Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501300070
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Gagnon made 54 saves as the Express stopped the Wheeling Thunderbirds 4-1 in an East Coast Hockey League game before an announced crowd of 5,291 at the Roanoke Civic Center.
In a matchup of ECHL All-Star goalies, Gagnon got the better of Wheeling's Geoff Finch and improved his record to 16-5-5.
``We knew Dave Gagnon would have to be good tonight, and he was,'' said Frank Anzalone, the Express' coach.
Gagnon turned away 21 shots in the first nine minutes of the game as Wheeling (28-12-4), the ECHL's hottest team, fired at will.
``The first period was definitely the hardest,'' Gagnon said. ``Wheeling is a good offensive team. We weren't letting down. Once we got up to their pace [offensively], we held them at bay.''
The victory was Roanoke's first at the civic center in a month. The Express had gone 0-2-1 at home since beating Charlotte 5-0 on Dec.27.
The Express cooled the Thunderbirds, owners of the ECHL's best record and 8-0-1 in their previous nine games.
Wheeling was a shot factory, to be sure, but few of the attempts came from straight-on. Of the shots that did originate from the slot, Gagnon usually got a stick or glove on them.
Just when it appeared Roanoke would take a three-goal lead into the third period, Wheeling's Vadim Slivchenko popped in a rebound above Gagnon's glove to make it 3-1 with 27 seconds left in the second.
Seconds after the Thunderbirds finished celebrating, Express left wing Marty Schriner took a pass from Jason Clarke, skated in from the right side and wristed a shot past Finch with 13 seconds left in the period.
``Along with Dave Gagnon's play, Marty Schriner's goal might have been the biggest play of the night,'' Anzalone said.
The Express was outshot 21-2 in the first 9 minutes, 10 seconds of the game, but managed to grab a 1-0 lead at the 11:19 mark. Derek Laxdal, stationed in the crease, smacked in the rebound of Tony Szabo's shot from the bottom of the right faceoff circle.
The Express was outshot 27-9 in the period.
``Without Dave Gagnon, they have a 2- or 3-0 lead,'' Anzalone said.
Ilya Dubkov gave Roanoke a 2-0 lead at the 5:18 mark of the second by tipping in Jon Larson's drive from the blue line. Larson took a cross-ice pass from Chris Potter and blasted a shot Dubkov deflected from the left circle.
Dubkov figured prominently in the next goal, one of Roanoke's prettiest scores of the season. Dubkov took an outlet pass from Oleg Yashin on the fly and fed Rouslan Toujikov in the slot. Toujikov flipped the puck just under the crossbar to convert the two-on-one and make it 3-0 at the 16:44 mark.
ICE CHIPS: Rick Kelley, a longtime Roanoke adult hockey goalie, dressed as the backup for the Thunderbirds after Wheeling's Patrick LaBrecque was called up to Fredericton of the American Hockey League early Saturday. ... The Hockey Booster Club named Dave Stewart the Express' defensive player of the month and Craig Herr the offensive player of the month for January.
by CNB