ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 9, 1997 TAG: 9704090030
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. THE ROANOKE TIMES
Injuries and late-season call-ups proved Roanoke's undoing in a first-round playoff loss.
Sunday afternoon around 12:30, Frank Anzalone received a call from Dave Gagnon.
The Roanoke Express goaltender was phoning his coach to inform him that, despite being in serious pain from a groin pull, he planned to strap on the pads and station himself in his familiar position in front of the Express goal that evening.
Even though his team was facing elimination from the East Coast Hockey League's Kelly Cup playoffs, Anzalone wasn't sure it was such a good idea for Gagnon to risk further injury. Still, Gagnon wouldn't be talked out of his plan.
``He said he was going to play as long as he could,'' Anzalone said. ``Dave Gagnon is a warrior.''
So, for 2 hours, 40 minutes Sunday evening, Dave Gagnon and the Roanoke Express laid everything they had on the line against the mighty Hampton Roads Admirals before absorbing a crushing 4-3 defeat in the final game of their season.
When second-seeded Hampton Roads scored two goals in the final 2 minutes, 45 seconds, it succeeded in bouncing Roanoke from the first round of the playoffs three games to one. It was not an easy series for the Admirals, who won an epic Game 1 in Norfolk by scoring in the 101st minute of the second-longest game in league history.
Game 2 was another thriller, with the Express prevailing 4-2, even though Gagnon left the ice with 91 seconds left after injuring his groin. When the series returned to Roanoke on Saturday, the Admirals scored three quick goals against rookie netminder Matt Carmichael and cruised to a 4-1 victory, setting the stage for Gagnon's heroics on Sunday at the Roanoke Civic Center.
With three minutes left, Roanoke was on the verge of forcing a deciding Game 5. Then, a turnover led to a goal by the Admirals' Dominic Maltais that tied the score at 3.
With less than 20 seconds remaining, Hampton Roads won a faceoff in the Express' zone and Chris Phelps launched a shot from near the blue line on the right side. The puck glanced off one of Roanoke forward Ilya Dubkov's skates and slipped past Gagnon just inside the right goal post with 16.1 seconds left.
It was over. The valiant effort by Gagnon and his teammates had failed.
``He is one of the best goalies in the league,'' Maltais said. ``Everybody knew he was in tremendous pain.''
Only if they saw him and his teammates in the dressing room following the game.
``I told Frank I was going to play until I couldn't play anymore,'' Gagnon said. ``I guess that's what happened. Good or bad, that's what happened.''
Gagnon played, all right. All season long, he was the man the Express rode to 38 victories and the seventh-best record in the 23-team ECHL.
Game 4 of the playoffs neatly reflected the entire series for Roanoke: There was no way the depleted Express should have been hanging with Hampton Roads, yet Roanoke pushed the Admirals to the end.
The Express team that entered the playoffs was not the team that had played fine hockey through most of the season. It still had Jeff Jablonski (who set a franchise record with 52 goals), Dubkov (the team's all-time leading scorer) and Gagnon, but several talented players had been promoted to the American and International Hockey leagues.
After a 5-8-1 start, Roanoke went 29-13-3 through March 8. Then the talent drain began.
For the most part, the Express had a successful first season as an affiliate of the Calgary Flames. The Flames sent young contract players Jeff Cowan and Bobby Brown to Roanoke. The Express' IHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, assigned centers Wayne Strachan and Jeff Loder to Roanoke.
By March, though, Strachan was back in Manitoba. The Saint John Flames, Calgary's AHL affiliate, had recalled Cowan, forward Eric Landry and veteran defenseman Michael Smith. Only Landry came back to Roanoke for the playoffs.
Then, when Tim Christian suffered a shoulder injury in Game 2 and Gagnon pulled up lame, the Express suddenly was shy of weapons.
``From my personal standpoint, I thought we had the team that could challenge for the Cup,'' Anzalone said. ``I'm disappointed that we didn't have that team in the playoffs.''
Anzalone was hoping the Flames would send Cowan and defenseman Shane Hnidy to Roanoke for the Hampton Roads series. Although both players were scratched from Saint John's lineup this past week, neither player returned. Had the Express forced Game 5, it's possible Cowan and Hnidy would have played.
In the off-season, the Express' task will be to re-sign Jablonski, Gagnon, Dubkov and Christian among other key players. Anzalone will meet with most of the players this week to discuss their plans.
Although disappointed with the early ouster, Anzalone guided the Express to its fourth consecutive winning season. No Roanoke Valley-based hockey team had ever posted more than two straight winning seasons.
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY THE ROANOKE TIMES. Chris Lipsett (top) andby CNBthe Roanoke Express pushed Hampton Roads Admirals goalie Darryl
Paquette and forward Victor Gervais (16) throughout their
first-round Kelly Cup playoff series. color.