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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 23, 1994<                   TAG: 9403230087
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NEXT STOP: ECHL PLAYOFFS

For two periods Tuesday night, the only thing worse than the Roanoke Express was the Zamboni-driving skills of city councilman Delvis "Mac" McCadden.

But after McCadden butchered the Roanoke Civic Center ice between the second and third periods, the Express followed the councilman's lead and sliced up the Huntington Blizzard.

The Express erupted for a club-record six goals in the third period to storm back from a three-goal deficit and defeat the woeful Blizzard 8-6 in an East Coast Hockey League regular-season finale.

Roanoke (37-28-3), which opens the ECHL playoffs tonight against Raleigh at the civic center, slept through the first two periods of the meaningless game.

Unwilling to suffer the indignity of losing to Huntington (14-49-5), the Express awoke in the final 20 minutes and overpowered the ECHL's weakest club.

Jeff Jestadt, Oleg Yashin and Tony Szabo each scored two goals to lead Roanoke. Including Jestadt (two goals, two assists) and Yashin (two goals, one assist), the Express had five players register three or more points. Pat Ferschweiler had four assists, while defensemen Will Averill and Chris Potter each had three assists.

"I knew this would be a hard game to play," said Roanoke coach Frank Anzalone.

"First, there was the long delay at the start of the game to hand out the awards and I think that fired Huntington up. Then, we had the long intermission for the guy on the Zamboni [McCadden].

"But for two periods, we didn't play Roanoke Express-style hockey. We tried to play a freewheeling-type game and we got in some trouble.

"Finally we got our act together in the third period. We really wanted to use only a quarter of tank of gas tonight and I think we may have used a half-tank."

\ ICE CHIPS: Former Express goalie Jim Mill stalled Roanoke for two periods, stopping 35 of 37 shots, but the Blizzard's sieve-like defense collapsed in the third period. . . . Roanoke heads into the playoffs with a three-game winning streak. . . . Anzalone chose to rest enforcer Dave "Moose" Morissette for tonight's playoff game. Morissette is still hobbled somewhat by soreness in his right knee, which was operated on in early January. . . . Jestadt's two goals enabled him to finish with a club-high 43. Tony Szabo, who had two goals, finished with 42.

by CNB