Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 20, 1994 TAG: 9403200088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING
DATELINE: BIRMINGHAM, ALA. LENGTH: Medium
Stop asking the guy to ride the American Hockey League-East Coast Hockey League shuttle.
Tear up the Adirondack Red Wings' phone number and leave him alone. Just let the Russian forward enjoy life in the AHL, his family and the new car he bought last week.
Besides, a Roanoke club already showing signs of panic while trying to outlast Richmond for the final ECHL playoff berth certainly doesn't need any more distractions.
The sideshow surrounding Berdichevsky's on-again, off-again status was evident Friday in Huntsville, where the Express lost a 7-5 stunner to the lowly Blast.
On Friday afternoon, Roanoke coach Frank Anzalone was under the impression he would have Berdichevsky for the game. When the puck was dropped, Berdichevsky was nowhere in sight.
"I don't know what's going on," Anzalone said. "He was supposed to be flying in here today."
When Pierre Paiement, the Express' general manager, arrived at the Von Braun Civic Center midway through the game, the first question he heard was: "Where's Lev?"
"I don't know," Paiement said. "There was something about a foul-up in plane connections. He couldn't get here for some reason."
When asked if Berdichevsky might be arriving Saturday, Paiement shook his head.
One Express player, requesting anonymity for obvious reasons, said the club should forget the prized Russian it loaned and eventually lost to Adirondack.
"How effective could the guy be anyway, flying back and forth all the time?" the player asked. "Having him here for one game, having him gone for two more, then coming back for another game isn't going to help anybody - Lev or us.
"Why don't they just stop asking for Lev and let him stay up there? He doesn't belong to us anymore. He got his break and made the move up. Stop hassling him."
The lingering questions concerning Berdichevsky's availability have forced Anzalone's hand.
In order to have a roster spot should Berdichevsky show for a game, Anzalone was forced to place Reggie Brezeault on the 14-day injured reserve list Monday. That move denies the Express a chance to use Brezeault, who has a shoulder problem but could have played if needed.
Anzalone and Paiement also put Berdichevsky's name on the club's playoff roster submitted to the league office. Brezeault paid for that move, too.
"Pierre and I haggled it out and decided to go for it," said Anzalone, admitting it was a gamble. "The only way we could use Reggie in the playoffs now is if we go three players down."
For a guy who hasn't scored a goal and has played one game in a Roanoke uniform since Feb. 4, Berdichevsky remains an impact player.
Is he coming? Is he going? Those questions are adding to the worries of a hockey club that already was looking for answers.
\ RYDER ON ROSTER: Anzalone also rolled the dice with goalie Dan Ryder, who was called up 12 days ago by Kansas City of the International Hockey League.
"Yeah, it's a gamble," Anzalone said of putting Ryder on his playoff roster. "If Paul Cohen [the other goalie on the Roanoke playoff roster] were to get hurt, we still can bring in [Russian rookie] Andrei Mezin as an emergency replacement. This way, if Ryder does come back, we'll have him listed."
Ryder won his first start for Kansas City, giving up three goals against Milwaukee.
\ ICE CHIPS: Huntsville's victory over Roanoke was only its second victory in 26 games outside the weak ECHL West Division. . . . Scott Burfoot, who had 60 points last season for the Roanoke Valley Rampage, has been one of Huntsville's few bright spots. Burfoot has 93 points in 60 games and ranks 10th in the league scoring race. . . . Goalie Brian Schoen, who didn't exactly distinguish himself early in the season in stints with Roanoke and Toledo, was in net for Louisville's three-game winning streak last week. The run helped clinch the final playoff berth in the West for the IceHawks. . . . Barring a late run, it appears Erie won't make the playoffs. The Panthers are the only one of the ECHL's five charter members to qualify for postseason play in each of the league's first five seasons. . . . The ECHL has surpassed the 3 million mark in total attendance. The previous record was 2.2 million in 1991-92.
by CNB