his frustrated players had in mind considering the circumstances.
Playing some of their finest hockey of the season, the Rebels bolted to a quick 4-0 lead.
When Peter Kasowski scored on a rebound 1:28 into the third period, the Rebels led 5-2 and it appeared the Chiefs' next best move might have been to warm up the bus early.
The Chiefs warmed up, all right. Their sticks, that is.
In a span of 4:18, Johnstown burned Rebels goalie Bill Horn with three long slapshots, tying the score at 5.
"They were all cheapies in my opinion," said Noel. "But this is what happens when things are going rough.
"I thought we played well enough to win. The first two periods we played strong and controlled the puck a lot better than we have been.
"But then they get a couple of suspect goals and here we go again."
Both teams failed to score in the final 12:09 of regulation and in the five-minute overtime, setting up the shootout.
The Chiefs took the shootout 2-1. Johnstown's Chris Palmer deked Horn with a backhand and punched in a wide-open forehand. Gordie Cruickshank got what proved to be the game-winner when he put Horn on the ice with a forehand fake and stuffed home the backhand.
Of the five Rebels shooters, Ron Jones was the only one who found the net, lifting a backhand shot over Chiefs goalie Mike Parson's right shoulder.
The Rebels, who have 11 regular-season games left, fell to two points behind fourth-place Erie (25-22-3) in the ECHL East.
"I've got to be positive about this," Noel said. "We played hard, but it didn't turn out. We got a point and that's good. Right now, we just have to take what we can get."
\ ICE CHIPS: The loss overshadowed strong individual performances by several Rebels. Kasowski had a goal and three assists; defenseman Rob Wilson had two goals; and Brian Bellefeuille and Steve Gatzos had a goal and an assist apiece. . . . The Rebels had scored on only three of their last 50 power-play opportunities until Wilson's second-period goal. . . . The Rebels dealt forward Ron Aubrey to Louisville on Friday in exchange for future considerations. With enforcer Rob Sangster close to resuming skating after knee surgery, Aubrey became expendable. . . . Forward Greg Neish, sidelined since Dec. 29 after taking a puck in his left eye, returned to the lineup and had an assist. . . . The Rebels try to rebound against Hampton Roads tonight at 7:30 at the LancerLot. Johnstown 0231-6 Roanoke Valley 2210-5
First period-1, Roanoke Valley, Bellefeuille 16 (Kasowski), 13:54. 2, Roanoke Valley, Gatzos 10 (Bellefeuille, Kasowski), 15:42. Penalties-Whitfield, RV (holding), 9:41; Ferreira, Jo (tripping), 11:24.
Second period-3, Roanoke Valley, Wilson 9 (Sentner, Neish), 4:58. 4, Roanoke Valley, Wilson 10 (Gatzos, Kasowski), 10:56 (pp). 5, Johnstown, Schwartz 29 (Maley, Cruickshank), 12:32. 6, Johnstown, Cruickshank 32 (Florio, Schwartz), 15:21 (pp). Penalties-Schwartz, RV (roughing), 9:53; Wilson, RV (holding), 14:43.
Third period-7, Roanoke Valley, Kasowski 16 (Muir, Fuster), 1:28. 8, Johnstown, Goulet 7 (Ferguson), 3:33. 9, Johnstown, Ferreira 18 (MacVicar, Messuri), 6:18 (pp). 10, Johnstown, Hrytsak 19, 7:51. Penalty-Fuster, RV (tripping), 4:44.
Overtime-None. Penalties-None.
Shootout-11, Johnstown, Cruickshank 33.
Shots on goal-Johnstown 9-12-11-2-34. Roanoke Valley 13-10-12-1-36.
Power-play opportunities-Johnstown 2 of 3. Roanoke Valley 1 of 2.
Goalies-Johnstown, Parson (36 shots-31 saves). Roanoke Valley, Horn (34-29).
A-1,272.
by CNB