Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 23, 1994 TAG: 9401230117
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In a "Break The Attendance Record" promotion, all tickets for the Express' East Coast Hockey League game with the Louisville IceHawks will be discounted to $4.
"We're looking for 9,000 people," Gagnon said. "We're going after Roanoke's all-time single-game attendance record. We think we can pull it off."
The Roanoke Valley Rebels own the record, drawing 8,159 (according to civic center books the paid crowd was 7,588) for Game 6 of the Eastern Hockey League finals against Syracuse on April 12, 1973.
The civic center seats 8,372 for hockey. Gagnon said the corporate boxes contain another 152 seats, and he hopes to squeeze in another 476 seats behind each goal and on both sides to reach 9,000 capacity.
"I think 9,000 has a nice ring to it," Gagnon said. "I'd love to draw 9,000, then watch Larry Revo [owner of last season's poor-drawing Roanoke Valley Rampage] read the Roanoke paper the next day."
Heading into weekend action, the Express was averaging 4,021 through 18 home dates. The club's largest crowd was 5,822 on Dec. 30, although Gagnon expected to exceed that total Saturday night.
"With it being a Saturday and every ticket priced at $4, I think the game will be a huge draw," Gagnon said. "We should get a lot of people we haven't had before. Plus, we think people will want to get behind us on this and help be part of a record. We're going to be promoting this thing very heavily the next few weeks."
The ECHL's Greensboro Monarchs drew 20,911 - a minor-league hockey record - on Jan. 15 in a similar promotion that included no discounted tickets.
"That showed me that the sky is the limit when it comes to hockey," Gagnon said. "That's an incredible number, an unbelievable number. Boy, I'd like to see Morris' [Jeffreys, Monarchs owner] paycheck.
"Obviously, we or nobody else can touch that. Nobody has enough seats. We'll take our 9,000. Unless we can arrange to play a four-period game - two periods in Roanoke and two periods at the Salem Civic Center - and fill up both buildings, 9,000 is about the best we can do."
\ WORD GETTING OUT: Lev Berdichevsky's recent goal-scoring tear is not going unnoticed at higher levels, said Frank Anzalone, Roanoke's coach.
"The secret is already out on [Berdichevsky]," Anzalone said. "And if the American or International leagues decide they want him, well, they're certainly in a better bargaining position than we are."
Pierre Paiement, the Express' general manager, said any move by Berdichevsky or the club's other Russians - Oleg Yashin and Ilja Dubkov - would have to go through their agent, Eric Cooperman.
"We've told Cooperman, `What happens if Lev goes up to the AHL or IHL on a 25-game tryout and doesn't get to play or doesn't play well?' " Paiement said. "We keep telling Cooperman that Lev is better off here playing the full season here and scoring 50 or 60 goals, which would put him in a good position to make one of those leagues next season."
\ MENDING MOOSE: Express captain Dave "Moose" Morissette, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Jan. 6, has yet to resume skating. Morissette said recently he didn't know when he might return to the lineup, but the best guess is another three weeks or so.
\ EXPRESSIONS: Shirley Woolwine, the Express' sales manager, reports that all the club's corporate boxes have been sold for next season. Gagnon said all advertising space on the dasher boards for 1994-95 also has been sold. . . . Obviously, Express management is counting on making the playoffs. The club sent a letter this week to season ticket-holders that included various postseason ticket plans.
\ ONE MAN'S OPINION: Who says the Roanoke Civic Center can't make good ice? There was great ice for Tuesday's game against Johnstown - in the parking lot, that is.
\ CHEAP, CONSIDERING: Fans complaining about the $2 parking fee for games at the civic center should check go to an NHL game. The average price to park at NHL arenas is $9, according to Hockey Ink.
\ ICE CHIPS: Watch out for Knoxville, which suddenly has the best record in the 19-team ECHL. The Cherokees, who are getting a lot of help from IHL affiliates in Atlanta and Las Vegas, had ripped off 11 consecutive victories heading into Saturday's action,. That was the longest winning streak in the league this season. . . . The ECHL is on pace to draw close to 3 million fans. Through the season's first 375 games, the ECHL had drawn nearly 1.8 million. The league's per-game average of 4,792 is on pace to break the 1991-92 record average of 4,591. Every franchise but Huntsville is on pace to surpass 100,000 in attendance for the season. . . . Mark Woolf, who had 50 goals and 101 points for the Roanoke Valley Rebels in '91-92, has an ECHL-high eight game-winning goals this season for Columbus.
by CNB