Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9411150006
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``We've taken a lot of long rides home from this place,'' Brubaker said. ``But this ride tonight will be much more to our liking, believe me.''
The Monarchs, 0-4 last season at the civic center, finally buried their Roanoke hex in front of 5,451 fans, beating the Express 5-4.
``Boy, it's nice to get the monkey off our backs,'' Brubaker said. ``Believe me, what's happened here in the past didn't make me feel good. But it's all over now.''
Greensboro wasn't about to be denied. After the Express battled back twice to tie the game and seemingly gain the momentum, the Monarchs answered each time with crushing goals seconds later.
After Michael Smith's power-play goal drew Roanoke into a 3-3 tie with 8 minutes, 6 seconds to play, the Monarchs trumped the Express 43 seconds later on Eric Bellerose's 10-foot lifter that caromed off the stick of Express goalie Dave Gagnon and settled into the net.
B.J. MacPherson's second goal of the night, a point-blank rebound, made it 5-3 with 4:29 left.
Roanoke closed to 5-4 on Ilja Dubkov's goal with 1:42 left. With Gagnon off for an extra attacker, Roanoke tried one more offensive surge but couldn't penetrate Monarchs goalie Bill Horn.
``It got a little nerve-wracking at the end,'' Brubaker said. ``But we had a similar kind of finish Tuesday in Charlotte [a 4-3 Greensboro win].
``The big key tonight was scoring twice right after Roanoke scored to tie. Momentum is such a big thing. And every time they got some going we were able to neutralize it.''
Gagnon, superb in Roanoke's 5-3 season-opening win over Hampton Roads on Tuesday, didn't get as much help in front this time.
The Monarchs put the Express in a hole early.
Catching the Roanoke defense napping, Greensboro capitalized on a 2-on-1 break as Tavis MacMillan took a centering pass from Eric Bellerose in the slot and stuffed the puck past Gagnon.
The Monarchs struck again 1:44 later on the power play when defenseman Artur Kupacs' 30-foot staight-on drive zipped through traffic and whizzed under Gagnon's glove hand.
Roanoke, which outshot the visitors 12-7 in the period, cashed in a 5-on-3 power play at 11:34 to cut it to 2-1. Defenseman Jon Larson did the honors, burying a rising one-timer from between the circles over Horn's left shoulder.
As often the case when these two bitter rivals meet, things got wild and woolly in the second period.
The stanza was spiced by five fights, a pair involving Express enforcer Jason Clarke and Greensboro's Trevor Senn.
Given a lift after Gagnon stoned Bellerose on a rare penalty shot - the Roanoke goalie was called for throwing his stick trying to fend off a 2-on-1 break - at the 7:30 mark, Roanoke drew even at 16:06 when Oleg Yashin broke free on the fly and beat Horn with a forehand.
The Monarchs, however, answered with a counter punch only 16 seconds later. Greensboro's B.J. MacPherson, given the puck in the slot when Roanoke defensemen Michael Smith and Mark Luger got their wires crossed trying to clear, jammed the gift past Gagnon, who had no chance.
ICE CHIPS: Horn, the ex-Roanoke Valley Rebel, stopped 32 of 36 shots. ... ECHL all-time scoring king Phil Berger, the former Monarch who signed to play in Germany this season, will sign with Detroit of the Colonial League next week. ... It was the second of seven straight road games to open the season for Greensboro. The Monarchs don't play at home until Nov. 1. ... The Express concludes the three-game home stand tonight at 7:30 against Raleigh.
by CNB