Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 25, 1994 TAG: 9402250080
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The first-place Hampton Roads Admirals? The rugged Greensboro Monarchs? The smooth-skating Raleigh IceCaps?
Not, not and not.
The Roanoke Express? Excellent answer.
Since Thanksgiving Day, theExpress has been anything but a turkey, carving up the league with a 24-11-3 record. Only Western Division-leading Knoxville, which is 27-7-3, has a better winning percentage than Roanoke since Nov. 28.
"Roanoke is going to be trouble for somebody in the playoffs, mark my words," said John Brophy, Hampton Roads' coach. "They got a good little hockey team that's very well-coached."
Raleigh coach Kurt Kleinendorst agreed.
"Roanoke is going to be very dangerous come playoff time," he said. "I don't think anybody will be looking forward to seeing those guys in the first round."
Since going 5-10-0 in its first 15 games against the East Division, the Express has gone 14-6-3 inside its division since Dec. 1. Nevertheless, Roanoke (31-22-3) still finds itself mired in fifth place in the ECHL's strongest division.
The Express has 12 games left - six home, six away - to make a move. Mathematically, Roanoke still could finish anywhere from first to last in the tightly bunched East.
"It's a heck of a situation," said Roanoke coach Frank Anzalone. "We're not even guaranteed of making the playoffs yet. There are not many divisions in any sport where you can say every team is .500 or better. It's very, very tough to make up any ground on anybody."
\ GREENSBORO TRIFECTA: Starting tonight at the Greensboro Coliseum, the Express sees the Monarchs three times in a row. The clubs meet in Roanoke on Tuesday and again in Greensboro on Wednesday. The Express is 3-0-1 against the Monarchs this season.
\ RYDER ON ROLL: Express goalie Dan Ryder continues to be one of the league's hottest masked men. Ryder has gone 17-6-0 over his past 23 decisions to move into third among all ECHL goalies with 21 wins. The San Jose Sharks' farmhand has allowed four or fewer goals in 13 consecutive appearances and three or fewer in seven of his past 10 outings. Ryder has stopped 377 of the past 410 shots for a sparking save percentage of .920.
\ EXPRESSIONS: Forward Jeff Jestadt has stepped up since the loss of high-scoring Lev Berdichevsky to the American Hockey League. Jestadt recorded his club-high 10th multi-goal game in Tuesday's 7-2 romp over Columbus. Included in his two goals was his sixth short-handed goal, which tied him with Dayton's Derek Donald for the ECHL lead. . . . Defenseman Will Averill has picked it up offensively the past four games, recording three goals and five assists. . . . The loss of Berdichevsky hasn't hurt the numbers of fellow Russians Oleg Yashin and Ilja Dubkov. Yashin and Dubkov have scored at least one point each in all eight games since Berdichevsky's departure. . . . Berdichevsky has failed to record a point in four games since signing a contract with Adirondack.
\ LUMPING LOGOS: The Express' logo was chosen the 25th-best in minor-league hockey and seventh-best in the ECHL by The Hockey News. Birmingham's logo was selected the ECHL's best and was rated fifth overall. Judges chose the Albany (N.Y.) River Rats' logo as tops in minor-league hockey.
\ ROSTER RULE CHANGED: ECHL Commissioner Pat Kelly on Thursday rescinded a rule that said clubs could not add any new player from another league after Feb. 15 to its roster unless the player had played previously this season for the club.
The rule created an uproar inside the ECHL this week when the Toledo Storm threatened to sue the league. Toledo added former NHL player Steve Dykstra to its roster on Tuesday, and Dykstra scored a goal in the Storm's 5-4 win at Birmingham.
Several coaches and general managers maintained that the rule, if not changed, would cost their clubs affiliations with NHL, AHL and IHL clubs.
\ ICE CHIPS: Dayton's Tom Nemeth broke the ECHL record for assists by a defenseman in a season when he served up his 64th and 65th last Friday. The previous record was 63, set by Greensboro's Scott White in 1991-92. . . . Four Johnstown Chiefs players, including leading scorer Dennis Purdie, were injured in a car accident last Friday. Purdie broke his nose, Gord Christian suffered lacerations, Campbell Blair fractured a cheekbone and former Roanoke Valley Rebel Ben Wyzansky injured a leg. Blair is out for the season, the others sidelined indefinitely. . . . Western Division-leading Knoxville is closing in on the Brabham Cup, given to the ECHL's regular-season champion. The Cherokees have won an ECHL-record 14 consecutive games at home and seven in a row overall.
by CNB