ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 26, 1996 TAG: 9601260069
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
THE BEST TEAM in the ECHL - and a division rival - is coming to town.
In the waning hours of Dec.2, the Roanoke Express was gaining on the Richmond Renegades.
The Express had just beaten the Renegades 3-2 in a shootout in one of the best games in franchise history.
Roanoke, coming off a 5-4 shootout victory over the Renegades just 24 hours earlier, vaulted into second place in the East Coast Hockey League's tough East Division. It appeared the Express could hang with the Renegades.
Now, less than two months later, the Renegades are leaving the rest of the division behind and the Express is trying to regain some respectability.
Richmond, which visits the Roanoke Civic Center at 7:30 tonight, has the best record in the ECHL (32-5-7) and the most points (69). Roanoke, which has won only six of its past 19 games, is in fifth place in the East, 25 points behind Richmond.
``Richmond is the best team in hockey right now,'' said Express coach Frank Anzalone. ``You can't play the way they have for two months without being a great team. We're just looking to compete with them. Richmond usually outclasses us. We need a surge just to play well against them.''
It's a tough weekend for the Express (22-20-2), which also plays Hampton Roads on Saturday at the civic center. Anzalone said he isn't asking the team to put any more emphasis on these games than on others.
``Right now, no games rank any differently,'' he said. ``There's no importance as far as this being a make-or-break weekend. They will be competitive games in which we hope to play well.''
The Renegades are on one of the greatest rolls in ECHL history, having lost only twice in regulation in their past 32 games (23-2-7). Late in December, they established a league record of 21 consecutive games without a regulation loss (15-0-6).
That stretch allowed them to compile the best-ever 40-game record in the ECHL (28-5-7). They haven't cooled. The Renegades are 7-0-1 in their past eight games and are 12-1-5 in their past 18 road games.
Their most recent road victory was Wednesday in Norfolk, when they scored five third-period goals to beat Hampton Roads 8-6.
``That was the most gutsy performance I've seen since I've been the coach here,'' said Richmond's Roy Sommer.
This will be the Renegades' next-to-last visit to the civic center, and a crowd approaching 7,000 is expected. Richmond returns to Roanoke on Feb.10.
Saturday's game with Hampton Roads marks the Admirals' last appearance in Roanoke this season. Hampton Roads has not won in its past six trips to Roanoke dating to last season.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart.by CNB