ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 25, 1996 TAG: 9610250067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: EXPRESS NOTES
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
Last week, when player departures and a suspension left him with a depleted defensive unit, coach Frank Anzalone was wondering how some teams in the East Coast Hockey League get away with carrying only five defensemen on their roster.
``I don't know how some teams do it,'' Anzalone said after his team beat the Huntington Blizzard 5-4 on Oct.18 with just five defensemen on the roster. ``That's a lot of ice time for those guys.''
Tonight, when his team takes on the defending Riley Cup champion Charlotte Checkers on the road, Anzalone won't have to worry about having five defensemen. He has only four.
The latest defection to hit the Express came Wednesday, when rookie defenseman Bill Holowatiuk left the squad. The Express officially suspended him Thursday.
Holowatiuk was nearly cut from training camp earlier this month, but he made the team after defensemen siblings Tim and Pat Hanley left the team Oct.16. The Express was further hurt when Dave Stewart was suspended for three games after an illegal hit at Knoxville on Oct.17.
With Stewart out for one more game, the Express has only four true defensemen - Michael Smith, Duane Harmer, Doug Searle and rookie Matt O'Dette. Forward Sean Brown probably will play defense tonight, just as he did for much of a 7-5 loss to Raleigh on Oct.19. Stewart will be back for Saturday's game at South Carolina.
It was unclear why Holowatiuk left, although he presumably told one club official he was having trouble recovering from an old injury.
``The version I heard was he had a knee injury trained real hard to recuperate and now his hips are bugging him,'' said general manager Pierre Paiement. ``He couldn't take all the physical abuse and hitting.''
The Express was expected to try to claim a player off waivers before tonight's game.
``I think a lot of guys come into this league and find out it's not as easy as they thought it was going to be,'' said Paiement. ``It takes a lot of commitment to maintain the pace in this league.''
MAKING THEIR POINTS: Despite losing two of its first three games, the Express has the top two point-scorers in the league in left wing Jeff Jablonski and defenseman Michael Smith and the leading goal-scorer in rookie center Bobby Brown.
Jablonski leads the league with seven points on one goal and six assists. Smith has a goal and five assists for six points, tying him with Wheeling's Eric Royal for second place.
Brown has a league-high four goals in three games. His five points are tied for fourth-most in the league.
ICE CHIPS: Roanoke plays only two of its next 11 games at home. The Express is at Charlotte on Friday, at South Carolina on Saturday and home against South Carolina on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The Express averaged 5,701 fans per game during its two-game opening weekend Oct. 12-13. That's down slightly from last year, when the Express averaged 5,887 for the opening weekend.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 linesby CNB