ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 27, 1995 TAG: 9512270101
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C.
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
Byron Penstock stopped 31 shots and Paul Vincent added three points in his first ECHL game in leading the Raleigh IceCaps to a 4-1 victory over the Roanoke Express on Tuesday night.
The IceCaps, the ECHL's worst team with only six victories, won for the third time against Roanoke, snapping a seven-game home winless skid that began more than a month ago. (Summary in Scoreboard. B4)
Vincent, a 6-foot-4 rookie winger who scored 59 goals in the Western Hockey League last season, scored his first ECHL goal on a power play by ripping a rebound over Express goaltender Daniel Berthiaume's glove hand from the low slot for a 1-0 lead at the 5:57 mark.
Barely two minutes later, defenseman Brad Willner cradled Steve Potvin's right wing drop pass and beat Berthiaume through the pads with a low wrist shot for his third goal of the season at 8:23.
Wildgoose finished of the three-goal barrage 53 seconds later, by beating a fallen Berthiaume after Dan Murphy's left point drive hit a body in front and dropped at the edge of the crease.
The Express was not without chances in the first period and hit an amazing three goal posts in behind Penstock, including one crossbar.
Penstock was particularly brilliant in the scoreless second period, stopping Dave Holum and Jeff Jablonski in point-blank fashion, as the Express fired 12 shots in each of the first two periods.
Raleigh's Jeff Gabriel, who earlier had suffered a vicious pummeling by Roanoke's Dave Stewart in a fight, exacted revenge 24 seconds after an Express power play expired early in the third period. After Roanoke's Paul Corteau failed to clear the puck through a maze of IceCaps at the right point, Raleigh broke in three-on-one and Gabriel lifted his ninth goal at 1:39 to bury the Express.
Roanoke's Duane Harmer ruined Penstick's shutout bid with less than seven minutes remaining by one-timing Jeff Jestadt's behind-the-net feed over Penstock.
LENGTH: Short : 44 linesby CNB