Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504100043
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The Roanoke Express was like the little engine that could.
Does that mean this was a storybook season? In a way, perhaps.
To hear the players tell it, no team in the ECHL did more with less. There may have been teams with more talent in the 18-team East Coast Hockey League than Roanoke, but only four had better records, and only four advanced deeper into the playoffs.
``We weren't the most-talented team,'' said Derek Laxdal, Roanoke's player-assistant coach. ``We tried to be the hardest-working.''
That's a personality trait the Express inherited from its head coach, Frank Anzalone. In two years, Anzalone has helped take the Express from a first-year expansion franchise to a position among the ECHL's elite teams.
``I think it's a tremendous accomplishment what our players have done for Roanoke,'' Anzalone said. ``We have a solid, viable program in the East Coast Hockey League. People recognize us.''
After getting bounced from the first round of the playoffs last year, the Express advanced to the second round of the ECHL playoffs before bowing to the Richmond Renegades.
``Look at some of the other good teams in this league,'' said Anzalone, whose team won 39 games this season and finished just one point behind the first-place Renegades in the East Division. ``Hampton Roads, Charlotte ... they didn't go two rounds [in the playoffs]. We did.''
Years from now, Roanoke hockey fans probably still will remember Dave Gagnon and Daniel Berthiaume, perhaps the two best goalies ever to play in Roanoke.
Gagnon, who earned the starting assignment in the ECHL All-Star Game in January, was a stalwart for the first half of the season. When he was called up to the Minnesota Moose of the International Hockey League on Feb. 8, he left behind a goals-against average of 2.36 and a save percentage of .917. Both are ECHL records.
Berthiaume, who joined the Express the day after Gagnon was called up, became a star immediately and eventually set a league record with a 13-game winning streak. His play helped the Express ascend to first place in March. In 21 games with Roanoke, Berthiaume posted a 15-4-2 record with a 2.36 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
Even backup Dan Ryder, who played sparingly after Berthiaume joined the team was a respectable 7-6-2 with a 3.93 GAA.
The team needed great goaltending because it had trouble scoring. A comparison to last year's team illustrates why the team had to be defensive about its play:
The team scored 255 goals, 45 fewer than last season, but was second in the league with 223 goals allowed, 67 fewer than last year.
The team took 442 fewer shots than it did a year ago. Of those 2,058 shots, defenseman Dave Stewart led the team with 192. Last year, Tony Szabo took 342.
Last year's team had two 40-goal scorers and four 30-goal scorers. This year, Laxdal's 32 goals led the team.
Despite the disciplined style, some players stood out.
Ilya Dubkov did his job quietly and productively in scoring a team-high 75 points. Craig Herr used a combination of grit and talent to score 24 goals in 48 games. Dependable Jeff Jestadt scored 70 points and he, like Dubkov, played well in the playoffs. Szabo added flash after returning to America from a stint in Ireland. Stewart, a defenseman and team captain, was like a Secret Service man on the ice - never afraid to sprawl and take a puck for the goalie. Fan favorite Jason Clarke bashed his way to a league-record 467 penalty minutes.
This team got the most out of Anzalone's system. It set a franchise record with an eight-game winning streak late in the season before going 0-3-1 in its final four games and slipping to second place in the East.
``Our team played hard and accepted coaching well,'' Anzalone said. ``They executed strategy. We had to play defense. We were not the kind of team that could climb back into games.''
This was a team that Anzalone put together throughout the season with the blessing of Express general manager Pierre Paiement. Anzalone was not afraid to pull the trigger and trade a guy like leading scorer Oleg Yashin at mid-season for a grinder like Joe Hawley.
How many players will be back when training camps open in October? It's difficult to predict. Some players like Stewart, Dubkov, Berthiaume and Michael Smith are a few of those with good chances of moving up next season. Some will be added to IHL playoff rosters next week. Already, Berthiaume is going to Detroit and Smith is off to Milwaukee.
Anzalone, too, has to be considered a candidate for moving up the coaching ladder after the job he's done in Roanoke.
``That's something I don't know about,'' Anzalone said. ``Loyalty is very, very important to me. I enjoy Roanoke, I enjoy coaching here. I like working for Pierre. There is a lot of good stuff happening here with our program. If something great were to come along, I'll deal with it. Until then, I'll focus on the good stuff.''
Memo: note - Tony Szabo played in Scotland, not Ireland