Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 3, 1993 TAG: 9312030262
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Defensemen Claude Barthe and Hughes Bouchard, who had zero goals in 32 combined games entering Thursday, each scored his first goal of the East Coast Hockey League season, highlighting Roanoke's 8-6 win over the Richmond Renegades.
Jeff Jestadt added two goals, and Lev Berdichevsky, Tony Szabo, Pat Ferschweiler and Dave "Moose" Morissette had one each for Roanoke.
The big story in the Express' sudden offensive breakout was the goals by Barthe and Bouchard, two defensemen who had failed to score a goal in 34 collective shots this season.
Both goals were huge. Barthe's goal off a 30-foot slap shot at 8:27 of the second period gave Roanoke a 4-3 lead and ended the Express' scoreless power-play streak at 29 opportunities.
Bouchard's 50-foot drive gave Roanoke a 7-5 lead with 3:53 left in the game. It proved to be the game-winner after Richmond's Chris Foy scored on a deflection with 66 seconds left to make it 7-6.
"It feels good for me because it was my first of the year and the first for our power play in a long time," Barthe said. "I was beginning to wonder when the first one would come."
Bouchard's goal was his first as a professional. Afterward, one could have fit a puck inside the burly French-Canadian's big grin.
"Man, it feels good," he said.
In its previous two games, both losses, Roanoke had scored one goal on 77 shots.
"It's nice to finally score some goals," Roanoke coach Frank Anzalone said. "We had some good chances, and for the most part, we buried them tonight."
Jestadt, whose short-handed goal in a 2-1 loss at Raleigh on Saturday was Roanoke's entire offense for the past two games, got the goal breakout started Thursday night, scoring twice in a two-minute span of the first period to give the Express a 2-0 lead.
Both goals came on quick 20-foot one-timers set up by faceoff draws won by Ferschweiler.
But, as usual, nothing came easy for the Express.
After being dominated the first 10 minutes, the Renegades tied the score with two goals in a span of 17 seconds - from Darren Colbourne and Express-killer Guy Phillips.
Jim McGeough's short-handed 30-foot drive past Express goalie Jim Mill with 1:06 left in the period gave Richmond a 3-2 lead.
The Express reassumed command, however, in the second period, getting goals by Berdichevsky, Barthe and Szabo to take a 5-3 lead.
Ferschweiler made it 6-3 at the 6:39 mark of the third period, deflecting Paul Ohman's drive past Richmond goalie Milan Hnilicka.
Richmond (7-9-2) closed to 6-5 on goals by McGeogh and Brendan Flynn with 6:35 left.
After Bouchard's goal made it 7-5, Foy brought Richmond back to one goal behind.
Morissette ended the scoring with five second left with an empty-net goal.
ICE CHIPS: Berdichevsky and Ferschweiler each broke a five-game goal-less string. Szabo had been held without a point for four games. . . . The victory moved Roanoke (8-11) into a sixth-place tie with Richmond (7-9-2) in the ECHL East.
The crowd of 2,530 marked the first time this season that Roanoke failed to draw 3,000. The previous low was 3,029 on Nov. 18. The Express is averaging 4,144 through nine home dates.
Another new face is expected in the Roanoke locker room today. Justin Cullen, a 6-3 defenseman, was claimed on waivers from Erie on Thursday. . . . Express defenseman Kyle Galloway was placed on the 14-day injured reserve list Thursday.
by CNB