Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511130106
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Herr raised himself up literally and figuratively with a back-breaking goal in the third period of Roanoke's 4-2 win over the Erie Panthers on Saturday night.
Herr was a fitting poster boy for Roanoke, just 24 hours after Hampton Roads took a Zamboni ride over the Express in a 7-2 flattening. When he got up off the ice after being wrestled down and knocked a loose puck into the net for Roanoke's fourth goal, the one that put it away, it truly was a metaphor for Roanoke's season so far.
Because six times the Express has lost this season, and six times it has come back with a win. Five of those losses have been by three or more goals - like Friday's - but thanks to a sharp performance by goalie Matt DelGuidice, who allowed just two power-play goals, the Express again avoided a two-game losing streak.
Playing before a crowd of 7,314 at the Roanoke Civic Center, Jeff Jestadt scored two goals and Louis Charbonneau knocked in the game-winner at 7:04 of the third for Roanoke (8-6).
``We seem to fight for every point we get out there,'' said Express coach Frank Anzalone. ``We're just happy to get the two points that come with a win. We're not the best team in this league. Sure, there are teams we're as good as. Yeah, we have six losses, but look at other teams. Look at Erie [10 losses], Charlotte [six]. We just need to worry about staying mistake-free.''
Charbonneau's goal resulted from some hard work by center Marty Schriner, who was playing for the first time in three games. He worked the puck behind the net and set up Charbonneau in the slot to make it 3-2.
Just 1:21 later, Herr, one of the hardest-working Express players, was knocked to the ice by Erie's Eric Germain, got up and gathered a loose puck and knocked a tough-angle shot just inside the right post.
The play helped Herr forget that Erie's goals game after he took a couple of second-period penalties.
Jestadt scored a couple of power-play goals - his team-leading eighth and ninth goals of the year - to stake Roanoke to a 2-0 first-period lead.
Jestadt redirected Michael Smith's shot from center point past goalie Peter Skudra at 8:18 of the first, then he top-shelved a rebound after Skudra turned aside Jon Larson's shot.
Erie (3-11-1), which lost its fourth straight game, tied it with its power-play scores in the second. Wade Gibson detonated a slap shot past DelGuidice 31 seconds into the second. Later, Shayne McCosh slid a pass through the slot to Glenn Stewart, who wristed a shot through DelGuidice's pads at 12:05.
``The only shots Matt didn't stop were two he couldn't have stopped,'' said Anzalone. ``They had eight or 10 grade-A, really good chances. Matt made six or seven big, big saves. Without him, we probably wouldn't have won.''
ICE CHIPS: The Express is expected to announce Monday or Tuesday that it has signed goalie Daniel Berthiaume, who played with Roanoke last season before joining the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League. ... The start of Saturday's game was delayed 18 minutes because many of the fans were stuck in traffic outside the civic center. Traffic was backed up from the civic center parking lot to Interstate 581. ... Express right wing Jason Clarke was out of the lineup after hurting his ankle Friday night against Hampton Roads.
by CNB