Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411230045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Before a season-high crowd of 7,282 Friday night, the Richmond Renegades continued their incredible early-season run, nipping the Roanoke Express 3-2 in an overtime shootout.
The victory improved the Renegades' record to 12-0-2, the longest unbeaten streak and best start in ECHL history.
``You've got to ride the big wave while you can,'' said Richmond player-assistant coach Scott Gruhl, who scored the only goal in the shootout. ``It's a hell of a run, for sure. We think about it every day and we sure don't want it to end.''
Gruhl's shootout game-winner, a forehand shot that caromed off Roanoke goalie Dave Gagnon and slithered through his legs into the net, gave Richmond its first victory in Roanoke. Coach Roy Sommer's club was 0-4 last season at the the civic center.
``It's a sweet one for that and some other reasons,'' Sommer said. ``But this is a new year and a new team. No one except Bogey [Renegades center Steve Bogoyevac] and me know about the Roanoke demise.
``As far as the streak goes, we just said if a team is going to take it away from us, they'd better play the game of their lives to do it. We don't want to lose it on a bad game, and we haven't really had one. These guys have a lot of pride, man.''
Not to mention talent and speed. After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Renegades dominated the game, outshooting the Express 30-10 the final two periods.
Roanoke (7-3-2) did what it had to do early - get the lead.
Forward Jeff Jestadt took care of that 3 minutes, 30 seconds into the game, ripping a rising 35-foot shot from the left faceoff circle over the stick shoulder of surprised Renegades goalie Grant Sjerven.
Seven minutes later, Roanoke tapped the most unlikely of scoring sources to make it 2-0.
Defenseman Chris Potter, scoreless on 23 shots this season, rid himself of that distinction, banging home a power-play rebound off Sjerven's pads from the right slot.
Behind some big stops by Gagnon, Roanoke nursed the 2-0 lead until the 20-second mark of the second period when Richmond struck on the power play. Gruhl, cruising the slot, redirected Shane Henry's drive past Gagnon for the score, his club-high 12th.
The Express was fortunate to get out of the period clinging to a 2-1 lead. Hampered by the loss of defenseman Dave Stewart (10-minute misconduct penalty) and an injury that sent forward Oleg Yashin to the locker room for the final 8:28, Roanoke was outshot 16-5 and appeared totally overmatched.
The Renegades took advantage of another power play to square it at 2 at the 4:51 mark of the third. With Roanoke's Mark Luger and Derek Laxdal off the ice for minor penalties, Richmond cashed in a five-on-three advantage on rookie Andrew Shier's drive from between the circles.
It stayed tied through the rest of regulation and the five-minute overtime, setting up the shootout, which pits five skaters from each team going one-on-one against the opposing goalie.
After each club's first three shooters failed, Gruhl beat his old buddy, Gagnon, for the decider.
``It was like a pinball,'' Gruhl said. ``It rattled off both pads and went in. I played with him in Fort Wayne [IHL] when we won the Turner Cup and I know a few of his idiosyncrasies. That's the kind of bounces you get on a streak like this, I guess.''
Frank Anzalone, Roanoke's coach, was disappointed his club couldn't muster any better shots at Sjerven in the shootout.
``When it comes down to a shootout people have got to score,'' said Anzalone, whose club was involved in its third consecutive home shootout and fifth in six games overall. ``You've got to at least get the shot on net and make the guy [Sjerven] make a save.''
Nevertheless, Anzalone took heart in the fact his club got one point against the league's resident powerhouse.
``You don't want to lose in your own building,'' he said. ``But a point is a point. They may far and away lead this division, so gaining a point is something a lot of teams haven't been able to do against them.''
ICE CHIPS: Gagnon was fantastic, turning aside 40 of 42 shots. ... The crowd was the fourth-largest in franchise history and hiked the Express' season average to an all-time high of 5,694, which ranks sixth in the 18-team ECHL. ... The Express reactivated forward Robin Bouchard from the 14-day injured reserved list Friday. Anzalone waived forward Steve Phillips to make room on the roster. Phillips played in one game, failing to register a point. ... The game was the first of 11 meetings between the two clubs. Counting Friday, they play four times in a span of eight days - in Richmond on Sunday (3 p.m.); in Roanoke on Thanksgiving (6 p.m.); and back in Richmond on Nov.25. ... The Express entertains the Raleigh IceCaps tonight at 7:30 at the civic center.
by CNB