Express Season Ends with Playoff Loss, Season Tickets on Sale Now

April 10, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Roanoke Express News Release


The Roanoke Express 2002/03 season ended Tuesday with a playoff loss at home vs. Greensboro. The Express will open the 03/04 season in the expanded and re-named ECHL around October 17. Season tickets and corporate partnership opportunities for 03/04 are available now. Please call the Express at 343-4500 for more information.

Northeast Division Semi-final vs. Greensboro (Generals win series 3-1)

Game Four, Tuesday, April 8 @ Roanoke Civic Center LOSS 5-3

GAME NOTES: The Generals wrapped up the series with a see-saw win that featured four lead changes and six goals in the second period. Roanoke led twice in the second. Dan Carlson and Mike Peron scored 26 seconds apart and Joe Dusbabek scored a power play goal for the Express. Jay Murphy led the Generals with two goals and an assist.

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.

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 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.

‘EXPRESS NOTES: Second round Kelly Cup playoff match-ups are as follows: Northeast Division finals Greensboro vs. Atlantic City; Northwest finals Cincinnati vs. Toledo; Southeast finals Pee Dee vs. Columbia; and Southwest finals Mississippi vs. Louisiana. Joe Dusbabek had points in all four playoff games. Dusbabek ended the regular season with a three game scoring streak. Evan Lindsay made a club season high 50 saves in the Express Game Two win. Two Express are away on AHL call-ups and involved in playoff action: Dylan Gyori with Utah, Tim O'Connell with Rochester. Sebastien Laplante returned from Norfolk for Game Four but did not play. 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. Kowalsky played in the post-season despite a broken fibula. Carlson had points in five straight games to end the regular season. He was the ECHL Player of the Week for 3/31.The Express loss in Game Three was their first of the season when leading after two periods (28-0-2 in the regular season when leading after two). 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 wound up 3-22 on the power play in the playoffs (13.6%). 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. 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 led the league's rookies in scoring. The Express playoff roster included eight pro rookies. The roster included 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 (who had a .933 save percentage in the series), Pete Gardiner, and Mike Oliveira.

TICKET INFO: Season tickets for the 2003/04 season are now on sale. Please contact the Express office at 343-4500 for more information.



ECHL Stories from April 10, 2003


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