ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 2, 1997 TAG: 9703040029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: HOCKEY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR.
These are the dog days of the East Coast Hockey League season.
During the month of March, some teams jockey for playoff positions, others welcome the warming temperatures by working on their golf game. Games get a little bit tighter. Three-game losing streaks seem longer in March than they do in November.
Some players block out a season's worth of aches and pains, knowing if they can gut it out for one more month, they can help their team's playoff drive.
Injuries have been catching up to the Roanoke Express lately. Most notably, goaltender Dave Gagnon had to miss the Hampton Roads game on Tuesday to rest an injured right knee.
Gagnon hurt the knee during the first period of the Feb.23 game at Mississippi, but he finished the game and got the victory.
``Dave probably should have come out,'' said Frank Anzalone, the Express' coach. ``But his work ethic is strong and he wanted to help the team.''
Jeff Loder is another Express player who has battled through injury. The rookie center has given new meaning to the word ``faceoff'' - his is a face that has nearly been wiped off by high sticks and elbows. He is playing with a broken cheekbone. He has needed stitches to repair gashes to his face and lip. He lost a few teeth less than a month into his inaugural season as a professional
J.F. Tremblay has been sidelined with an injury to his ribcage. Gagnon has battled a shoulder problem. Other players have weathered numerous sprains and bruises they don't talk about, because they don't want opponents to know they have a weakness.
Former Express forward Craig Herr didn't like it when it was reported his back was troubling him. He didn't want the other team to think it could slow him by playing rough with him.
So, many players prefer to keep their injuries quiet. Now that March is here, many will try to play through the pain.
``I think that once we get through February, we'll all try to pick it up a little bit,'' said one Express player.
The dog days of winter are upon us.
COACHING CASUALTY: The Knoxville Cherokees fired Barry Smith, their head coach and director of hockey operations, after the team's disappointing 17-35-2 record, including a 1-22-0 road mark. Knoxville hired Tallahassee assistant Jack Capuano as its new coach.
The move likely will be the first of many major changes the Cherokees will undergo in the next couple of months. Ongoing disputes between the team and the management of the Knoxville Civic Coliseum have fueled speculation the club will relocate before next season.
Several team owners confirmed Cherokees owner John Staley has voiced his concerns about the team's future in Knoxville. Because of scheduling conflicts with the coliseum, the Cherokees will play their final 12 games on the road.
Smith was 130-116-24 in five seasons with the Cherokees and had guided the team to the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. In 1993-94, the Cherokees won the Brabham Cup as the regular-season points champion before losing in the playoffs.
AROUND THE ECHL: Nearly three months after being forced to forfeit nine victories because they had too many ``veteran'' players on their roster, the Louisiana IceGators have climbed back into the playoff picture by winning 10 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in the ECHL this season. ....
The ECHL's web page received a mention in the Wall Street Journal this past week as being one of the top hockey sites on the Internet. The page can be located at http://www.echl.org.
ICE CHIPS: Express left wing Jeff Jablonski had 11 points, including eight goals, in his past five games heading into the weekend. Jablonski's six-point effort against Jacksonville on Feb. 21 was one point shy of the league high this season. Coincidentally, South Carolina's Ed Courtney scored seven points against Raleigh the same night. ...
Coming into this week's games, Roanoke forward Wayne Strachan led the ECHL with a 27.3 shooting percentage, a one-tenth of a point lead over 46-goal scorer Courtney. ...
The Express certainly has been consistent in its four seasons, posting nearly identical records through this point of the schedule each year. In each of the past three seasons, the Express has had 30 victories through 54 games, including a 30-20-4 mark heading into this weekend's games. It was 30-22-2 through the same period last season, and in 1994-95 it was 30-15-9 after 54 games. Roanoke was 29-22-3 after 54 games of the 1993-94 season.
LENGTH: Medium: 82 linesby CNB