Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 27, 1993 TAG: 9310270017
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It took him awhile, but Will Averill has found Roanoke.
After unsuccessfully holding out in hopes of landing a job in the American or International leagues, Averill finally has decided to report to the expansion Roanoke Express of the East Coast Hockey League.
The 24-year-old defenseman, a 12th-round draft choice of the NHL's New York Islanders in 1987, practiced with the Express on Monday in Winston-Salem, N.C., and will be in the lineup Thursday when Roanoke opens a three-game road swing in Charlotte, N.C.
"Basically, I decided to come here last week when I was sitting at home [in Massachusetts] and it was clear that nothing was going to work out at the AHL or IHL level," Averill said Tuesday. "My agent was talking about going to Europe to play, but I felt like I couldn't wait around any longer and that I had to start playing. I'm here now, so it's up to me to work hard and hopefully help these guys win a lot of hockey games."
The 6-foot, 197-pound Averill, who played the past 1 1/2 seasons with Richmond of the ECHL, was the final defenseman cut in preseason camp last month by Portland (AHL).
"That was a big disappointment coming that close and not making it," Averill said. "I really didn't want to come back to the East Coast league. I thought about retiring. But when it came time to actually do it, it was a pretty tough decision. I sat down, tried to make up a job resume, and told myself, `I'm just not ready for this.' "
The Express is ready for Averill, though. Coach Frank Anzalone is banking on the former Northeastern University star to help stabilize a power-play unit that has struggled, scoring six goals in 31 opportunities.
"Will should shore up our power play in a big way," Anzalone said.
\ ICE CHIPS: With no available ice at the Roanoke Civic Center or in Winston-Salem, where it skated Monday, the Express settled for a two-hour dry land workout at the Roanoke YMCA on Tuesday. "It's tough," Anzalone said. "I hate to beat a dead horse, but if somebody could get the LancerLot going again, it would help us tremendously." . . . Russian forward Lev Berdichevsky's bruised thigh is much better and he likely will see action on the Express' three-game trip to Charlotte, Richmond and Hampton Roads. . . . Roanoke's two-game average of 4,324 ranks ninth in attendance among the 15 ECHL clubs who have opened at home. The former Roanoke Valley Rampage, now operating as the Huntsville (Ala.) Blast, is 15th, averaging 1,675 for two dates.
by CNB