Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 2, 1995 TAG: 9501170020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Who would have believed it?
Less than two years after a miserable Roanoke Valley Rampage outfit limped out of the debris of the LancerLot, Roanoke is a hockey town.
The Roanoke Express drew a crowd of 7,391 on Tuesday Dec.27 for a 5-0 victory over the Charlotte Checkers at the Roanoke Civic Center. That attendance figure was a franchise record for a weeknight.
Roanoke is averaging nearly 5,300 fans per game to rank seventh in the 18-team league. We haven't even gotten to January and February, when ECHL attendance historically takes a jump.
If the team stays near the top of the ECHL East Division standings, could a sellout of the Roanoke Civic Center be on the horizon for a big, late-season game?
``The players used to call the place `Roan-joke,''' said Express player Craig Herr, an ECHL veteran who visited the LancerLot when he was with Greensboro. ``It used to be that you had a guaranteed win when you came here. Now, no one enjoys playing us too much.''
No joke.
RAGING BLIZZARD: The Huntington Blizzard, the laughingstock of the ECHL a season ago when it posted a 14-49-5 record, had one of its biggest weeks ever when it clipped the South Carolina Stingrays 4-3 in a shootout Dec.26, then followed up with a 4-1 victory over Knoxville on Thursday night. The second victory moved Huntington into a first-place tie with South Carolina in the ECHL's Southern Division.
Blizzard goalie Chris Gordon was named the ECHL's player of the month after going 7-0 in November. The rookie, who leads the league with a 16-3-1 record, became the first Huntington player to earn player of the month and player of the week honors.
Gordon stopped six of the last seven shooters he faced in preserving the Blizzard's shootout victory.
ADMIRALS ARISE: Anyone who thought the Hampton Roads Admirals were out of the ECHL race should think again. After getting off to the worst start in franchise history, the Admirals have been the league's hottest team the past three weeks.
Hampton Roads, which was in last place in the East Division with a 5-8-1 record, had gone 12-3-2 in its past 17 games through Friday.
The Admirals have been buoyed by leading scorer John Porco, who has excelled even while coach John Brophy shuffled lines. Hampton Roads' resurgence began in early December, when Brophy made the decision to move Rod Taylor, last season's leading scorer for the Admirals, to the same line as Porco.
That meant Trevor Halverson - Porco's close friend, roommate and on-ice protector - was moved off Porco's line. Although the move allowed opponents to play rougher against the smallish Porco, the change produced more goals from more lines.
EXPRESSIONS: Heading into Friday's game at Richmond, the Express had scored five or more goals in four consecutive games. With the 4-2 victory, Roanoke has scored at least four goals in seven of its past nine games. ... As expected, player-assistant coach Derek Laxdal is scoring goals with greater regularity. His two goals against the Checkers and one against Richmond gave him 15 for the season.
ICE CHIPS: Birmingham took 61 shots Dec.27 in a 6-5 loss to Nashville. The teams combined for 102 shots on goal, matching the third-highest total in ECHL history. ... The Columbus Chill scored seven goals in the third period of an 8-0 victory over Erie on Tuesday, the third-highest number of goals in a period by one team. Johnstown set the ECHL record for goals in a period when it scored nine against Cincinnati on Nov.10, 1990.
by CNB