Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 8, 1995 TAG: 9504110060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The last thing the Richmond Renegades wanted was to have their playoff series with the Roanoke Express go to a fifth game.
So, the Renegades made Game 4 the last thing the Express did this season.
Roanoke was eliminated from the East Coast Hockey League's Riley Cup playoffs with a 6-1 loss to the Renegades on Friday night at the Roanoke Civic Center.
The loss not only ended Roanoke's season - Richmond won this best-of-five quarterfinal series 3-1 - it ended a three-week run of frustration visited upon the Express by its intrastate rival.
There were plenty of things the Renegades would not allow the Express to do:
They wouldn't let the Express win the East Division title, making up six points in the final week of the regular season to clip Roanoke in the standings.
They would not allow Roanoke to come back from a two-game deficit in this series, even though the Express gave a sterling effort in a 3-0 victory in Game 3.
And Renegades goalie David Littman simply would not let the Express put the puck in the net. Littman held Roanoke to six goals in the four-game series and finished with a goals-against average of 1.50.
``We lost the series to a team that was better than us,'' said Frank Anzalone, Roanoke's coach.
After extending the series with Wednesday's victory, the Express was halted quickly Friday. The Renegades scored four first-period goals, the first two 12 seconds apart.
``I think that loss Wednesday woke us up,'' said Richmond coach Roy Sommer, whose team will meet the Birmingham-Tallahassee winner in the semifinals. ``We knew if we didn't come ready to play, their team could beat us. We had to go at 'em fast. That was the plan.''
Lou Body scored 8:23 into the game, finishing a three-on-two breakout by blasting a shot over Roanoke goalie Daniel Berthiaume's left shoulder.
Before the Express had time to consider how it was to erase a one-goal deficit, Blaine Moore beat Roanoke's defense down the ice and slid a backhand shot past Berthiaume.
Coming off Wednesday's spectacular 34-save shutout, Berthiaume was not quite as sharp Friday. Then again, there was little he or anyone could do to stop the Renegades. Dan Ryder played the third period in goal for the Express.
``Daniel didn't have a very good night,'' Anzalone said. ``The defense wasn't very good, either. Richmond was darn good. We were darn bad early on.''
Roanoke pulled to 2-1 when defenseman Michael Smith fired a shot that was blocked by Littman, then bounced over his head and into the goal at the 11:25 mark. It was the only one of the Express' 21 shots that Littman didn't save.
That was as close as the Express could make it. When Richmond got a goal from defenseman Rod Langway, the 37-year-old former NHL star who had not scored a goal in his eight-game Renegades career, Express players had to know it just wasn't their night.
Langway, who had had been limited to about 10 shifts in the series because of a knee injury, scored when Michael Burman's shot somehow bounced off his skate and slipped by Berthiaume to make it 3-1 with 4:02 left in the period. Richmond had six attackers on the ice, with a delayed penalty about to be assessed against the Express.
Three minutes later, Burman scored to make it 4-1. Kurt Mallett sent a backhand into the upper-right corner of the net in the second period to make it 5-1. Scott Gruhl ended the scoring with a goal against Ryder in the third.
``Richmond's a good team,'' said defenseman Dave Stewart, Roanoke's captain. ``Only one team can win it all. It just won't be us.''
ICE CHIPS: Express forward Derek Laxdal confirmed he will file a lawsuit against the Richmond police officer who sprayed him with Mace during Game 2 on Sunday. Laxdal will be represented by attorney Tony Anderson. ``I can't say much until I talk to my lawyer,'' Laxdal said, ``but we're going to do something.'' The incident occurred when Laxdal, also Roanoke's assistant coach, squirted water onto some heckling fans behind the penalty box. According to a witness, some of the water hit the officer, who then had words with Laxdal before spraying him with Mace. Laxdal was charged with disorderly conduct for squirting the officer with water, and he must appear in Richmond General District Court on May 10.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
by CNB