Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9411230009
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KNOXVILLE, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
Two nights after dropping a game to East Coast Hockey League lightweight Huntington, the Express stunned ECHL heavyweight Knoxville 2-1 before a crowd of 4,306 at the Knoxville Civic Center.
The loss was the Cherokees' first in four games this season at home. Knoxville (3-2-2) was 25-6-3 at home last season in posting the ECHL's best regular-season record.
Led by goaltender Dan Ryder's 42 saves, the Express' defense was sterling, putting the clamps on one of the ECHL's most potent offenses and choking off 11 Cherokees power-play opportunities without a score.
``For a team playing its third game in three nights, this was one hell of an effort,'' said Roanoke coach Frank Anzalone, whose club won 4-3 on Friday in Huntington. ``I think all the guys just wanted to get back to .500 [3-3]. After losing in Huntington on Thursday, we pick off two and it turned out to be a good trip.''
The Express scored both of its goals in a 23-second span of the first period and nursed the lead the rest of the night.
Rookie forward Robin Bouchard put Roanoke on top 1-0 at 13 minutes, 10 seconds of the game, taking a centering pass from Carl Fleury in the slot and beating Knoxville goalie Cory Cadden.
Before Bouchard's goal could be officially announced, Pat Ferschweiler had found the net, picking up a rebound off the boards behind Cadden and poking the puck past the ECHL All-Star.
Ryder and a defense led by Michael Smith and Chris Potter kept the Cherokees at bay until past the halfway mark. Knoxville scored at 12:44 of the second period, when Vaclav Nedomansky knocked the puck past Ryder during a scramble in the slot.
From that point, Ryder & Co. took over, staving off one power play after another and quelling repeated Knoxville offensive flurries.
``Potter and Smith were unbelievable,'' Anzalone said. ``And Dan Ryder, after giving up a bad goal, was able to refocus. They kept coming at him, but he kept stopping them.''
Ryder credited the men in front of him. The Express ``D'' was everywhere.
``I had a pretty easy night, really,'' Ryder said. ``The defense was spectacular.
``Nobody around here panicked when we were 1-3. The Roanoke fans just have to remember we got off to a bad start last year [7-11]. It takes awhile for a team to blend, and when this one does it's going to be scary.''
Potter and Smith, dead tired after a night of endless shifts, said Anzalone's 1-2-2 defense countered Knoxville's explosiveness.
``They like to play run and gun, especially in this building,'' Potter said. ``We were able to get a lot of pressure in the neutral zone and it worked.''
``What a nice win,'' Smith said. ``To come in here and beat these guys in their own barn on the third game in three nights says a bunch about this club.''
ICE CHIPS: Express enforcer Jason Clarke, injured during Friday's 4-3 victory in Huntington, likely will miss the next two weeks' games with a possible hairline fracture in his left arm. Clarke was hurt when Huntington's Chris Morque checked him into an unpadded metal post along the boards near the Blizzard bench. ``I must have a hard head because it bent the metal post,'' Clarke said proudly Saturday. ``That was a hell of a hit. I felt like I got hit by a freight train.'' The loss of Clarke, who leads the ECHL with 57 penalty minutes, leaves Roanoke without a bonafide enforcer. ... Bouchard's goal was his first of the season and broke a long drought for the Express' third line of forwards. ... The Express resumes play Tuesday at home against Charlotte.
\ see microfilm for box score
by CNB