
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, May 31, 1993                   TAG: 9305290109
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk Staff Writer
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

You were asked to name that team. What happened then was that an avalanche - that's a good name for a hockey team, but nobody mentioned it - of mail arrived with suggestions for Roanoke's new franchise.

Let's put it this way: If the response to the name-the-team contest is any reflection of the renewed interest in hockey in the Roanoke Valley, then maybe there's hope for this being an ice burg after all.

Or, maybe just a bunch of people want two free season tickets to Roanoke's new ice capades.

The board members and employees of Hockey-Roanoke Inc. spent part of their holiday weekend going through the entries sent to this newspaper and several local radio stations. The chosen name will be revealed sometime this week, club owner John Gagnon said.

The owners' task wasn't easy. The newspaper received almost 300 entry blanks suggesting 200 different names. The one mentioned most often won't be selected. It was Stars, which arrived 18 times. As was mentioned in the column that introduced the contest, there would be no Roanoke Stars on ice because the NHL's transplanted Minnesota franchise is the Dallas Stars.

Quebec native Gagnon and general manager Pierre Paiement are so hot right now - maybe the team should be called the French Fries, after them? - that they don't need a setback. However, they are looking for a name that will tie into Roanoke's heritage.

Many readers and writers kept that in mind. From A to W - no, there were no Zamboni suggestions - some entries were working on the railroad. Others climbed our surrounding mountains. Some were wishing on a star. Some played it cool. Some entries were for the birds, literally - most prominently the downtown Falcons or Peregrines.

We received animals and insects, although one of the Polar Bears arrived postage due. Some barked up trees. Others were Indian-givers. Salem's Ray Brown suggested transplanting the Wasena Park Rocket in front of the new "Icebox" - the Roanoke Civic Center - and naming the team the Rockets. He also liked the idea of "ice maidens skating like Sonja Heine" during intermissions.

Some offered food for thought. Radford's Mike Ashley suggested the Roanoke Cheesy Western. Wouldn't that be a real gas? Vinton's Kenny Ball decided the Roanoke Rednecks was apropos "because it would help the fans relate and feel a part of the team."

Roanoke's past as the Magic City was remembered repeatedly. We were happy that Buchanan's John Booth didn't send any live Pit Bulls through the mail. And maybe, if the club owners pick the Roanoke Star Treks name suggested by Nora Weikel of Roanoke, the team science officer can be Mister Spock.

The Mounties may be coming, after multiple suggestions tying into the region's terrain and the police in hockey's home nation. The Rattlers were on eight ballots, but Cobras and Vipers got votes, too. We heard from Arctic Wolves, Ice Wolves and just plain Wolves.

This contest was a real howl, especially the Fighting Carp entry.

Salem's Pam Lucas had perhaps the most unique name. She tied in the railroad with Gandymen. A gandy dancer is a worker in a railroad section gang. Others headed down that track were Brakemen, Brakes, Boxcars, Coachmen, Conductors, Diesels, Engineers, Express (nine times), Pullmen, Railroaders, Rail Blazers, Rail Runners, Rails, Railers, Railmen, Railroad, Railway, Rough Railers, Spikes, Steam, Steamers and Xpress.

Last season, the Rampage had that Derailment.

There were Blizzards dedicated to the collapse of the LancerLot roof. We saw Lightning Bolts, Hurricanes, a Flood, a Rhapsody and the Rain (OK, it's name that team, not name that tune). Roanoke's Dave Wineman suggested the Roanoke Weebles, because, "weebles wobble but they don't fall down."

There had been predictions that the Roanoke Valley would see hockey again when hell froze over. So, it was nice to see cool names like Ice Stars, Ice Eagles, Ice Hawks, Avalanche, Black Ice, Deep Freeze, Freeze, Hot Ice, Ice Cadets, Ice Holes, Ice Wreckers, Icebergs, Icebusters, Icers.

Blacksburg's Tim Bendel chose Roanoke Reapers, saying that this team "will answer the question: Is hockey dead in the Roanoke Valley?"

This contest may have provided that answer.

by CNB