Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 23, 1994 TAG: 9402230207
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In what amounted to your basic old-fashioned thumping, the Express spanked the not-so-hot Chill 7-2 before a crowd of 3,552 Tuesday night at the Roanoke Civic Center.
It was the second time in five weeks that Roanoke has put the wood to Columbus. The Express whipped the Chill 8-2 in Columbus on Jan. 15.
"It seems like every time Roanoke gets an opportunity to score against us, they do," said Terry Ruskowski, Columbus' coach. "They take advantage of our situation and they pounce on us. We've played 'em twice, and when they've had the chance to score they've scored. They keep coming at us and outplay us."
The Express (31-22-3) has made the club with the second-best record in the East Coast Hockey League look like a Junior B outfit.
"I think we've just caught Columbus on the right nights," said Jeff Jestadt, whose two goals, including one short-handed, paced the Roanoke offense.
"We just hope that this makes them mad, so maybe they can go in Hampton Roads, Greensboro, Richmond and South Carolina on this road trip and help us out by beating somebody in our [East] division."
Ah, the ECHL East, Roanoke's rugged back yard. The Express, tied with Charlotte (31-20-3) for fourth in the division, has found the going much easier outside the neighborhood, going a combined 12-6-0 vs. the North and West divisions.
"We look at the standings sometimes and think, `Wow, we'd be in second place or something in those other divisions,' " Jestadt said. "But, hey, we're happy where we're at. We like it tough."
Tough is the best word to describe the Chill's plight against Roanoke. Columbus (33-15-5) was down 4-0 after one period and was hearing chants of "warm up the bus" midway through the second.
Reggie Brezeault ignited Roanoke's first-period explosion, chopping the puck loose from the pads of Columbus goalie Sergei Khramtsov and banging home a rebound at the 4-minute, 41-second mark.
Tony Szabo made it 2-0 at 13:59 with the first of two Express power-play goals in the period. In a beautiful move, Szabo sliced between two defenders in the Chill zone, forced Khramtsov to commit early, and uncorked a 15-footer that found nothing but net.
A Russian duo teamed up for Roanoke's next goal 2:20 later. Ilja Dubkov, set up in the right slot by a nice carry-in and feed from Oleg Yashin, scored on his own rebound off Khramtsov's pads to make it 3-0.
The Express wasn't done yet. With Columbus' Jesse Cooper off the ice for holding, Jestadt snapped a 30-foot drive between Khramtsov's pads with 26 seconds left to make the Roanoke cushion 4-0.
The Express' power play, which coach Frank Anzalone had called "atrocious" last week during an 0-for-24 run at home, clicked again midway through the second period. Pat Ferschweiler took care of business this time, staying with his own rebound until finally cramming the puck past Columbus' backup goalie, Brian Langlot.
With a five-goal edge, there were no thoughts of blowing another late lead at home as Roanoke had done Saturday against Hampton Roads and Feb. 11 vs. Raleigh.
"We're weren't losing this one," Jestadt said. "If we had blown this lead tonight, we'd all quit hockey."
\ ICE CHIPS: It was Columbus' first game since Feb. 16. The Chill was forced to postpone home games Friday and Sunday because of ice-making problems at the Ohio State Fairgrounds Arena. . . . Roanoke gets three consecutive games with Greensboro, starting Friday in North Carolina. Roanoke's next home game is Tuesday against the Monarchs.
by CNB