Sports stats



Express weekly

December 2, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Roanoke Express News Release


ROANOKE, VA – The Roanoke Express finished its busiest week of the season to date with a 2-2-0 record. The Express enter this week's action with a 10-9-2 record (22 pts., T5th, NE Division).

LAST WEEK'S ACTION

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26 at READING 6-3 Win

In the first of back-to-back games between the Northeast Division rivals, the Express ran its winning streak to two straight with a convincing 6-3 win over the Reading Royals in Reading, PA. A quick start to the game saw each team score in the first minute. Jason Jaffray tallied just :22 into the contest for Roanoke, but the Royals fired back with a goal at the :55 mark. The Express settled in and scored the next three goals however, all in the first period. Jaffray notched his second of the game and 12th of the season at 5:19, Rick Kowalsky scored his 11th goal of the year at 8:20, and Duncan Dalmao picked up his third of the season on the power play at 11:18 to give the Express the 4-1 lead after one period.

After Reading scored the only goal of the second period, Roanoke scored twice in the final period. Jaffray completed the hat-trick at 3:38. The trick was the rookie's first of his professional career, and it gave the Express a 5-2 lead. After the Royals trimmed the lead to 5-3, Dylan Gyori lit the lamp at 17:33 of the third period giving the Express the 6-3 advantage they would eventually win by.

Sebastien Laplante earned the win in goal for the Express turning away 37 of 40 Reading shots. The win raised Laplante's record to 6-4-1. Scott Fankhouser started in goal for Reading and took the loss, allowing six goals on 33 shots.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28 vs. READING 5-4 Win

The Express completed the home-and-home sweep of Reading with a 5-4 win on Thanksgiving day at the Roanoke Civic Center. Roanoke saw their win streak climb to three straight as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead by the end of the second period. Joe Dusbabek opened the game's scoring with a power play goal at 8:49 of the first period. After Reading tied the score 19 seconds later, Jason Jaffray continued his hot play scoring with just under three minutes left in the period to give the Express a 2-1 lead after one period. Roanoke used two goals in the second period by Tim O'Connell and Dusbabek to open the three-goal advantage. In the third period, Reading tallied less than three minutes in, cutting the Express lead to 4-2, but Mike Peron's first goal of the season at 5:00 of the third period proved to be the game-winner, giving Roanoke a 5-2 lead. The Royals scored twice more in the frame, but the Express held on to earn the win.

Evan Lindsay got the start in goal for the Express and made 22 saves to pick up the win and raise his record to 4-3-1. Scott Fankhouser made his second straight start against the Express and took the loss, giving up the five goals on 31 shots.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29 vs. COLUMBIA 7-4 Loss

In the first of just two meetings this season between the Express and the Inferno, Columbia came out on top with a 7-4 win at the Roundhouse. The game featured a back-and-forth first period, with the teams combining for five goals in the opening frame. Columbia opened the scoring at 3:38, but the Express tied the game on the power play at 14:37 on Dan Carlson's 10th goal of the season. The Inferno regained the lead at 16:14, however Roanoke needed just :25 to tie the game at two on Mike Peron's second goal of the year. The Express closed out the scoring in the first period on Carlson's second of the game with less than a minute to play giving Roanoke a 3-2 lead after one.

Columbia out-scored the Express 2-1 in the second period forcing a 4-4 tie after 40 minutes of play. The Inferno scored at 7:04 and 12:58 of the period, and the Express picked up its lone goal on Tim O'Connell's power play tally at 13:33. In the third period, Columbia notched goals at 3:51 and 12:18 to take a 6-4 lead, and then added an empty-net goal at 18:53 to seal the victory.

Sebastien Laplante got the nod for the Express in goal, and made 24 saves, but saw his record fall to 6-5-1. Josh Blackburn earned the win for Columbia, stopping 30 of 34 Express shots.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 at LEXINGTON 5-2 Loss

The Express made its lone trip to Lexington, KY this season and suffered a 5-2 set-back to the Men ‘O War. Lexington jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Express found the scoreboard midway through the second period. The Men ‘O War scored twice in the first period, and added a third goal eight minutes into second period before Jason Jaffray scored at 10:42 of the middle stanza. In the third period, Lexington scored twice more after the mid point, before Brad Essex poked home a power play goal at 13:51, to make it a 5-2 game.

Evan Lindsay allowed the five goals on 27 shots in goal for the Express and saw his record fall to 4-4-1. Mike Smith made the start for Lexington and stopped 28 of 30 Express shots to pick up the win. The Express and the Men ‘O War play once more this year, when they meet at the Roanoke Civic Center on December 28.

UPCOMING GAMES

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6 at READING, 7:05 p.m.

The Express makes its second visit of the season to the Sovereign Center in Reading, PA on Friday night. The game is the third between the Northeast Division rivals. Roanoke holds a 2-0-0 record vs. the Royals this season. In the two games played between the teams, Express rookie forward Jason Jaffray has notched six points (4 G, 2 A). Reading begins the week with a record of 12-12-1 (25 pts., 4th NE Division).

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 at ATLANTIC CITY, 7:05 p.m.

Roanoke will make their third visit of the season to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ on Saturday night, for the first of back-to-back games between the Northeast Division rivals. Overall, the game will be the fourth of the year between the two teams. The Express hold the advantage in the season series with a 2-0-1 record. The Express and Boardwalk Bullies opened the season against each other on Oct. 11 with the Bullies earning an extra point in a 4-3 shootout win. The Express won a home-and-home series on Oct. 30 & Nov. 1, winning 4-2 in AC and 3-2 in Roanoke. The Express has scored seven of its ten goals vs. Atlantic City on the power play. The Boardwalk Bullies enter this week's action tied for first place in the NE Division with a record of 13-4-4 (30 pts).

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8 vs. ATLANTIC CITY, 4:05 p.m.

The Express and Boardwalk Bullies skate for the fifth of eight times this season Sunday afternoon at the Roundhouse. The match-up is the second of four at the Roanoke Civic Center. Following the game, fans can skate with the Express players on the ice.

NEWS & NOTES

TEAM & LEAGUE LEADERS

The Express currently have two players in the top 10 of the league's leading scorers and three players in the top 15. Rookie Jason Jaffray has blasted his way to third in scoring with 33 points (15 G, 18 A). Jaffray leads all ECHL rookies with his point total, and is just one point behind Buddy Smith of Arkansas for second and two points behind Reading's Brian McCullough for the League lead. Jaffray's 15 goals, ranks second overall in the league as well. Rick Kowalsky is currently tied for 9th in the league with 29 points (11 G, 18 A), and Dylan Gyori is tied for 13th in the league with 28 points (6 G, 22 A). Gyori still holds the league's longest streak for consecutive games with an assist this year, having picked up an assist in nine straight games from 10/11 – 11/5.

INJURY UPDATE

Currently the only Express player on the shelf is forward Blair Stayzer. Stayzer was added to the 7-Day IR after he injured his knee at the end of a fight on Thanksgiving night vs. Reading. He is expected out of action for up to two weeks.

COACH'S SHOW

The next edition of "Coach's Corner LIVE!" will be held on Monday, December 2 at 6:30 p.m. from the Corned Beef & Co. Bar & Grill. Forward Frank Novock will join Express broadcaster Kevin Reiter and team Head Coach Perry Florio this week on the show. Fans are invited to attend the hour-long show at Corned Beef in downtown Roanoke. The program can also be heard live on 910 AM in Roanoke and 990 AM in Blacksburg.

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from December 2, 2002


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Roanoke Express Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central