ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 1, 1996 TAG: 9604020016
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Jack Bogaczyk
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
After something could have been finer than to be in Carolina, the Roanoke Express is coming home for the East Coast Hockey League playoffs.
The Express is down 2-0 to Charlotte in a series in which the difference between the teams has been about the same as the width of a stick blade.
Whatever happens Tuesday night on the Roanoke Civic Center ice - and Thursday, if necessary - this is certain: The local franchise is facing a crucial off-season.
The club finished in the middle of 21 teams in the ECHL regular season and the average home attendance ranked seventh, with Roanoke being one of the few ECHL outposts that performed better at the gate than a season ago.
Two weeks ago, this space was filled with questions about the club's future, questions that have been posed by more than one newspaper columnist.
General manager Pierre Paiement has some answers, although not all of the ones ``Roundhouse'' turnstile-turners might like. He said the club's supporters, however, shouldn't worry about the viability of the franchise.
Paiement said coach Frank Anzalone will be behind the bench for the fourth consecutive season in 1996-97. He said the Express will not build an ice rink for practice, although the club plans to invest in the construction of a private facility.
The Express will continue to seek an affiliation with an NHL club, although not having a practice rink hurts the sales pitch. Paiement admits the Express organization's lack of a long-term professional relationship with NHL coaches and GMs has diminished the team's potential for landing a parent team, too.
Paiement also said the Express has made a proposal to manage the Roanoke Civic Center. The team is waiting for a response to the proposal from Roanoke City.
``We have presented to them all of the benefits of privatizing the operation of the civic center,'' Paiement said. While such a situation would benefit the Express' desire for more ice time, the club's GM said, ``What we have tried to make clear is that our sole purpose is to manage, not control'' the facility.
Paiement said he understands some of the questions about the club's future direction come from perceptions created by Express president John Gagnon's decision to put an ECHL expansion franchise in Biloxi, Miss. Gagnon owns 50 percent of the Express.
``This club is not going to suffer,'' Paiement said. ``John isn't that involved in the day-to-day operation of the Express. To say that the Roanoke franchise will suffer because John is busy in Biloxi is preposterous.''
Paiement wanted to join Gagnon as a Biloxi investor, but was told by the other Express investors that since he was involved in the day-to-day Roanoke operations, that wasn't possible.
Paiement admits his recent Roanoke press box discussions with Biloxi coaching hopeful Bruce Boudreau ``were a mistake,'' because the meeting between previous acquaintances sent the wrong signals about his stepping away from the Mississippi organization.
``I'm not involved in Biloxi,'' said Paiement, who owns 10 percent of the Express. ``It was something I was interested in. I thought it would be a good investment.''
Paiement said he also has heard the rumors about Anzalone, particularly the one that had the Express' coach returning to college hockey at Mankato (Minn.) State, which is moving from Division II to I next season.
``I asked Frank what he was going to do,'' Paiement said. ``He said he was coming back. He will be back, and that's what we wanted.
``He's done a great job. Sure, he has some frustrations, and we understand those, but he's worked hard and put a winning team on the ice.''
On an NHL affiliation, Paiement's absence from hockey for years, as a local restaurateur, and Anzalone's background in college hockey have created a different kind of contact than most other ECHL clubs enjoy.
``Affiliations are based mostly on who you know or who you played with during your hockey career,'' Paiement said. ``We're at a disadvantage there. I chose to hire a great coach in Frank - and no one knows the game better - rather than one who has an NHL background.''
Paiement said he is ``juggling with the idea'' of bringing in an assistant GM or an assistant coach with NHL ties to aid the Express in its bid for a fruitful affiliation.
It is an item he likely will bring up when the club's seven investors have a postseason meeting. An affiliation also would help financially, because under the ECHL's salary cap, a player under contract to a parent club counts only $250 against the ECHL limit.
Paiement said the Express will continue to seek a local practice venue, and indicated that while private interests are close ``to getting a plan in place,'' he's reluctant to talk about such a facility because such hopes have been dashed previously.
An appropriate facility would cost in the $2 million range. Paiement said that although the Express is profitable, ``we can't afford to go solo as the investor. We are not going to collateralize our franchise to build a rink.
``We are willing as a group - and we've made it clear to some people who have considered constructing a rink - to participate financially in such a building. We haven't gotten specific. It hasn't gotten that far.''
Paiement knows that for the Express to step into the upper echelon of ECHL clubs, some of what the club wants and needs must be accomplished.
Keeping Anzalone is a good first step.
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Paiement colorby CNB