Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504100020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Will it maintain ties with the San Jose Sharks and the Minnesota Moose?
Will it have an affiliation at all?
Those are questions that must be answered by coach Frank Anzalone and general manager Pierre Paiement in the next couple of months. Since the Express advanced deeper into the playoffs than any Roanoke Valley hockey team in eight years, Anzalone and Paiement won't have much time to settle those affiliation questions.
``To be honest, I haven't given it much thought,'' Paeiment said. ``I haven't had time.''
Paiement said the team will explore its options. Whether that means continuing its affiliations with San Jose in the NHL and Minnesota in the International Hockey League, he's not saying. It's possible the team would consider playing without an affiliate in a higher league, although that could be a disadvantage when it comes time to recruit players.
Joel Will, a San Jose scouting director, said in March that he doubted the affiliation with Roanoke would continue for another season.
Paiement isn't so sure. He said he plans to talk with San Jose officials once the East Coast Hockey League playoffs are over. He also has spoken with representatives of the Quebec Nordiques and St.Louis Blues.
``After two years in this league, I'm not as anxious as I was before'' to secure affiliations, Paiement said. ``The quality of the affiliation is important. I think we'll have two good affiliations.''
LEASE AGREEMENT: Express management and Roanoke Civic Center officials still are negotiating a new lease. Paiement said the two sides met late last week and were ``coming closer'' to a deal.
It is expected the Express will sign a three-year agreement to stay at the civic center. The team is finishing the two-year deal it signed before the 1993-94 season, when hockey returned to the civic center for the first time since 1976.
That agreement turned out to be a sweet deal for the Express. One of the perks was a stipulation that tied nightly rental fees to attendance. If the attendance was 7,525 or better, the Express' paid $1 in rent for that game.
PLAYOFF DROP-OFF: Attendance for playoff games across the league is running 20 percent behind regular-season averages.
Roanoke's average of 4,580 fans heading into Friday's game against Richmond ranked fifth among playoff teams. It was about 1,000 fewer fans than Roanoke averaged for the regular season, but it was the third-smallest decline of the playoffs. One reason for the drop here is Roanoke had played only three home playoff games before Friday, and only one of those was a weekend game.
There are several theories why the playoff games don't draw as well as regular-season games. One is that some teams in the league pad their attendance figures during the season, then post actual numbers for the playoffs.
With $1 from every playoff ticket sold going to the players, it's obvious why teams would not pad their playoff attendance. If you announce 8,000 people watched your playoff game, then you have to shell out $8,000 to be placed in a pool for the players. Some teams actually have been accused of underreporting their playoff crowds.
That's an interesting theory, but there are others that probably hit closer to the mark.
While it's a fact the popularity of hockey is growing in the South, it still is a sport that has a small, hard-core constituency. Most folks need a full-season schedule in front of them to plan their hockey outings. When the playoffs arrive, the schedule becomes more amorphous. Fans have to pay close attention to a series in order to know when and where their team is playing.
That's probably the biggest reason most ECHL teams don't draw well for the playoffs. They don't get out the word to the casual hockey fan.
ICE CHIPS: Roanoke forward Ilya Dubkov will play for Los Angeles this summer in Roller Hockey International. Dubkov was drafted by Sacramento, then traded to Los Angeles. Richmond's Roy Sommer will coach an RHI team. ... It was reported this week that the Erie Panthers likely will invoke the escape clause in their lease and will be moving south, probably to West Palm Beach, Fla.
by CNB