Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 12, 1994 TAG: 9411170040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N. C. LENGTH: Medium
After a 1-3 start, Roanoke has gone 5-0-1 in its past six games. It was the Express' second consecutive victory over Raleigh after seven straight defeats at the hands of the IceCaps.
Forwards Pat Ferschweiler and Derek Laxdal, two sleeping giants over the past 10 games, awoke with a goal and two assists each, and winger Jeff Jestadt's first-period goal made it a three-goal, five-assist night for Roanoke's top line.
Rouslan Toujikov opened the scoring for the Express, jamming home a power-play rebound after Michael Smith's soft center-point wrist shot had been turned aside by Raleigh goaltender Brad Mullahy. Defenseman Chris Potter earned his first point of the season with the second assist on the goal.
Lenny Pereira evened it up at 1, beating Roanoke goaltender Dave Gagnon on a wraparound move.
But just 17 seconds later, Ferschweiler deflected home a Mark Luger drive from the right point for a 2-1 lead. Jestadt extended the first-period lead to 3-1 with a wraparound score, beating a sprawling Mullahy with an ice-hugging wrister from the edge of the crease with 1:42 left in the period.
Raleigh's Jim Powers completed the five-goal, first-period barrage with a power play tap-in to Gagnon's right, after John Blessman's center-point bomb caromed wide off the end boards with just 24 seconds remaining in the period.
Laxdal scored his first non-shootout goal of the year early in the second, tapping home a centering feed from Ferschweiler after an outstanding neutral-zone steal by Jestadt sent the two in on a two-on-one at the 3:10 mark.
Raleigh made things interesting, as it always does against the Express, with a power-play deflection by Kevin Riehl, who redirected a spinning left-point shot by Eric Long one second after a 5-on-3 IceCap power play had expired at 15:17 of the third.
Michael Smith ended the Express' string of five consecutive one-goal outcomes with an empty-netter with one second to play.
The road victory for the Express ( 6-3-1) extended the Express' road unbeaten streak to 3-0-1, also a franchise record.
The last-place IceCaps (4-6-2 ) fell to 0-3 at home under rookie coach Rick Barkovich.
Roanoke's weekend road doubleheader concludes tonight in Charleston, S.C., against the South Division-leading South Carolina Stingrays. South Carolina blanked Richmond 5-0 on Friday, dealing the Renegades their first loss in regulation this season.
ICE CHIPS: Roanoke's five goals marked the first time since the season opener on Oct.18 that it had scored as many as five goals in a game. ... Raleigh's two power-play goals came against a Roanoke penalty-killing unit that entered the night with an ECHL-best 86.44 percent efficiency.
see microfilm for box score (note: Richmond beat South Carolina 5-0)
by CNB