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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 25, 1995                   TAG: 9501260071
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C.                                LENGTH: Medium

GOALIE TAKES AN ALL-STAR BEATING

Gagnon, who returns to the Roanoke Express this weekend after a stint in the International Hockey League, was hit with a cannonade of early shots and allowed five goals as the West team beat the East 6-5 before 5,662 fans in the Greensboro Coliseum.

Fault not Gagnon, the East's starter in the pipes. The porous defense, as it usually is in all-star games, was offensive in the first period, as players were allowed to skate freely, wander precariously close to goalies and use them for target practice.

This game contained more bad checks than a Mexican bank.

``It was like a shootout,'' Gagnon said. ``You know coming in, this is an offensive game. You just have to hang in there and not take it to heart. The sun'll come up tomorrow.''

Nine goals were scored in the first period, then both defenses stiffened. After Charlotte's Sergei Berdnikov scored to cut the East's deficit to 6-5, no goals were scored in the game's final 10 minutes, 49 seconds.

``Yeah, as soon as we got rid of Gagnon, we started playing,'' said Roanoke all-star defenseman Michael Smith. ``Naw, we actually just played harder and played with some pride. We wanted to win. We were sort of floating early on.''

Tallahassee's Darren Schwartz, playing for the East, recorded the first hat trick in the game's three-year history. He did it in the game's opening 11:52. Greensboro's Glenn Stewart and Hampton Roads' Rick Kowalsky assisted all three goals.

The West scored four consecutive goals in a span of 3:07 to take a 5-3 lead. All the goals came against Gagnon and all came from point-blank range.

Toledo's Jay Neal, who was named to the West squad after his Storm teammates Rick Corriveau and Rick Judson were injured, was named the game's most valuable player after getting two goals and an assist.

Neal's second goal came at the 9:58 mark of the second period and gave the West a 6-4 lead.

NOTES: Henry Brabham and John Baker - two of the ECHL's founding fathers - were given a pair of all-star jerseys in a presentation before the game. Brabham, a Vinton businessman who kept hockey in the Roanoke Valley for years, and Baker, a former owner of the Winston-Salem franchise, served as honorary captains. ... In the skills competitions, Toledo's Jim Maher recorded the hardest shot (96 mph), Greensboro's Arturs Kupacs won the one-on-one showdown, and Greensboro's Glenn Stewart was the fastest skater.