Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 20, 1994 TAG: 9402210149
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
For the second time in eight days, the Roanoke Express held a giveaway Saturday night at the Roanoke Civic Center.
The grateful recipients this time were the Hampton Roads Admirals.
The Express gave the Admirals three power-play goals in the second period, then gift-wrapped Rod Taylor's score with 2 minutes, 48 seconds left, allowing woefully short-handed Hampton Roads to skip town with a 4-3 victory and first place in the ECHL's East Division.
"We should be ashamed of ourselves," said Roanoke coach Frank Anzalone, unleashing his strongest tirade of the season. "We were awful, that's all there is to it. There are no words to explain this. No words. It's a disgrace to the damned game. Everybody in that locker room should give back a day's pay."
The Express, which squandered a three-goal lead in the final five minutes of regulation in a 5-4 overtime loss to Raleigh on Feb. 11, contributed to the offering plate differently this time. A rash of penalties cost suddenly undisciplined Roanoke a hockey game.
With the Express (29-22-3) seemingly in control after Jeff Jestadt's power-play goal made it 2-0 early in the second period, the game took a 180-degree turn.
Roger Larche and Dave "Moose" Morissette gave the Admirals a free ticket back into the game, drawing penalties at the wrong time. Their indiscretions led to three consecutive power-play goals by Hampton Roads.
After Larche went off for tripping at 6:21, it took the Admirals 45 seconds to score, with the goal coming on Andrew Brunette's point-blank rebound.
Morissette, a fellow all ECHL referees watch closely, was called for interference on Dennis McEwen at the 10:15 mark, setting up another Hampton Roads advantage.
Before the Express could kill that power play, Larche was at it again. The feisty forward cross-checked Darren Perkins in the back, sending the Admirals defenseman flying headfirst into the boards. Referee Gord Buchanan slapped Larche with a five-minute major.
Hampton Roads (31-14-7) tied it at 2 on Taylor's deflection of Ralph Barahona's drive in a five-on-three situation. Still working on Larche's major, the Admirals went ahead 65 seconds later with Shawn Snesar's 45-foot blast.
"The same guy keeps hurting us with bad penalties," Anzalone said. "Well, we've had enough of the penalties. Roger Larche will not make the trip [today to South Carolina]. And anybody else pulls the same . . . they will sit home."
After Roanoke tied it at 3 on Ilja Dubkov's goal with 10:46 to play, the Express must have decided it still hadn't been generous enough as a host.
With 2:48 to play, defenseman Will Averill put a clearing pass right on Taylor's stick. Taylor walked in and flicked a backhand shot past Roanoke goalie Paul Cohen.
Final gift. Game over.
"The winning goal was a disgrace, an insult to the game of ice hockey," Anzalone said. "To feed the puck right to Rodney Taylor and allow him to walk right in and score . . . it's a joke.
"You step up on Friday [beating Richmond 5-2] and can't do it two days in a row . . . you're not a team to be reckoned with. It's a disgrace. It's a disgrace to all the work I put in and to all those players in that room.
"We'll play with 14 [skaters against the Stingrays], I don't care. John Brophy [Hampton Roads coach] wins with 12, we'll win with 12. I'm not going to watch guys doing what they want to do while they're playing in Roanoke. They can go play elsewhere.
"We'll play with 10 if we have to and get beat 12-0. I'm not going to be insulted by peabrains who don't know what they're doing out there."
Brophy, whose club was three skaters short because of call-ups and suspensions, simply was glad to be back at the head of the pack in the East.
"Now the job is to stay there," said Brophy, whose club has scored three of its 10 roads victories this season in Roanoke.
"We got three goals on the cross-check, so that was the big play of the game. It was a bad penalty, cross-checking our guy in our end."
\ ICE CHIPS: Hampton Roads goalie goal Mark Michaud notched his 30th victory, the second-most ever in a season by an ECHL goalie. . . . Taylor's goals were his 36th and 37th of the season. . . . The loss dropped Roanoke back into a fifth-place tie with South Carolina, which won in Huntsville on Saturday. . . . Roanoke's Tony Szabo, who was wearing a walking cast on his right leg after Friday 's game, showed no ill effects, assisting on Roanoke's first two scores. . . . Larche's first-period goal was his second score in three games since returning from a 10-game leave for knee surgery. . . . It was the ninth and final meeting between the two clubs. Hampton Roads took the series 6-3. . . . Roanoke's next home game is Tuesday vs. Columbus.
by CNB