Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 2, 1994 TAG: 9402020158
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Revo's Huntsville Blast - the spinoff of last season's Roanoke Valley Rampage that rewrote almost every East Coast Hockey League futility mark - appropriately wrote some more ECHL history Tuesday night.
Wasting a Herculean effort by goaltender Todd Chin, the Blast became the first shutout victim in Roanoke Express history, falling 1-0 before 3,472 spectators at the Roanoke Civic Center.
It was the first 1-0 decision in 426 ECHL games this season and only the third 1-0 game in the league's six-year history.
While Chin was busy making saves at his end, Roanoke goalie Paul Cohen closed the door at the other end of the ice, stopping all 22 Blast shots.
"I haven't heard of too many 1-0 games in the ECHL," Cohen said. "Usually, it's more likely to be 10-9 or something like that.
"It was just a real good defensive struggle. [Chin] made a lot of good saves. At times, they had the pressure on us. I really thought our defense played great."
Chin, who deserved hazardous duty pay last season while going 4-27-1 with a 6.32 goals-against average in net for the 14-49-1 Rampage, single-handedly kept the Blast from being blown away.
Chin repeatedly frustrated the Express (25-20-2), getting a piece of 28 of 29 Roanoke shots. The only goal of the game was a fluke, as Trevor Burgess' first-period drive deflected off teammate Pat Ferschweiler's stick in the slot. The puck proceeded to bounce off Chin, then caromed off the back of Ferschweiler's skate into the net.
"It was not exactly your textbook goal," Ferschweiler said.
After Ferschweiler's goal at the 12-minute, 19-second mark, Chin and Cohen spent the rest of the evening matching saves.
Huntsville (16-25-6), which has failed to score a goal in its last seven periods, applied a lot of heat on Cohen in the third period, but each time the veteran masked man found a stopper.
"Cohen had to make seven or eight great saves," said Frank Anzalone, Roanoke coach. "Thank goodness, he did. Give Huntsville credit. They played a great road game for a team that's struggling.
"They played tough defense. There was no open ice. Everything we did, they countered and they almost bought it. They played as hard as they could and it was hard enough to drive us crazy."
Chin gets most of the credit for that. If nobody in Roanoke thought he could work a net, they do now.
"We all wanted to come back and play here," said Chin, one of four ex-Rampage players on the Blast roster.
"I hope we put on a good enough show for 'em. With my stats and from everything that happened last season, I'm sure half the people didn't think I could play. Hopefully, I changed some minds tonight.
"They got one goal on a skate and tip, and we got no breaks. If we get that break it's 1-1 and going to overtime."
Huntsville had a chance to tie it with 30 seconds left, when the Blast bench challenged the curvature of the stick of Roanoke defenseman Chris Potter. Referee Gordan Buchanan ruled that Potter's stick was curved too much, erasing a Roanoke one-man advantage at the time.
After the faceoff with 30 seconds left, the puck went in the Huntsville end, where Chin carried to the red line and dumped it into the Roanoke end. Cohen had to make a chest save on Scott Burfoot's shot, then the Roanoke defense cleared the puck to end the game.
"Thank goodness we got the two points," Potter said. "I'll pay the fine [$50] for the two points. I never expected to get called for it. I mean I'm not a big goal-scorer or anything."
\ ICE CHIPS: Szabo's assist on Ferschweiler's goal extended his latest points streak to 10 games. Szabo, whose 70 points lead the club, has scored at least one point in 25 of the past 26 games. . . . Burgess has recorded at least point (two goals, three assists) in all four games with Roanoke since being acquired from Greensboro last week. . . . The victory moved Roanoke to one point behind fourth-place Charlotte (25-17-3) and South Carolina (24-15-5). . . . It was Huntsville's fourth stop on a brutal 12-game, 23-day road trip. The Blast is 1-3-0 on the trip. . . . Roanoke's recent injury bug has stretched beyond the bench. Broadcaster Tim Woodburn, suffering from a swollen larynx, is under doctor's orders not to talk, so the Express summoned Salem Buccaneers play-by-play man Stu Paul.
by CNB