ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 11, 1996 TAG: 9601110117
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
THE CHECKERS BURY Roanoke with a blizzard of strange goals.
The Roanoke Express found itself in the same situation as most Southwest Virginians - digging, digging, digging and getting nowhere fast.
In its 6-3 loss to the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday night before an announced crowd of 3,666 who shoveled their way through the snow to the Roanoke Civic Center, the Express was snowed under by a blizzard of Checkers goals and never dug out.
It was a night when nearly as much attention was paid to players who didn't play as was paid to those on the ice.
There was Manon Rheaume, who made news three years ago by becoming the first woman to play professional hockey, sitting on the Charlotte bench as an emergency backup goalie to Checkers starter Nick Vitucci. Rheaume, who once played in an NHL exhibition game with the Tampa Bay Lightning, didn't play Wednesday.
There was Roanoke goalie Daniel Berthiaume sitting in the press box, serving a one-game suspension for shooting his water bottle in the direction of referee Derek Woodworth on Saturday night in South Carolina. Local boy Rick Kelley once again was signed as Roanoke's emergency netminder and, like Rheaume, didn't get into the game.
Then, most curious of all, Express two-time all-star defenseman Michael Smith showed up late and watched from the civic center catwalk. Smith had spent much of the week mulling an offer to play professionally in England before deciding Wednesday night to turn it down.
With off-ice happenings swirling like snowflakes - on Tuesday a flurry of personnel moves brought three new players to Roanoke - the Express looked sluggish for most of two periods and fell behind 6-2 as Charlotte lit the lamp with some opportunistic play.
``The score is brutal, I know that,'' said Express coach Frank Anzalone, whose team has won only four of its past 15 games. ``But our team didn't play bad tonight. We didn't bury our chances, they buried theirs. Quite frankly, I feel that Charlotte was lucky and we were unlucky. I'm upset, I'm disappointed. This team played well enough to win 3-2.
``When it rains, it pours. Sometimes it storms. Right now, we're in a storm.''
When Charlotte scored its first goal on a Fran Bouchard shot that hit teammate Jeff Connolly's leg and trickled by goalie Matt DelGuidice just 1:50 into the game, there was evidence it would be a long night for the Express.
Roanoke outshot Charlotte 36-24, but the Checkers got a couple of rebound goals and Dennis Maxwell scored off a shot that bounced off the endboards and was deflected into the net to make it 4-1.
Trailing 2-0, Jeff Jestadt scored a power-play goal for Roanoke (20-19-1) at 13:27 of the first, but Kurt Seher made it 3-1 with a power-play goal. Charlotte (21-11-4) got goals from Maxwell, Connolly and Rick Willis in the second to make it 6-2, as Roanoke got a goal from Jason Clarke on a re-direction of new arrival Wade Gibson's shot.
``They got three or four fluky goals,'' said DelGuidice, who also has been the subject of trade talks this week. ``We had better chances than they did. Our guys played hard, they hustled. This could've been my easiest game of the year.''
ICE CHIPS: Smith didn't practice with the Express on Tuesday, but could be back with squad this weekend. He said it was tough to turn down the European offer, but he wanted to stay in Roanoke. ``Michael Smith is one of my favorite players,'' said Anzalone, who learned of Smith's decision after the game. ``It hurts to discuss the whole situation. He's been like a son.'' ... The Express got three players in trades Tuesday - Gibson and Karry Biette from Erie for L.P. Charbonneau and Paul Croteau; and Dan Murphy from Raleigh for Jon Larson - and all three notched an assist. ... Former Express forward Rouslan Toujikov was in the building Wednesday, possibly looking for a job.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: STEPHANIE KLEIN-DAVIS/Staff. Roanoke's Ilya Dubkovby CNB(left) chases the puck with Charlotte's Gerry St.Cyr on Wednesday.
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