ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 30, 1996 TAG: 9612310047
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
HAMPTON ROADS, the last team to beat Roanoke before Sunday, does it again. This time a 5-3 loss at the civic center snaps a six-game win streak.
The last time the Roanoke Express lost to the Hampton Roads Admirals, it embarked upon a six-game winning streak. Now the Express has a chance to do it again.
Roanoke's six-game stretch of victories ended the same way it started, with a loss to Hampton Roads on home ice. Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Admirals before a crowd of 5,784 at the Roanoke Civic Center was the first since a 4-3 shootout setback Nov.30 to the visitors from Norfolk.
``It's never easy in here,'' Hampton Roads coach John Brophy insisted after his team vaulted back into first place in the East Coast Hockey League's East Division standings.
The Express led only briefly Sunday night, yet was two minutes away from gaining at least one point in the East Division for the eighth consecutive game. Hampton Roads' Andy Weidenbach single-handedly ended that streak with an unassisted goal at the 18-minute mark of the third to break a 3-all tie.
Roanoke's Ilya Dubkov had tied the score with his second goal of the game, at the 10:39 mark of the third when he scored after winning a faceoff with the teams skating four-on-four.
The teams chased each other up and down the ice for the next eight minutes before Weidenbach snagged the puck near the right-wing boards and crossed in front of Express netminder Dave Gagnon. Weidenbach stopped inside the left circle, did a 180-degree spin and roofed a shot above the sprawling goalie.
``Our zone broke down and the puck wasn't covered,'' said Frank Anzalone, the Express' coach. ``That goal came from [Weidenbach's] individual talent. He buried it. Not a lot of guys could turn around and bury a shot like that.''
It was the kind of mistake Roanoke (17-11-3) can't afford to make with center Jeff Loder and defenseman Michael Smith still on assignment to higher leagues and the Express down to 15 skaters. Roanoke's three goals came from the same line - the one with Dubkov, Jeff Jablonski and Eric Landry.
``I think we gave it all we had,'' said Anzalone, whose team suffered its first non-shootout loss since Nov.29, which also was to the Admirals.
``The other lines were giving all they had, but weren't generating the kind of opportunities the Dubkov line generates. [The Admirals] had three lines that can generate offense. We did not get enough scoring chances on our own ice.''
The Express was outshot 36-24 and was 0-for-5 on the power play. After Weidenbach's goal, Roanoke pulled Gagnon for an extra attacker, but Chris Phelps stole the puck and passed to Rod Taylor, who set up Dominic Maltais for an empty-net goal with 42 seconds left. Roanoke's complaint that Maltais had been offsides when Taylor brought the puck into the zone went unanswered.
``He was offsides by 10 feet,'' Anzalone said.
The Express led briefly in the second period when Dubkov and Landry scored less than two minutes apart to make it 2-1. Dubkov got the puck near the right corner, skated toward the net with Admirals defenseman Neal Martin hanging on him like a cape and tucked the puck inside the left post with 11:15 showing on the clock. Ninety seconds later, Landry buried a rebound to complete a two-on-one rush with Jablonski.
Hampton Roads (21-9-3) responded with a pair of its own goals from Victor Gervais and Ryan Mulhern 61 seconds apart to regain the lead heading into the third.
Gagnon had made 14 saves in the first period to keep Roanoke in it. The only save he didn't make was when Taylor pounced on a loose puck about 10 feet from the crease and hammered it over Gagnon's left shoulder with 9:10 gone.
ICE CHIPS: Loder has two points in two games with the Manitoba Moose of the International Hockey League. Smith has three points in four games with the Saint John Flames of the American Hockey League. Dubkov has 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 17 games. Roanoke is 12-3-2 in its past 17 games and does not play at home again until Jan.11, when the Admirals return to town.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 linesby CNB