
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 22, 1994                   TAG: 9403220091
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PLAYOFF OPPONENT UNKNOWN

ALL ROANOKE knows is that it's in the ECHL playoffs. Which team the Express willplay won't be determined until after tonight's games.

The Roanoke Express has an invitation to the East Coast Hockey League playoff party. Now, it's just waiting to find out who will be its first dancing partner.

The Express will open the best-of-three first-round playoff series at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Roanoke Civic Center against either Hampton Roads, Greensboro or Raleigh.

Roanoke (36-28-3), which clinched fifth place in the ECHL East and a playoff bid with a 4-3 shootout win Sunday in Nashville, will meet the second-place team in the East.

Greensboro (41-20-6) lost 3-2 to Charlotte on Monday night, giving Hampton Roads (41-18-8) the East Division regular-season championship. The second-place Monarchs lead Raleigh (40-20-7) by one point going into tonight's final games of the regular season.> The IceCaps can overhaul Greensboro for second place by beating Richmond tonight in Raleigh. If Raleigh loses tonight, Greensboro will maintain second place.

"We'll just have to wait and see what happens," Roanoke coach Frank Anzalone said Sunday. "I guess you might say that we match up better with Greensboro. I think we also match up pretty well with Hampton Roads. Raleigh, well, we've had some problems with them."

Going by regular-season records, Roanoke should hope to draw Greensboro. The Express was 5-2-1 against the Monarchs. Roanoke won only three of nine games against Hampton Roads and one of six against Raleigh.

The Express, which wraps up the regular season tonight at the civic center with a meaningless game against Huntington, got some good news on Monday's off day.

Goaltender Dan Ryder, who was called up two weeks ago by Kansas City of the International Hockey League, will rejoin the club today, Express general manager Pierre Paiement said.

To make room for Ryder, the Express placed rookie goalie Andrei Mezin on waivers Monday.

Ryder posted a 21-13-0 record and a 3.93 goals-against average with Roanoke before being called up by Kansas City.

Concerning the on-again, off-again status of forward Lev Berdichevsky, Paiement said he was told Monday by Adirondack Red Wings officials that the Russian "more than likely would not be available" to play for Roanoke before Friday, when the Express will be on the road for Game 2 of the opening-round series.

Tickets for Wednesday's playoff game went on sale Monday at the civic center box office.

by CNB