Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 19, 1994 TAG: 9408190079
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Roanoke Express continues to drop valuable cargo.
Only days after losing leading scorer Tony Szabo, the East Coast Hockey League team has lost its No.1 enforcer, Dave ``Moose'' Morissette, to the International Hockey League.
Morissette, the popular inspirational leader of the Express, signed a one-year contract late Tuesday night with the Minnesota Moose, Roanoke's new IHL affiliate.
Roanoke coach Frank Anzalone said that Minnesota coach Frank Serratore was impressed with Morissette's play in a recent minicamp and decided to offer the 6-foot-1, 210-pound left wing a contract.
``Minnesota has been talking to me for quite some time about Dave,'' Anzalone said. ``They needed a heavyweight, and Dave can fill that role for them.
``Everybody wanted Dave Morissette back here and Dave Morissette didn't want to be back in Roanoke. He's looking to move up. So I said, `Let's get it done and move on.'
``We were bound to lose him, but at least we lost him to the right team. At least if he comes back to this league he'll be coming to us from Minnesota.''
Despite being hampered by knee problems, Morissette played in 45 games last season for Roanoke. He had eight goals, 10 assists and 278 penalty minutes.
The loss of Morissette opens another hole for Anzalone to fill. The Express already had lost Szabo and three other players to higher-paying contracts from European teams.
Szabo recently signed to play in Scotland, while goalie Paul Cohen and defenseman Trevor Burgess are headed to England. Another player, defenseman Kyle Galloway, will play in Germany.
``Burgess said he was signing for $40,000,'' Anzalone said. ``We can't compete with that kind of money in the East Coast Hockey League.''
Anzalone also noted that it's questionable whether Russian forwards Oleg Yashin and Ilja Dubkov will return to the ECHL.
``Both Russians are question marks,'' Anzalone said. ``I have no idea what either one is going to do.''
The statuses of center Pat Ferschweiler and defenseman Mike Smith also are unclear.
``All I know,'' said Anzalone, ``is that Minnesota will be giving those two a good look in camp. We could lose them.''
Anzalone said the rash of sudden defections has made his job doubly difficult heading towards the franchise's second season.
``We've lost a lot fast,'' he said. ``Let's see, we've lost the Russians, Szabo, two regular-playing defensemen, our heavyweight and our goalie at the end of the year.
``That's a huge hit to take. You're looking at the core of the club ... it's gone. And you still don't know who's coming back.
``We'll just have to restart again. It's a very slow, head-aching process. All the better players are still holding out hoping to get a contract in a higher league. We'll just have to go with the flow and do the best we can.''
ECHL LAWSUIT: Huntsville (Ala.) Sports Management, the group that took over control of the ill-fated Huntsville Blast last November from embattled owner Larry Revo, has filed a $3 million lawsuit against Revo, the ECHL, league commissioner Pat Kelly and league president Bud Gingher.
HSM claims in the suit that the ECHL had no right to approve the sale of the team to a group led by Californian businessman David Elmore, which purchased the franchise in June and moved it to Tallahassee, Fla.
The crux of the complaint deals with the sale of the Blast to an outside interest. When HSM assumed management, group members signed an option-to-purchase plan that allowed them to buy the team for ``in excess of $800,000'' at the end of the season. HSM never exercised the option before it expired and, subsequently, Revo and the ECHL dealt with outside interests.
HSM officials claim that while they were trying to negotiate to buy the team the ECHL told them there was no way the team would be allowed to move.
Although the league requires all franchises to file a transfer request by March 1, an exception was made the Elmore Group bought the club for a reported $1 million and moved it to Tallahassee. HSM alleges the league had no right to approve the sale.
Kelly has refused comment on the lawsuit.
ICE CHIPS: The Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals will play an exhibition game at the Greensboro Coliseum on Wednesday, Sept.21. ... The Richmond Renegades have signed a working agreement with the NHL's Hartford Whalers. The New York Islanders, Richmond's previous NHL affiliate, has agreed to a tie-in with Tallahassee for the 1994-95 season. ... Longtime Hampton Roads star Shawn Wheeler has signed a contract as an player-assistant coach with the Columbus Chill. ... The Hampton Roads Admirals have reached an oral agreement to play host to the Soviet Wings on Jan.4. The Moscow-based club is touring the U.S. from Dec.26-Jan.10.
by CNB