Roanoke Express weekly

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


ROANOKE, VA – The Roanoke Express continued their red-hot play this past weekend going 2-0-0, to run their current winning streak to a current league-high five straight games. The Express enters this week with a record of 6-4-0, (12 pts., 4th place in Southern Division).

LAST WEEK'S ACTION

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2003 vs. AUGUSTA 5-1 Win

The Express met the Augusta Lynx for the first of five meetings this season, and upped its winning streak to four straight games with a 5-1 performance on Friday night at the Roanoke Civic Center. A scoreless first period was marred by penalties, with the teams combining to have seven opportunities in the opening period.

In the second period, Roanoke broke through, with a power play goal by Dan Carlson at 6:35 to break the scoreless tie. Rick Kowalsky extended the Express lead to 2-0, when he tallied an even strength goal at 13:22 of the middle stanza. Leading by two entering the third period, the Express saw Augusta cut the lead in half with a goal ay 6:34. The goal, which snapped a shutout string of 109:05 for the Express and goaltender David Belitski, was banked in off a Roanoke player past Belitski.

The Express wiped out any hope of the Lynx mounting a come back with three goals in a span of 1:38. Carlson, rookie Doug Scatchard, and Kowaksky all scored for Roanoke at 12:44, 13:16, and 14:42 respectively to open a four-goal advantage.

Belitski stopped 36 of 37 Augusta shots to pick up his fourth straight win, and raise his overall record to 4-2-0.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2003 vs. COLUMBIA 4-3 Shootout Win

The Express pushed its season-high winning streak to five games with a come from behind effort on Saturday night vs. the Columbia Inferno at the Roanoke Civic Center.

In one of its toughest games played yet, the Express battled from behind three times to force the game to overtime, and eventually a shootout before emerging with a hard-fought 4-3 win. For the first time since the Express battled Cincinnati on Oct. 24, Roanoke failed to score first in a game, with the Inferno opening the scoring at 3:51 of the game. The Express made its first come back effort late in the opening period on a goal by Joe Dusbabek at 17:05. With the teams tied a one, Columbia regained the lead at 6:57 of the middle period. The Express tied the game a two when Rick Kowalsky notched a power play goal with seven-tenths of a second remaining in the period.

The third period played out the in the same fashion with the Inferno taking the lead for the third time with a goal at 2:55 of the final stanza. Roanoke used its third power play goal of the game to tie the score once again. Shawn Limpright jammed home a rebound at 12:20 of the third to pull the Express even once again, and send the game into overtime.

In the five-minute overtime period, neither team could find the game winner to earn the extra point in the standings, so the game moved to a shootout. In the shootout session, Roanoke scored on its second and third attempts, while the Inferno scored on only its third attempt, giving the Express the victory. Dusbabek and Dan Carlson each scored for the Express in the shootout.

David Belitski made his fifth consecutive start in goal for the Express and earned his fifth straight win by stopping 36 of 39 Columbia shots, and move his record to 5-2-0.

UPCOMING GAMES

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2003 at FLORENCE 7:00 p.m.

The Express battles its new division rival, the Florence Pride for the first of five times on the year, and the first of three at the Florence Civic Center on Thursday night. The Pride begins this week with a record of 4-4-1 (9 pts., 6th place, Southern Division). Last season the Express won the season series, going 3-1-0 vs. the Pride. Overall, the Roanoke is 18-8-0 all-time vs. the Pride.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2003 at GWINNETT 7:35 p.m.

Roanoke makes their first ever trip to Gwinnett County in Georgia to take on the Gwinnett Gladiators. The game is the first of five games between the teams, and the first of two to be played at The Arena at Gwinnett Center. The Gladiators are in their first season in the ECHL, after the franchise formerly known as the Mobile Mysticks moved just outside of the Atlanta, GA area to become the Gladiators. Gwinnett begins this week with an impressive 7-2-1 start to the season. (15 pts., 1st place, Central Division). Roanoke is 1-1-0 all-time vs. the Gwinnett franchise.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2003 vs. South Carolina 4:00 p.m.

The Express returns home on Sunday, and will try to push its home winning streak to five, when they take on the South Carolina Stingrays for the first of five meetings. The game is the first of two to be played between the Southern Division rivals at the Roundhouse. South Carolina enters this week with a 5-3-0 record, (10pts., 5th place, Southern Division). Last year, Roanoke finished with a record of 1-1-0, with both games played in Charleston, SC. All-time the Express has a record of 17-13-4 vs. the Stingrays.

Sunday, is the Express' "Fight Against Hunger". The first 1,000 fans who bring a non-perishable food item to donate, will receive a Rally Towel, courtesy of Nextel. Sunday is also another "Skate with the Players." Following the game against the Stingrays, fans will have the opportunity to skate with the players.

NEWS & NOTES

STREAKING!: The Express is currently on a season-high five game winning streak which has brought the team back to two games above the .500 mark on the season. The winning streak is tied for the second longest this season in the league, and is currently the longest winning streak by a team in the ECHL. During the winning streak, the Express has outscored its opponents 21-9, and is 10-for-33, (30.3%) on the power play.

SPECIALTIES: Early in the 2003-04 season, the Express is 5th on the power play (23.1%) and is 12th on the penalty kill (84.2%).

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE: After beginning the season losing its first two home games, the Express has won four straight games at the Roanoke Civic Center. Roanoke concluded its season-high four-game home stand by picking up wins against Greensboro, Charlotte, Augusta, and Columbia.

MILESTONES: Three Express players reached milestones for professional games played on Friday, Nov. 7 vs. Augusta. Kevin Bergin played in his 100th career game, Dan Carlson skated in his 150th career game, and Dan Carney played in his 500th career game.

MILESTONES II: Several other milestones are within grasp by Express players; F Joe Dusbabek is 11 games shy of his 200th pro game played in, and is also one goal away from his 50th pro goal...F Dan Carlson needs 49 games to reach 200...F Dan Carney is four points shy of his 200th career point...D Duncan Dalmao needs two goals to tally his 50th career goal.

WHO'S HOT: D Duncan Dalmao has seven points (1 G, 6 A) in the last five games...LW Shawn Limpright has scored a point in seven straight games (3 G, 6 A)...D Tim O'Connell has six points in the last four games...C Dan Carlson has a point in six of the last seven games (4 G, 7 A)...RW Rick Kowalsky has collected a point in six of the last seven games (5 G, 4 A)...G David Belitski has won five straight starts (1.77 GAA, .945 SV %).

TEAM LEADERS: After 10 games, Dan Carlson leads the Express with 15 points (6 G, 9 A), which also ranks him 5th in the ECHL in total points. Shawn Limpright is second on the team with 12 points, and three players are tied with 10 points.



ECHL Stories from November 10, 2003


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