ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 12, 1996 TAG: 9610150028
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
Their names are not familiar to Roanoke Express fans.
Yet.
The youthful Express, which has just six players back from a year ago, began the work of making a name for itself by beating the South Carolina Stingrays 6-3 before an enthusiastic crowd of 4,083 at the Roanoke Civic Center on Friday night.
Express coach Frank Anzalone had said earlier in the week he was going to give some of the young players a long look and they came through in much better fashion than they did on Wednesday, when Roanoke lost 8-2 at Richmond.
On Friday, though, rookies like Jeff Loder, J.F. Tremblay, Chris DeProfio, Larry Moberg and others began endearing themselves to the locals.
``Some guys gave a good accounting of themselves,'' said Anzalone. ``If you're going to be young, you need to be aggressive. We just need to come through with this kind of effort all year. That's the kind of game we need to take with us on the road.''
Second-year man Tim Christian, who's not so old himself (25), scored two goals and Loder had four assists for Roanoke, which opened with a three-goal first period and closed with a three-goal third.
It was Tremblay, though, who really began playing his way into becoming a local fan favorite and had the look of becoming Jason Clarke's successor with some inspired play in the first two periods. His checking was fierce - the Express came out aggressive in the opening frame - and he almost single-handedly set up Roanoke's third goal in the first period.
He checked the puck free in the corner, carried it to the front of the net - creating general havoc as he made his way there - where DeProfio scored on a rebound.
He even got into a fight in the second period while he rested on the bench. After play got rough near the Express bench when Carl LeBlanc tangled with Ryan Equale, Tremblay began slugging it out with LeBlanc from his spot on the bench.
``The guy [LeBlanc] ran Equale and J.F. stood up for him,'' said Anzalone. ``J.F.'s still young [he's 21]. We showed we can stand up for ourselves.''
Moberg, a rookie goaltender from Alaska-Fairbanks, even managed to steal the spotlight from No. 1 goalie Dave Gagnon by making 22 saves on 23 shots in the game's final 30 minutes, 35 seconds.
ICE CHIPS: Dave Stewart and Doug Searle, two experienced defensemen for Roanoke, sat out Friday's game. Rookies Bobby Brown, 21, and Jeff Cowan, 20, two players who are on the Calgary Flames' 50-man roster, also were scratched. Roanoke forward Kyle Millar left the game after injuring his knee in the second period. He was walking on crutches after the game and his status is uncertain. Rookie Kelly Reider left the club Friday to go back to school at St. Cloud (Minn.) State. The Express plays its final preseason exhibition Sunday at 3 p.m. against the Riley Cup champion Charlotte Checkers in the civic center.
see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines KEYWORDS: HOCKEYby CNB