Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 7, 1993 TAG: 9311070171
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RANDY KING
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Oleg Yashin, Lev Berdichevsky and Ilja Dubkov may not be able to speak English or cook, but they can do one thing - hide a hockey puck in a net.
Through Roanoke's first eight games, Berdichevsky has a team-high eight goals despite missing three games because of an injury, and Yashin and Dubkov are second with six goals each. The potent Russian line has accounted for 44 percent (20 of 45) of Roanoke's goals.
"They've been as good as we expected them to be," said Express coach Frank Anzalone, who turned a lot of East Coast Hockey League heads when he signed the Russian trio in June.
"But I'm sure all this hasn't been easy for them," Anzalone said. "Coming to a new country where suddenly everything is different can't be easy."
The adjustment for Yashin, 25, and Berdichevsky, 27, has been more difficult. Both players' wives and young sons are stuck in Russia, fighting the red tape involved in leaving the country in the wake of the recent political unrest in Moscow.
"Oleg and Lev are very concerned about that situation," said Dr. Jack Atwell, the Hollins College professor who serves as the Russians' translator. "They really miss their wives and kids. They want their wives and families over here desperately.
"All this has taken longer than they figured. Now they're beginning to think that somebody is going to have to be paid off or something to get their families out of the country. Oleg and Lev say that's how things work over there.
"They're trying their best not to let it affect their play, but I think it has some."
Atwell said there is an "unbelievable difference" in lifestyle between Russia and the United States.
"Americans simply don't understand what these guys are going through," Atwell said. "Like food; that's a big thing for Russians. They have no one to cook for them here. In Russia, a man in the kitchen is virtually helpless."
The three players are far from helpless on the ice. The smooth-skating Russians have great puck sense, not to mention an arsenal of moves previously unseen in these parts.
"They started a little slowly in training camp," said Dave "Moose" Morissette, the Express' captain, "but they've really come on strong.
"I'm really surprised how they've played, because I think everybody thought the game might be too physical for them over here. The game in Europe is much different. But they've hung in great so far."
Anzalone and the other Express players confess that communication with the Russians has been, at best, difficult.
"The only thing we've got to work on right now with them is their English," said goalie Dan Ryder. "It's kind of hard on the ice. You yell something and they just look blank.
"But know what? As long as they keep scoring like they have, I don't care if I even talk to them the rest of the season."
\ FUNNY CLOSE SHAVE: Besides playing hockey, perhaps the three Russians' biggest thrill since coming to town - outside of going bowling once - was being involved in an car wreck while en route for a haircut.
The accident was triggered when the brakes failed on a car owned by former club employee Tim Harvey, who was hauling the Russians to the barber shop. Approaching an intersection, Harvey tried to squeeze his car between two others, only to take the side off a BMW.
\ DALEY DOUBLE: Forward Gerry Daley's two goals in the Express' 9-2 romp over Erie on Tuesday gave him five goals in seven games. It's a significant statistic when one considers that Daley scored only 23 goals in 117 games in four seasons at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
"His college coach admitted this could happen," Anzalone said. "He felt that Daley would be a better pro than he was college player.
"Daley went through a coaching change there that turned him from an offensive player into a role as a defensive player. They were hammering him defensively. I've encouraged him defensively, but all the while allowed him his offensive freedom."
\ HUNTINGTON HORRORS: Just when you thought most of the ECHL's all-time futility records were permanent property of last season's abysmal Roanoke Valley Rampage, along comes the expansion Huntington Blizzard.
How buried is this Blizzard? Through Thursday, the Blizzard had been outscored 40-7 in losing its first six games, five of which were played in Huntington, W.Va. The Blizzard has seven leaders in goals - all with one. And get this: In 23 power-play opportunities, Huntington has been outscored 3-2 by the opposition.
"They're easily the worst team ever in the ECHL. They make the Rampage look like the Montreal Canadiens," one ECHL official said.
\ ICE CHIPS: Scoring the first goal in an ECHL game this season usually means two points. Teams scoring first have won 49 of the 65 games played through Wednesday night's action. . . . Brian Martin, the ECHL's No. 2 all-time scorer, has quit the Hampton Roads Admirals, citing his diminished role as a member of coach John Brophy's third line. . . . The Columbus Chill has cooled its act. The Chill, labeled a bunch of thugs in 1991-92 when the team set the ECHL record for penalty minutes with 2,751, is the least-penalized club in the league this season, with 97 minutes in five games.
by CNB