Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 23, 1995 TAG: 9503230092
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
If Frank Anzalone needs to know anything about the Knoxville Cherokees, he can acquire a scouting report or watch videotape.
If only it was that easy to figure out his own team.
Just over a week ago, the Express was riding an eight-game winning streak and leading the East Coast Hockey League's East Division by six points. The Express then went winless in its last four games and could only watch as the Richmond Renegades erased a four-goal deficit Tuesday to beat Greensboro 7-6 in a shootout to claim the division title.
Tonight, the Express tries to put the winless streak behind as it opens the Riley Cup playoffs with a best-of-five series against Knoxville at 7 p.m. in the Roanoke Civic Center.
``We were trying so hard to stay in first place,'' said Anzalone, Roanoke's coach. ``That was a mentally tough situation.''
Roanoke (39-19-10) enters the playoffs as the No.5 seed among the 16 playoff entrants. Knoxville (30-30-8), which finished fourth in the Southern Division, is the 12th seed. The teams play tonight and Saturday in Roanoke, then play games 3 and 4, if necessary, in Knoxville on Sunday and Monday. A fifth game would be played in Roanoke next Wednesday.
The Express won its only meeting with the Cherokees this season when it claimed a 2-1 victory on Oct.29. Both teams have changed personnel since then. Knoxville center Sean Pronger was signed by the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks, then sent to Greensboro, where he broke his jaw. The Cherokees traded wing George Zajankala to Hampton Roads for Jim Brown, who has 31 goals in 64 games with the Admirals and Cherokees.
``We're concerned with Knoxville and their strengths,'' Anzalone said. ``There's no question they have good hockey players. Our major concern is getting our game back on track. We have to get back to the work ethic that made us successful. We have to get back to some semblance of where we were. We were a hard team to play against. We have to get back to that.''
Defense and goaltending have been mainstays of Roanoke's success this season. The team was on the verge of setting a league record for fewest goals allowed in a season before giving up 13 goals in its final two games.
``We're back to working on our system in practice,'' said Roanoke defenseman Dave Stewart. ``We've been tired. Trying to win the division took a lot out of us. We were burned out. We'll be back to playing our kind of defense.''
RESTLESS: Anzalone said the team still is recovering from a brutal two-week schedule that had the Express playing nine games in 12 days. Roanoke finished the regular season with five games in six days.
The team has had three days off, but Anzalone said that may not be enough rest.
``We may actually need more,'' he said. ``We could've used five days. But enough with the excuses. Now, we've just got to re-focus.''
There will be no rest for the weary in this series. If the series goes the full five games, the teams will play the last four games in a five-day span with only one travel day.
The reason the teams have to hustle to finish the series: ice availability, or rather the lack of it. The ice in the Knoxville Civic Coliseum is being torn up on Tuesday. Roanoke is removing its ice to make way for a gun show next weekend.
``No rest,'' Anzalone said. ``It's gonna hurt somebody.''
SCHRINER'S STATUS: Roanoke forward Marty Schriner is listed as doubtful for the Knoxville series. Schriner, who injured a knee in a game against Raleigh on March 15 in the Express' last victory, will be re-examined Friday. He has skated lightly in practice this week.
Schriner may not be one of the team's top guns - his 27 points are 11th-most on the team - but the team has sorely missed his speed in the past four games.
``Marty can handle the puck and go with it,'' said Anzalone. ``We have other guys who can finish. When he's not in there, it puts pressure on other guys to handle the puck who are not as fast as he is. We had a minimum of guys like him. Now, we're one under.''
BRACKETING: The winner of the Roanoke-Knoxville series will play the Richmond-Columbus winner in the next round.
There are several interesting first-round matchups, most notable the Charlotte-Greensboro series. The Checkers and Monarchs are in perhaps the toughest bracket - the winner of their series would most likely meet second-seeded Dayton in the next round.
Hampton Roads, seeded eighth, begins the playoffs against No.9 Tallahassee. That winner probably will face a second-round matchup against top-seeded Wheeling, which meets Birmingham in the first round.
The final bracket pits No.3 South Carolina against No.14 Johnstown and No.6 Toledo against No.11 Nashville.
Each of the first three rounds of the playoffs is a best-of-five series. The finals are best-of-seven.
ON THE AIR: The first two radio broadcasts of the Roanoke-Knoxville series will be tape-delayed on WFIR (960 AM), which has contractual commitments to NCAA Tournament coverage on CBS Radio. The station will air tonight's game at approximately midnight and Saturday's game around 10:30 p.m.
ICE CHIPS: Former Roanoke Valley Rampage player Vaclave Nedomansky, who played with Knoxville and Phoenix in the AHL, is on the Cherokees' playoff roster. ... The Express has two former Cherokees on its roster - defenseman Jon Larson and forward Mike Krygier. ... Roanoke backup goalie Dan Ryder picked up the win in the first meeting with the Cherokees by making 44 saves. ... When Roanoke goalie Daniel Berthiaume set an ECHL record with 13 consecutive victories, he broke the record held by Cory Cadden, who now is with Knoxville. ... The Cherokees are 2-5 against East Division competition this season, 0-4 on the road.
by CNB