ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603180137
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
The Roanoke Express knew it had to harvest a seed of doubt from its collective mind and plant it under the helmets of the Charlotte Checkers.
Not that anyone in the Roanoke dressing room was worried that the Express couldn't beat Charlotte, a potential first-round opponent in the East Coast Hockey League playoffs, but after a come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Checkers on Saturday night, you could almost hear a sigh of relief.
Or maybe that was just the release of oxygen after the Express quit holding its breath after killing off Charlotte's six-skater attack in the final minute, a defensive stand that ended the Checkers' nine-game road winning streak.
``This is the last time we play 'em in our rink,'' said Roanoke center Karry Biette, who recorded his second straight two-goal game. ``We had to let 'em know they could be beat. We put that in their minds.''
Roanoke (36-26-4), which remained in fourth place in the ECHL's East Division and would play second-place Charlotte in the first round if the playoffs began today, may have doubted itself again after falling behind 2-0 in the game's first 6:41. At that point, Express coach Frank Anzalone yanked goalie Matt DelGuidice and inserted Daniel Berthiaume.
``You know, those [two] goals weren't totally Matt's fault,'' Anzalone said. ``It just came down to the fact that things were getting out of hand.''
Things looked even worse when Roanoke went down 3-1 with just four seconds left in the first after Marty Yewchuk intercepted a Jeff Jablonski pass and scored on Berthiaume.
That goal came just 39 seconds after the Express had gotten on the board on Michael Smith's power-play goal.
``It looked like we were in trouble again,'' Anzalone said. ``We came out after that and became more physical. I'm tired of us being laughed at [and] smiled at by other teams. I told the guys, `If we're going to make a statement, we've got to do it now.'''
Biette continued to make a scoring statement. The Saskatchewan native came to the ECHL game with an impressive junior hockey resume from the Western Hockey League, where he had 101 points in 1993-94.
``I tell you, I'm not doing anything different,'' said Biette, who tallied his 13th and 14th goals of the season. ``I haven't changed anything. The puck's just going in for me now.''
Biette scored 45 seconds into the second by flicking the puck high over Charlotte goalie Paul Krake to make it 3-2. However, Yewchuk made it 4-2 with 7:06 gone by taking the puck from Roanoke's Dan Murphy and scoring.
Craig Herr grabbed back some momentum for the Express by racing down the right wing on a power play and knocking home a rebound of Jeff Jestadt's shot that ricocheted off the end boards at 13:31 of the second.
The Express tied it at 4:27 of the third when Biette, standing all alone to Krake's right, hammered home Jestadt's pass five seconds after a power play had ended.
Ilya Dubkov notched the game-winner with a move so familiar he ought to patent it. Jablonski got the puck to Dubkov, who took it into the Charlotte zone and - with Charlotte's Matt Robbins draped on him - skated a half-circle pattern toward Krake. Dubkov faked the forehand and deposited a backhand just inside the left post with 4:45 remaining to keep the Express 28-0 when scoring four or more goals.
``Ilya's goal showed, more than anything, how much character this team had tonight,'' said Anzalone, whose team is 28-0 when scoring at least four goals. ``We showed we weren't soft.''
ICE CHIPS: The Express hosts Raleigh tonight at 6. Today's game will be the last of Jason Clarke's three-game suspension. Clarke, who was suspended after fighting Hampton Roads' Aaron Downey on March 17, will return Tuesday against South Carolina.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 linesby CNB