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Express in First Round Battle with Greensboro

April 7, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Roanoke Express News Release


The Roanoke Express trails the Greensboro Generals two games to one in their best of five Kelly Cup Playoffs Northeast Division semi-final series. The Express hosts the Generals Tuesday at the Civic Center trying to force a Game Five Wednesday. If a Game Five is necessary it will be played at the Triangle SportsPlex in Hillsboro, NC due to a schedule conflict at the Greensboro Coliseum.

THE WEEK AHEAD (ALL TIMES EASTERN)

Northeast Division Semi-final vs. Greensboro

Game Four, Tuesday, April 8 @ Roanoke Civic Center7:05 PM
Game Five, April 9 @ Triangle SportsPlex Hillsboro, NC 8:30 PM*

*if necessary

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Game One, Thursday, April 3 @ Greensboro LOSS 7-2

GAME NOTES: The Generals exploded for five second period goals to roll to the Game One win. Seven Generals would score goals. Mike Bayrack and Jay Murphy had three points. Chad Mazurak and Joe Dusbabek scored for Roanoke. The clubs combined for 83 shots on goal.

Game Two, Friday, April 4 @ Greensboro WIN 3-1

GAME NOTES: The Express bounced back with a strong performance to take Game Two. Shawn Limpright, Chad Mazurak, and Doug Schueller scored for Roanoke. Evan Lindsay made a season high 50 saves. The two clubs combined for 93 shots on goal. Cam Bristow had two assists.

Game Three, Saturday April 5 @ Roanoke LOSS 3-2

GAME NOTES: The Express jumped out to a 2-0 second period lead but the Generals rallied back for three straight goals. Roanoke lost for the first time all year when leading after two period. Frank Novock and Cam Bristow scored for Roanoke. Rod Aldoff scored a shorthanded goal in the second to get the Generals on the scoreboard. Bryan Richardson tied the game early in the third. Ex-Express Pete Gardiner scored the game-winner on a power play.

‘EXPRESS NOTES: Roanoke has never missed the playoffs in their 10 year history but the Express has dropped four straight playoff series dating back to 1999. Evan Lindsay made a club season high 50 saves in the Express Game Two win. Three Express are away on AHL call-ups: Dylan Gyori with Utah, Tim O'Connell with Rochester, and Sebastien Laplante with Norfolk. The Game One loss was the Express second worst of the season. Roanoke ended the regular season tied for second in the league in goals (3.7) and had four of the league's top 16 scorers. Jason Jaffray was eighth in points, Rick Kowalsky was 12th, Dylan Gyori was tied for 14th, and Dan Carlson was 16th. The Express loss Saturday was their first of the season when leading after two periods (28-0-2 in the regular season when leading after two). Joe Dusbabek has points in all three playoff games. Dusbabek ended the regular season with a three game scoring streak. Carlson had points in five straight games to end the regular season. He was the ECHL Player of the Week for 3/31. Chad Mazurak and Cam Bristow had three game scoring streaks to end the regular season. The Express and Generals combined for 93 shots on goal in Game Two. Roanoke was fifth in the ECHL on the power play (21.6%) in the regular season. The Express is 2-16 on the power play in the playoffs (12.5%). Roanoke's 42 regular season wins is tied for second best in club history. Their 90 points is third best in club history. Tony MacAuley went 14-7-3 after taking over as head coach. Roanoke was 4-3 vs. Greensboro in the regular season. The Express win in Game Two ended a 10 game Greensboro home-ice winning streak. The Express placed two players on the ECHL post-season All Star Team. Jason Jaffray was a first team choice and Rookie of the Year. Rick Kowalsky was a second team All Star. Jaffray leads the league's rookies in scoring. The Express playoff roster includes eight pro rookies. The roster includes players who've won a Kelly Cup (Brad Essex, Mississippi 1999), Memorial Cup (Canadian Major Junior national championship - Cole Fischer, Kootenay, 2002; Rick Kowalsky Sault Ste. Marie 1993), and NCAA championship (Chad Mazurak 2000 and Tim O'Connell 1997 and 2000 North Dakota). In addition Gyori played in the 2001 AHL Calder Cup Finals with Wilkes-Barre, Jaffray played in the 2000 Memorial Cup with Kootenay, and Laplante played in the 2000 Royal Bank Cup (Canadian Junior A National Championship) finals with Rayside-Balfour, ON. Roanoke ended the regular season with a three game winning streak. Six members of the Express playoff roster played in the AHL this season. In addition to Gyori, Laplante, and O'Connell, Scott Balan (Norfolk), Jason Jaffray (Norfolk), and Doug Schueller (Manchester) saw AHL action. Three members of the Generals playoff roster are former Express: Daniel Berthiaume, Pete Gardiner, and Mike Oliveira.

ON THE AIR: All Express playoff games are broadcast live on Family Radio 3WR, 910 AM in Roanoke and 990 AM in Blacksburg. Broadcasts are also available over the internet through www.roanokeexpress.com. John Emmett, the five year voice of the Richmond Renegades calls Express playoff action.

TICKET INFO: Individual tickets for Roanoke Express home playoff games are on sale now. In addition, the Express is offering playoff ticket packages, which may be purchased at the Roanoke Express office, located on Franklin Rd. in Roanoke.

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