Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412190094
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWIGHT FOXX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Make that 38 games after Saturday's performance.
Center Ilya Dubkov recorded a hat trick as the Express jumped on Greensboro early and often, beating the Monarchs 6-3 at the Roanoke Civic Center.
Roanoke (14-7-4) is 35-0-3 in franchise history when leading after two periods. It is 1-1-1 in three meetings with Greensboro (12-12-2) this season.
The Express remained in third place in the Eastern Division of the ECHL with 32 points, while keeping Greensboro in fifth place with 26 points. The Monarchs could have moved two points behind Roanoke with a victory.
``The guys played real hard and we were very opportunistic,' said Frank Anzalone, the Express' coach. ``The players deserve all the credit. They are the ones who made it happen.''
Dubkov scored two goals in the first period as Roanoke took a 2-0 lead.
Dubkov scored his 12th goal of the season and first of the game when right wing Rouslan Toujikov passed to defender Mark Luger, who made a cross-ice pass to Dubkov. The center put the puck past Monarchs goalie Tom Newman's right pad and into the net 2 minutes, 46 seconds into the period.
The lead went to 2-0 with 73 seconds left in the opening period, when Toujikov fed Dubkov for his second goal and 13th of the season, tying left wing Oleg Yashin for team-high honors in the process.
Roanoke stretched its advantage to 4-1 in the second period.
Greensboro scored first in the period to cut its deficit to 2-1 when defender Mark DeSantis recorded his third goal of the season, on assists from Scott McKay and Chad Seibel.
But there would be no repeat of Friday night's second-period collapse against Richmond for the Express. Luger scored his second goal of the season on a power-play that gave Roanoke a 3-1 lead. The goal came 32 seconds after the Monarchs' Arthur Kupacs was sent to the penalty box for holding.
``We played really well for the next five to six minutes,'' Anzalone said of a potential second-period collapse. ``The guys were really jumping tonight."
Dubkov made it 4-1 when he scored his third goal of the night with 89 seconds left in the third period. Dave Stewart was credited with the assist.
``He's [Dubkov] a hell of a good player in this league,'' Monarchs coach Jeff Brubaker said. ``I don't know why he's still in this league.''
Brubaker also was impressed with Express goaltender Dave Gagnon, who made some tough saves throughout the night.
``We made it 4-2 and had 10 minutes to get two goals,'' Brubaker said of the final period. ``We had our chances, but Gagnon made some good saves. They wouldn't be half the team they are without him.''
The game ended with two brawls in the final two minutes, which will cost Roanoke Jason Clarke for its next game. Clarke received a game misconduct with 1:36 left and will have to miss Tuesday's home game against Charlotte.
``I wasn't happy with the ending,'' Anzalone said. ``We were 2 minutes, 30 seconds away from a great win. It's still a good win, but that puts a damper on it. That [the game misconduct on Clarke] hurts us. It's not an individual penalty; it's a team penalty because it hurts the team.''
ICE CHIPS: Pat Ferschweiler scored a goal in his first game with Kansas City of the IHL as the Blades defeated the Minnesota Moose 7-4 on Friday night. ... Anzalone will keep the roster at 17, one under the ECHL limit, until it is determined how long Ferschweiler will be gone. ... Brubaker has used 33 players this season in 25 games, which matches the number he used during the 1993-94 season in 68 games. ... All-time ECHL scoring leader Phil Berger has returned to the Monarchs after a one-month hiatus in Europe and a short stint with Detroit of the Colonial Hockey League. Berger has scored 15 points in seven games since his return. ... Friday's 5-3 loss to Richmon marked the first time in 11 games at home this season the Express did not score a power-play goal. ... Gagnon, who was named the U.S. Postal Services Player of the Month before the game, has started a franchise-record eight consecutive games. ... Roanoke will entertain Charlotte at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday before hitting the road for a game against the Raleigh IceCaps on Friday.
by CNB