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Roanoke Express weekly

November 4, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Roanoke Express News Release


ROANOKE, VA – The Roanoke Express finished the past week with a perfect 3-0-0 record, to raise its overall record to 6-2-1 (13 pts.) which has the team tied for third in the Northeast Division. The Express trails the Reading Royals by two points and the Trenton Titans by one point, although Roanoke has games in hand on both teams. Overall, the Express is among the best in the league in several important categories. The team ranks 6th overall in league with a winning percentage of .722; it ranks 4th in the league in both power play percentage (23.5%) and penalty killing percentage (89.6 %); and the Express holds the third best goals against average per game (2.66).

LAST WEEK'S ACTION

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30 at ATLANTIC CITY 4-2 Win

The Express made its second visit to the boardwalk in New Jersey this season and came out with an important 4-2 victory over the Boardwalk Bullies in the first of back-to-back games between the Northeast Division rivals. Roanoke raised its overall record to 1-0-1 against Atlantic City.

The Express opened up the scoring with two goals midway through the first period, with rookie Shawn Limpright netting his first professional goal at 7:01 of the opening period and captain Rick Kowalsky notching a power play goal at 12:18 of the period to open up the 2-0 lead. Atlantic City battled back and scored early in the second period on J.F. Caudron's even strength goal at 1:44 to cut the Express lead in half. Roanoke regained the two-goal advantage minutes later on Chad Mazurak's first goal of the season, and the team's second power play goal of the game giving the Express a 3-1 lead. The Bullies again trimmed the lead to one on Scott Matzka's power play goal at 12:58 of the second period.

In the third period, the Express turned away Atlantic City's nine shots to remain in the lead by a goal. Roanoke sealed the win with two seconds left in the contest on Kowalsky's empty net goal. Sebastien Laplante made 27 saves in net for the Express, several of them big, earning his third win of the season. Matt Yeats started in goal for the Boardwalk Bullies and faced 27 Roanoke shots in taking the loss. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Express.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1 vs. ATLANTIC CITY 3-2 Win

The Express backed up its win against Atlantic City on Wednesday night with a 3-2 victory over the Boardwalk Bullies at the Roanoke Civic Center on Friday night. Special teams proved to be big for the Express, as it picked up goals from three different players and used strong goaltending by Evan Lindsay to raise its winning streak to two.

To earn the win, Roanoke had to come back from an early two-goal deficit. Atlantic City staked itself to a 2-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game. Ryan Mougenel notched a short-handed goal just 2:10 into the game and Kevin Colley picked up an even strength goal at 6:19 to open the early lead. Roanoke's comeback began at 16:11 of the first period when Adam Colagiacomo scored his first goal of the season on the power play cutting the Atlantic City lead in half.

In the second period, a fight between Roanoke's Brad Essex and Atlantic City's Brandon Walsh helped spark the Express player bench and the crowd. Just minutes after the tilt, rookie Jason Jaffray connected on a 5-on-3 power play to tie the game at two. Frank Novock, who scored his first goal of the season at 3:55 of the third period, completed the come-from-behind effort. The goal came while the Express was a man down. The short-handed goal was Roanoke's first of the season, and it gave them a 3-2 lead.

Lindsay played strong in goal for the Express turning away 29 Boardwalk Bullies shots, including stopping 14 in the third period to raise his record to 2-1-1. Matt Yeats got the start in the net for Atlantic City and made 22 saves, but saw his record fall to 2-3-1. The Express is now 2-0-1 vs. Atlantic City this season.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 vs. AUGUSTA 6-0 Win

The Express capped off its perfect week with the team's first shutout, and by scoring a season high six goals, en-route to a dominating 6-0 victory over a struggling Augusta Lynx team. Once again, the Express special teams proved to be an important factor in picking up the two points.

The first three goals by Roanoke all came on the power play. Frank Novock picked up his second goal of the season on the PP at 7:33 of the first period. Jason Jaffray notched his sixth goal of the season on the PP at 12:21 of the opening stanza to give the Express a 2-0 lead after one period. In all, the two goals came a combined 13 seconds into the power play chances. The Express opened the second period with man-advantage goal at 5:46 on Jaffray's second goal of the game and his seventh of the season, giving Roanoke a 3-0 lead.

