ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603110114
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
ROANOKE SQUANDERS a two-goal lead in the third period before winning 6-4.
Just when it appeared the Roanoke Express was about to perform another disappearing act, it pulled a victory out of a hat trick.
Jeff Jablonski showed he still has some tricks up his sleeve with three goals, including the game-winner, as the Express continued its pursuit of the East Coast Hockey League's East Division leaders with a 6-4 win over the South Carolina Stingrays.
For the second straight night, Roanoke (33-26-4) blew a two-goal lead in the third period. But unlike Friday's 3-2 shootout loss to Charlotte, in which it led 2-0 entering the third, the Express had enough firepower to put away the short-handed Stingrays before 7,801 spectators in the Roanoke Civic Center.
It was Jablonski's sleight of hand on the game-winner that helped the Express take the lead for good with 7:55 to play, just three minutes after South Carolina's Marc Tardif scored his second straight goal to forge a 4-4 tie.
Blowing a 4-2 lead ``sure did feel like last night,'' said Jablonski, who scored four points Saturday and has a team-high 37 goals this season. ``Because it happened [Friday] night, we knew what we had to do. We kept our mouths shut and kept plugging away.''
That's exactly what Jablonski did on the winning goal, as he rebounded his own miss twice before putting the puck by Stingrays goalie Sean Gauthier while tumbling in front of the net.
``The puck just sat there and I kept rebounding,'' Jablonski said. ``I was lucky to get a few shots at it.''
Express coach Frank Anzalone paraphrased Jablonski's statement.
``We were just lucky Jablonski had such a great ending,'' Anzalone said.
Jablonski scored twice in the third period, the first goal coming off a behind-the-net feed from Ilya Dubkov that Jablonski hammered past Gauthier from the slot to give the Express a 4-2 lead with 18:15 left. It was one of Dubkov's three assists.
Tardif brought South Carolina (34-22-7) back, first with a score set up by a behind-the-goal pass from Dan Fournel with 12:22 remaining, then with a rocket launched from the left circle after he skated past the defense on a 2-on-2 that tied it with 10:58 left.
``Tardif was dominating the game,'' said Anzalone. ``We couldn't handle him.''
Anzalone then made a key switch by moving Chris Potter to right wing. Potter, who started as a defenseman because Dave Stewart missed his second straight game with a swollen right wrist, got an assist on Jablonski's winner, then scored off a rebound after a Jablonski shot was knocked aside and Gauthier was away from the net. That made it 6-4 with 3:44 left.
``Potter helped keep the puck down low,'' said Anzalone. ``I didn't like the way we were playing, so I just made the move. I told the guys before the third I'd try to give them every opportunity to win the game.''
The Express led 1-0 when Chris Tschupp redirected a shot over Gauthier's head 2:07 into the game. After Mark Rupnow scored for South Carolina at 2:47 of the second, the Express got back-to-back power-play goals from Jablonski and Tim Hanley, who skated unchecked into the Stingrays zone and slipped a shot through Gauthier's pads to make it 3-1.
Scott Boston scored on a power-play at 12:37 of the second, as his slap shot from the point hit an Express player's skate and got through goalie Matt DelGuidice.
The six goals were the most Roanoke had scored since beating Hampton Roads 6-3 on Dec.30. Jablonski had a hat trick that night, too. It was his last multi-goal game before Saturday.
Since then, the Express had gone a mediocre 12-11-2. Today, Roanoke returns to Hampton Roads, which sits in fourth place in the East, three points ahead of the Express.
``It's like a four-point game tonight,'' said Jablonski. ``It's not going to be easy. I'm sure [the Admirals] are thinking the same thing.''
ICE CHIPS: Stewart, who was injured when he was slashed during a game against Mobile on Tuesday, will not make the trip to Hampton Roads. ... Dubkov, who had four goals and nine assists in February, was named the offensive player of the month by the Roanoke Valley Hockey Boosters. Hanley was named defensive player of the month. ... The Stingrays lost their seventh straight road game.
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB