Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
If not for the work of masked men Dave Gagnon and Dan Ryder and a ``PK'' unit that has choked off 51 of 59 power plays, the Express easily could be 2-7 instead of 5-3-1 heading into tonight's game in Raleigh, N.C.
Despite averaging only three goals a game - only Columbus (2.5) and Huntington (2.8) have averaged fewer in the 18-team ECHL - the Express enters the weekend with the league's fifth-best winning percentage (.611).
``We [the offense] definitely owe Gags [Gagnon], Ryder and the defense big time,'' said forward Derek Laxdal, one of many Roanoke forwards struggling to score. ``Those guys have kept us in every game so far. Now it's about time the offense kicks into gear and starts giving 'em some help and making things a little easier.''
When a hockey team isn't scoring, things don't come easy in any league, especially in the run-and-gun ECHL.
Frank Anzalone, the Express' coach, conceded early that his club might have trouble scoring, but he never figured on a drought this severe.
``I just wish we had a little more offense,'' Anzalone said. ``I don't know if it's the players not connecting, not finishing.
``A lot of teams have bigger defense, so you don't get to the rebounds. And you've got to win your faceoffs, especially on the power play. Right now, we're a 50 percent offense where we really need to be about 65.''
Thus far, the Roanoke offense has been Oleg Yashin and a bunch of blown chances. Yashin has eight goals. Nobody else has more than three.
While the Russian line of Yashin, Ilya Dubkov and Rouslan Toujikov has produced in the past six games, the Express' other two lines have been shackled.
The No.1 line of Laxdal, Pat Ferschweiler and Jeff Jestadt has scored only six goals. Ferschweiler has a minus-7 rating; Laxdal and Jestadt are minus-8.
And while Roanoke's No.3 line of Marty Schriner, Carl Fleury and Robin Bouchard has worked hard in limited duty, the three rookies have only two goals between them.
``If I don't score a goal soon they're going to put me in the back of a truck and haul me out of here,'' Schriner said.
Anzalone seems willing to stand pat for now, waiting and hoping somebody will start finding the net.
``We have some guys, but the problem is they're not always clicking,'' Anzalone said. ``Some nights our guys are going; some nights they aren't going.
``They're all working ... like Dubkov has worked every game the past six and he has no goals to show for it. He doesn't get any open ice or open space. It's tough because here's a guy who's working and working and getting no shots.''
``Offensively, we just may not be strong enough yet. Whether we need to work on some points or add [somebody], certainly if a Derek Laxdal could get going or Jeff Jestadt should continue, that's going to add some offense there.''
Anzalone is left wondering where this club could be with Tony Szabo, the little Hungarian sniper who bolted for the bigger bucks of European hockey.
``I told you that you can't replace a Szabo and his 42 goals,'' Anzalone said. ``Plus, we don't have Lev Berdichevsky and his 39 goals in 44 games.
``We lost a lot of goals out of the lineup and, consequently, we haven't gotten guys to fill those voids yet. I think that's basically the problem. We're hoping that over time - like a Jestadt last year, who didn't score in his first nine games - maybe that's going to happen again with some other guys. We'll see.''
Roanoke, which hasn't scored more than four goals since its season-opening 5-3 victory over Hampton Roads, has been carried by its 1-2 net tandem of Gagnon (3-2-1, 3.08 goals-against average) and Ryder (2-1-0, 2.61).
The penalty-killing unit, which hurt Roanoke last season, has been a true special team, ranking second in the league with an 86.44 percent kill rate.
``Defense can win you some games,'' Anzalone said. ``Our goaltenders have come up big, we've killed off a ton of power plays, but you know, sooner or later, you've got to find some offense.''
ICE CHIPS: Roanoke is winning the close ones. The Express' past five games have been decided by one goal; the last three have gone to the shootout. Roanoke is 4-0-1 during the span. ... Raleigh (4-5-2), which had beaten the Express seven consecutive times before Saturday, will be looking for its first home victory tonight. The IceCaps are 0-2-0 at Dorton Arena. ... After tonight's game, the Express buses to North Charleston, S.C., where it faces the South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday. ... Roanoke ranks seventh in the ECHL in attendance. Despite two Tuesday dates, the Express is averaging 5,376 through five home games. South Carolina (9,188), Hampton Roads (7,368) and Charlotte (7,306) lead the way, as expected. ... The Express' booster club will conduct a food drive in conjunction with the club's Nov.18-19 home games. All donations go to the Southwest Virginia Food Bank.
by CNB