Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 18, 1994 TAG: 9401180060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After a hellish 1,100-mile northern trip that included a bus breakdown in Ohio and West Virginia motel rooms without heat and hot water, the weary Express considered itself fortunate to be back in Roanoke unscathed on Monday.
"Somehow, we made it back," said Frank Anzalone, the Express' coach. "What a trip it was. Luckily, we're all still in one piece."
Remarkably.
On the tour's first stop - a 4-3 loss in Toledo on Friday - Express forward Jeff Jestadt was sliced in the neck by a skate of Storm defenseman Greg Puhalski in a scramble for the goal.
Jestadt was taken immediately to a Toledo hospital, where doctors said the cut came within an inch of severing the forward's jugular vein. An unfazed Jestadt received 14 stitches and returned to the lineup Saturday in Columbus.
Before embarking on the 127-mile trip from Columbus to Wheeling on Saturday night, the Express' bus broke down. The team was forced to rent the Chill's bus to make the trip to Wheeling.
After arriving in Wheeling early Sunday morning, the Express eagerly checked into a motel for some rest, only to find no heat and hot water available.
"It was unbelievable," Anzalone said. "And the temperature outside was about zero."
After losing 7-4 in Wheeling on Sunday night, the Express rode all night through a snowstorm, finally arriving in Roanoke at 6 a.m. Monday.
"I was wondering if we'd ever see this place again," Anzalone said.
"Thank goodness we got two points out of it," said Anzalone, whose club won in Columbus, snapping the Chill's nine-game winning streak.
"It would have been a much better trip if we could have another point or two. We felt slighted by not at least getting one point in Toledo, and we had our chances in Wheeling."
The trip concluded the toughest schedule portion of the season for Roanoke. The Express completed a 13-game stretch that included 10 road games with an 8-5-0 record.
Now the East Coast Hockey League schedule turns in Roanoke's favor. The Express (21-18-1) plays 17 of its final 28 games at home, where it is riding an ECHL season-high nine-game winning streak.
"It's a big stretch for us at home," Anzalone said. "It's a chance to make a move. I'd like to get a playoff spot secured before making that final three-game road swing in March (18-20).
\ TONIGHT'S AFFAIR: The Express hopes to make Johnstown its 10th straight victim at home tonight. A win would tie Roanoke with Dayton (1992-93) and Johnstown ('88-89) for the third-longest home winning streak in ECHL history.
Express officials had their fingers crossed late Monday that the Chiefs would be able to make it to Roanoke. Johnstown played Monday afternoon in Columbus and will have to trek 379 miles through snowbound West Virginia to get to Roanoke.
"Eddie (Johnstone, Chiefs coach) called and said they were leaving right after the game," said Pierre Paiement, the Express general manager. "We're counting on them making it. If not, my guess would be that we'd play the game on Wednesday."
\ ICE CHIPS: For the first time all season, Roanoke has a player among the ECHL's top 15 scorers. Right wing Tony Szabo is 14th with 59 points. . . . Center Oleg Yashin is working on a five-game goal scoring streak, tying Lev Berdichevsky's club record. . . . The red-hot Berdichevsky has 13 goals in his past eight games. His club-high 34 goals ranks fifth in the ECHL, only two behind league-leader Darren Schwartz of Wheeling. . . . The Greensboro Monarchs have established a single-game minor-league attendance record that may never be touched. In a game promoted as "Break The All-Time Attendance Mark," the Monarchs drew 20,911 fans for Saturday's 7-1 romp over Charlotte. Milwaukee of the International Hockey League held the previous record of 17,845, set in 1989. Greensboro shattered its ECHL record of 13,445, set in a similar promotion last season.
by CNB