ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702180017
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
It wasn't exactly the St. Valentine's Day Massacre revisited, yet the Roanoke Express was felled in a shootout once again.
To make matters worse, the mortal wound was supplied by a guy who most nights would have been the last bullet in the chamber, as John Lovell notched the only goal of a six-round shootout to lift the Richmond Renegades to a 4-3 win over the Express on Friday.
Before 5,304 witnesses at the Roanoke Civic Center, Lovell fired the winning shot against Roanoke goalie Dave Gagnon. It was as shocking a goal as it was devastating because Lovell is supposed to be merely a warm body in a Richmond uniform. By days, he's the hockey director at Richmond's Ice Forum, the Renegades' practice rink.
Friday, he directed the puck past Gagnon - who otherwise had been as superb as Richmond counterpart Tripp Tracy - with a nifty forehand-to-backhand-to-forehand move that sent the puck just inside the right post.
``I closed my eyes,'' he said. ``I faked to my forehand and went to my backhand and then came back to my forehand and it went between his pads.''
Not bad for a guy who spends his days behind a desk.
``He requested a raise,'' said Richmond coach Scott Gruhl, who signed Lovell because the Renegades were down a couple of forwards. ``I just went with a hunch and put him in there. He's been an inspiration. I'm sure Dave Gagnon saw him coming and thought `Who's he?' I know Dave is tough in shootouts, having tried to shoot against him before. He's the benchmark by which other goalies in this league are measured.''
No, that wasn't a Valentine's Day kiss the Express was blowing to its in-state rival, it was a lead. Roanoke led 3-0 late in the second period before being shut down.
``It was an awful, awful loss,'' said Express coach Frank Anzalone, who gave his team a loud tongue-lashing for at least five minutes after the game. He was much more reticent later.
``It was awful,'' he said repeatedly. ``Selfish play. Terrible play. That's all I can say.''
The Express owned a 3-0 lead by the 8:45 mark of the second period by converting three of its first six power plays while holding the Renegades scoreless on their seven man-advantage situations through two periods.
Wayne Strachan and J.F. Tremblay tipped in power-play slapshots 59 seconds apart in the second. The first goal of the period came on a 5-on-3 when Dave Stewart, who took six shots in the period, ripped a blast that was knocked down by Strachan, who then slid a backhand by Tracy at 7:46 to make it 2-0.
It was 3-0 when Tremblay re-directed Duane Harmer's power-play drive from the left point at 8:45. Richmond got on the board when Mike Rucinski's short wrist shot fluttered into the net after being partially blocked by Gagnon at 17:13.
Roanoke's Jason Smith and Richmond's Chris Pittman engaged in more than just planting love-taps on their cheeks when they scrapped right after Richmond's goal. With 2 minutes left in the period, Renegades defenseman Gary Gulash and Tremblay exchanged their Valentine's Day pleasantries, complete with hair-pulling. Gulash got an unsportsmanlike conduct minor and a gross misconduct for giving Tremblay's locks a yank.
The third period was hair-raising for the Express for other reasons. First, Jason Wright cut Richmond's deficit to 3-2 by scoring through a screen from the right point at 3:41. Then, 4:09 later, the Renegades recorded their first power-play goal of the night when former Roanoke Valley Rebel Scott Burfoot beat Gagnon with a backdoor tip-in off Andrew Shier's cross-ice pass from the left circle.
Stewart finished with 12 shots and Harmer added Roanoke's first goal on a power-play slapshot. Although the Renegades threw the puck away on the power play, they still rode Tracy into the shootout, where he stopped Roanoke's Jeff Loder, Harmer, Strachan, Ilya Dubkov, Jeff Jablonski and Chris Lipsett to seal it.
``This is great,'' said Gruhl. ``It's tough to come back here like that.''
ICE CHIPS: Express rookie left wing Jeff Cowan was promoted to the American Hockey League's Saint John Flames on Friday. Cowan, a 20-year-old member of the Calgary Flames' 50-man roster, had 21 goals and 13 assists in 47 games with the Express. The duration of Cowan's assignment is uncertain. ... The Express plays Knoxville tonight at the civic center at 7:30.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for statistics.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB