Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 31, 1993 TAG: 9312310203
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Roanoke Express continues to impress.
No longer emulating a first-year expansion team, the resurgent Express steamrolled the Richmond Renegades 8-5 Thursday night in front of a franchise-record throng of 5,822 at the Roanoke Civic Center.
Right wing Tony Szabo sparked the Roanoke effort, recording his first professional hat trick. Five other Express players scored a goal.
The victory was Roanoke's seventh straight at home - matching Toledo for the longest home-ice success streak this season in the East Coast Hockey League - and ninth in 13 games overall.
Perhaps more importantly, the victory pushed Roanoke (16-14-1) six points ahead of Richmond (12-14-3) in the battle for sixth place in the ECHL East, which figures to be a lock to provide the final spot in the 16-team playoffs.
The contest, the third between the rivals in five days, produced 199 minutes in penalties - 100 against Roanoke and 99 against Richmond.
"I don't think the same teams can play each other three times in a row," said Frank Anzalone, Express coach. "All the crazy stuff that happened tonight was more than likely a product of the schedule.
"Add to that these two clubs are fighting for a spot in the standings. It doesn't make for pretty hockey."
The tone was established quickly. It took 31 seconds for Richmond's Ken Blue and Roanoke's Jeff Jestadt to drop the gloves and go at it.
Forty-one seconds later, Express enforcer Dave "Moose" Morissette cross-checked Richmond defenseman Eric Germain into the boards, raising the right arm of referee Steve Lemay. As Renegades goalie John Gustafson attempted to skate off for a sixth attacker, Morissette struck him from behind.
The melee cost Roanoke two players - Morissette and defenseman Hughes Bouchard received game misconducts - not to mention a seven-minute Richmond power play.
Richmond got one goal off the extended power play - the first of two by defenseman Chris Foy.
Roanoke tied it at 1 on Jestadt's power-play rebound at 12:11.
After Richmond's Jim McGeough scored on a short-handed breakaway, the Express got goals from Stephen Tepper and Szabo to skate off with a 3-2 lead.
"That's why a team has to be one big family," Szabo said. "We lost two members, but we pulled together and still got the job done."
After Richmond tied it at 3 at 5:56 of the second on Darren Colbourne's first of two goals, Szabo struck again, beating Renegades goalie Milan Hnilicka on a tough angle rebound.
Colbourne, whose 31 goals lead the ECHL, retied it at 4 with a power-play goal at 14:03. But Roanoke answered, getting a power-play slap shot out of defenseman Claude Barthe at 17:45 to lead 5-4.
The Express put the visitors away in the third period. Szabo, who has 13 goals in his past 20 games, made it 6-4 at 3:59. Power-play scores by Russians Oleg Yashin and Ilja Dubkov iced Roanoke's 11th win in 15 homes games.
\ ICE CHIPS: Morissette's fourth game misconduct of the season cost the team his services tonight at Hampton Roads. ECHL players are automatically suspended one game for every three game misconduct penalties. The suspension is Morissette's second of the season. . . . The Express' previous largest crowd was 5,524 on the club's first-ever Saturday date on Nov. 20.
by CNB