Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 27, 1993 TAG: 9312270033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
The Express' opponents, the Richmond Renegades, were coming off a long layoff and battling the flu and numerous injuries.
The result, a 6-2 Express victory, came as no surprise.
Roanoke (15-13-1) held a 2-0 lead after one period on goals by Lev Berdichevsky and Pat Ferschweiler. The Express went up 4-0 in the first 2 minutes, 2 seconds of the second period on goals 19 seconds apart by Jeff Jestadt and former Renegade Roger Larche.
"The start of the second [period] killed us," said Richmond's Colin Gregor. "We weren't into the game after that."
After Rob Hartnell put the Renegades (11-13-3) on the scoreboard in the second period, Roanoke sealed the victory with another goal by Berdichevsky and one by Ilja Dubkov in the third.
The most notable absence for Richmond coach Roy Sommer was Guy Phillips, who had eight goals and 10 assists in five games against the Express before suffering a separated shoulder.
"Of all the teams for Roy to lose him against . . . we were lucky," said coach Frank Anzalone, whose Roanoke team is 8-2-1 in its past 11 games. "He does a lot of damage against us.
"There was a point when our guys didn't even want to play here. It was that tough to win here, but we're playing a little better now. We're more confident and focused, and right now, maybe Richmond isn't."
Express defenseman Will Averill, a former Renegade, echoed those sentiments.
"The first few times we played them, they came out with a little more enthusiasm," Averill said. "Guy Phillips makes a big difference. He's probably the most skilled player they have. But there are peaks and valleys in a season. Right now, we're on top and they're down low."
Sommer refused to use Phillips' absence - or anything else - as an alibi for his team.
"For a team that we want to catch [in the East Division], we didn't look too much like we really wanted to catch them," said Sommer, whose Renegades entertain the Express again on Wednesday before traveling to the Roanoke Civic Center for a game at 7 p.m. Thursday.
by CNB