The Express increased the lead to 4-0 when Brad Essex picked up his first goal of the season at 14:39 of the middle period. In the third period, goals by Rick Kowalsky and Dylan Gyori sealed the victory making it a 6-0 Express lead. Along with his two goals, Jaffray earned three assists in the game as well, giving him an Express season-high five points in one game and tying him for the league season-high for points in a game.

Rookie goaltender Sebastien Laplante won his second straight game and earned his first professional shutout by stopping all 21 shots he faced. His record now stands at 4-1-0. Geoff Faulkner made the start in goal for Augusta and faced 28 Roanoke shots in taking the loss. The loss was the fifth straight for the Lynx.

UPCOMING GAMES & PROMOTIONS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 vs. CHARLOTTE 7:05 p.m. The Express hosts Charlotte for the second time this season when the Checkers come to town on Tuesday night. The Express won the first meeting of the season between the two Northeast Division rivals at the Civic Center 5-2 on Oct. 19. Charlotte repaid the favor a week later when the Express traveled to Charlotte, but came up short in a 4-3 loss. The meeting will be the third of eight games between the two. The Express enters the game on a three-game winning streak overall, and a four-game winning streak at home.

Tuesday night at the Roanoke Civic Center is "Date Night". The first 50 women through the door will receive a carnation.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8 vs. GREENSBORO 7:35 p.m. Roanoke faces the Greensboro Generals for the second time this season on Friday night. The Express earned its first home win of the season on Oct. 18 on Rick Kowalsky's overtime goal to give the Express a 5-4 win. Following Friday night's contest, the two teams will not see each other again until January 15. Greensboro enters the week with a record of 5-3-2 (12 pts, tied 5th NE Division). Roanoke holds a 13-8-2 all-time record vs. Greensboro.

Friday night is 96.3 WROV Night, when the Express hold "Turn back the clock weekend"! The players will be wearing special tye-dyed jerseys, and all fans are encouraged to wear their best retro outfit! One lucky fan will win a pair of tickets for The Other Ones. A silent auction will also begin for the game-worn tye-dyed jerseys.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9 vs. WHEELING 7:35 p.m. The Wheeling Nailers make the first of two visits to the Roanoke Civic Center on Saturday night. The two games at the Civic Center will be the only two played between the Northern Conference teams this season. Roanoke Express forward Dylan Gyori will face his former team for the first time. Gyori notched 73 points in 69 games with Wheeling last season. Entering the week, the Nailers have a 3-9-1 record (7pts, 6th NW Divison). Wheeling, who plays at Johnstown on Friday night, is seeking its first win since Oct. 26. The Express is 22-8-2 all-time vs. Wheeling.

"Turn back the clock weekend" continues as K92 joins the Express at the Civic Center! Once again the Express will wear the tye-dyed jerseys, and the first 1,000 fans through the door will receive a Roanoke Express Key Chain! Another lucky fan will win a pair of tickets for The Other Ones. Following the game, the game-worn tye-dyed jerseys will be auctioned off to the highest bidders from the silent auction.

NEWS & NOTES

TEAM & LEAGUE LEADERS

After nine games, Dylan Gyori leads the team with 17 points, having scored three goals and 14 assists. His 17 points is tied for 5th in the league. Gyori has also scored at least one point in every game this season, and currently holds the league's longest streak for consecutive games with an assist, have picked up a helper in all nine games. Rick Kowalsky and Jason Jaffray are right behind with 15 points each, which has them tied for 8th in the ECHL. Kowalsky has notched eight goals and seven assists and Jaffray has picked up seven goals and eight assists, and leads the team with a plus-8 rating. Goaltender Sebastien Laplante has a 1.97 goals against average in his five starts, and is 6th among all ECHL goalies with that GAA mark.

INJURY UPDATE

The Express currently have three players on the injured reserve list. Forward Mike Peron remains out of action with a severely pulled hamstring. Peron was moved from the 7-day IR to the 30-day IR. Forward David Silverstone was placed on the 30-day IR on Oct. 31 with a sore shoulder, and defenseman Cole Fischer was added to the 7-day IR on Oct. 31.

ALL EXPRESS GAMES ARE BROADCAST LIVE ON THE 3WR RADIO NETWORK, 910 AM IN ROANOKE AND 990 AM IN BLACKSBURG. ALL GAMES ARE LIVE ON THE INTERNET AT www.radio3wr.com

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