Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 24, 1995                   TAG: 9501240108
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C.                                 LENGTH: Medium

ECHL LENGTHENS 1995-96 SCHEDULE

The East Coast Hockey League decided Tuesday to make its season longer. Today, the league will get bigger.

As a prelude to today's expected expansion announcement, the ECHL board of governors voted at its annual meetings to lengthen the league schedule from 68 to 70 games, effective next season. In addition, preseason training camps, which have lasted 10 days in the past, will be extended to 13 days.

When asked if it was safe to assume Monday's actions were indicative of the league's intent to approve expansion today, JOhn Gagnon, the Roanoke Express' president, said: ``That is probably a fair assumption.''

Today, the league is expected to approve expanding by either two or four teams for next season. League sources say Mobile, Ala., will get a team and that Louisville's dormant ECHL franchise will be given permission to relocate to Jacksonville, Fla.

The league also may place teams in Columbia, S.C., and a suburb of New Orleans.

Should it decide to add four teams, the ECHL would have 22 teams and most likely would spilt into two 11-team conferences. A team would play only teams in its conference during the regular season.

The league also may re-examine the scheduling format being used for the first time this season, under which teams play more intradivisional games. The format, which was adopted this season to reduce travel, has not been popular with most players and coaches.

``It's my guess this will be the last year we have that type of scheduling,'' Gagnon said.