Roanoke Express Weekly

March 1, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Roanoke Express News Release


ROANOKE, VA – The Roanoke Express finished this past week's action with a strong 3-1-0 record. Roanoke has won six of its last nine games and enters this week with a record of 28-26-6, (62 pts., 6th place in Southern Division).

LAST WEEK'S ACTION

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2004 vs. BAKERSFIELD 4-3 Win

The Express hosted the Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday night in the only meeting of the year between the two teams, and pulled out a 4-3 victory. The game was Roanoke's third against a west coast team this year, and the win brought Roanoke's record to 2-1-0 vs. west coast clubs.

Roanoke got off to the fast start, scoring just 1:56 into the game on Kevin Bergin's seventh goal of the season. The Condors answered back midway though the first period, and then took a lead of 2-1 two minutes into the second period. However the Express responded with the next three goals to open a 4-2 advantage.

Bergin notched his second goal of the night at 7:29 of the second period to tie the game after two periods. In the third period, Dan Carlson put Roanoke on top with a short-handed goal and Joe Dusbabek collected the eventual game-winner with 2:20 remaining in the contest. Bakersfield cut the Express lead to one with their third goal of the night coming with just 58 seconds remaining in the game, but could not beat Express goalie David Belitski for the tying goal.

Belitski stopped 34 of 37 Bakersfield shots to pick up the win, and raise his record to 13-10-4.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2004 at ATLANTIC CITY 4-2 Loss

Roanoke and Atlantic City skated against each other for the final time during the regular season on Friday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. The Boardwalk Bullies completed the season series sweep over the Express with a 4-2 victory.

The scoring opened with Jon Cullen putting Atlantic City on top five minutes into the game. The Express answered back with a power play tally by Dan Carlson with four minutes remaining in the opening period. With the score tied at one going into the second period, Blair Stayzer notched his eighth goal of the year to put Roanoke on top 2-1.

Atlantic City responded with three goals in the third period to pull out the win, and send Roanoke to its first regulation defeat when leading after two periods. Josh Prudden and Aaron Foster scored 1:10 apart early in the third period to give the Bullies a 3-2 lead, then Stefan Rivard sealed the win with a power play goal at 14:24. Prior to the loss, Roanoke had been 18-0-1 when leading after two periods.

Jason Wolfe made the start in goal for the Express and played a strong game, facing 51 shots, turning away 47 of them. The loss knocked his record to 13-16-2. Overall, the Express finished the season 0-4-0 vs. its former division rival.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2004 vs. DAYTON 2-1 Win

The Express and the Dayton Bombers played the first of back-to-back games on Saturday night at the Roanoke Civic Center, and the Express battled from behind for a 2-1 win.

The Bombers opened the scoring 15:20 into the opening period, then clamped down defensively. Despite a high shot total, the Express were consistently frustrated in their efforts to beat Bombers goaltender Andrew Penner.

The Express finally broke through with a power play goal at 17:03 of the third period. Carl Mallette deflected a shot by Duncan Dalmao past Penner to tie the game at one. Just 16 seconds later, Mallette beat Penner again, this time on a goal-mouth scramble with 2:41 remaining in regulation.

David Belitski held the Bombers in check over the final 2:41 to preserve the win. Belitski stopped 21 of 22 Dayton shots to collect the victory and raise his record to 14-10-4. Belitski also improved to 2-0-1 vs. Dayton on the season.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2004 vs. DAYTON 4-3 Win

Roanoke closed out the weekend with a 4-3 win over the Dayton Bombers to complete the season series between the two teams. This time it was the Express that got the first goal of the contest, when Carl Mallette tallied his seventh goal since joining the Express on February 13 at 7:55 of the opening period. The celebration was short lived however, because Dayton answered back just 28 seconds later to tie the game at one. The Express regained the lead late in the first period on Rick Kowalsky's 25th goal of the year to give Roanoke a 2-1 lead after one period.

In the second period, the Bombers again tied the game, scoring just 50 seconds into the frame, but the Express responded with a pair of goals midway through the period. Dan Carlson collected a power play goal at 8:15 of the period, and Rob Snowball notched his second goal of the season at 13:21 to put the Express on top for good.

Roanoke held a 4-2 lead throughout most of the third period, but Dayton kept the pressure on, firing 26 shots on goal in the period. The Bombers finally broke through with 1:25 remaining in the game to cut the Express lead to 4-3. David Belitski held off a late charge by the Bombers to preserve the win for the Express. Roanoke was out-shot 26-2 in the final period. The 26 shots against was the most allowed by the Express in one period this year, and the two shots for, was the least by Roanoke in one period this season.

Belitski earned his third straight win by turning away 44 of 47 Bombers shots to bring his record to 15-10-1. The win was Roanoke's fourth straight at the Roanoke Civic Center, and allowed the Express to finish with a 3-0-1 record vs. Dayton this season.

UPCOMING GAMES

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2004 vs. COLUMBIA 7:00 p.m.

Roanoke begins a very light week of action, playing just one game. The Express and the Columbia Inferno meet for the fourth time overall this season, and for the second time at the Roanoke Civic Center. So far on the season series, the Express is 2-0-1 vs. the Inferno. Roanoke has picked both of its wins in a shootout. The first win was a 4-3 victory on Nov. 8 at the Roundhouse, and the second a 5-4 decision on Dec. 19 at the Carolina Coliseum. Columbia's lone win came on Jan. 8 with a convincing 7-0 win at the Carolina Colisuem. Three games remain between the two Southern Division rivals, all at the Roanoke Civic Center. The Inferno enter this week with a record of 35-17-6 (76 pts., 1st Southern Division).

NEWS & NOTES

Special Teams: The Express enters this week ranked 17th on the power play (16.9%) and ranked 13th on the penalty kill (83.3%).

Road Woes: With its loss Friday night in Atlantic City, the Express has fallen to 11-18-4 on the road this season, and has won just once in its last 10 road games. The Express hasn't won consecutive road games since it won three straight from Dec. 13-19.

Lots ‘O Shots: The Express currently ranks 29th in average shots allowed, surrendering 38.3 per game. Roanoke has allowed at least 45 shots in five of the last seven games, and has held its opponents to under 30 shots just twice in the last 27 games.

Who's Hot: Defenseman Duncan Dalmao has points in six of the last eight games (0g, 8a)...forward Carl Mallette has picked up points in seven of the last eight games and in nine of the first 11 games he has played in with Roanoke (7g, 7a)...forward Dan Carlson has notched points in eight of the last ten (5g, 5a)...forward Rick Kowalsky has scored points in eight of the last ten games (5g, 6a)...goaltender Jason Wolfe is 3-2-0 in his last five starts with a 2.17 GAA, and .947 save percentage...goalie David Belitski is 3-0-0 in his last three starts with a 2.33 GAA and .934 save percentage.

League Leaders: Express captain Rick Kowalsky is T-16th among ECHL scorers with 59 points (25g, 34a)...goaltender David Belitski is second among ECHL netminders is shootout save percentage with a .833 mark...goalie Jason Wolfe has moved into 5th among ECHL goaltenders with 1,169 saves...forward Carl Mallette is T-4th among rookie scorers with 55 points (21g, 34a) and is 4th among ECHL rookies with 34 assists...defenseman Duncan Dalmao is seventh in scoring among ECHL defenseman with 45 points (6g, 39a), Dalmao is also 3rd among defenseman with 22 power play assists, and fourth with 26 power play points.

Roster Changes: The Express acquired defenseman Shaun Fisher from the Trenton Titans for future considerations on Friday. Fisher had skated in 10 games with Trenton, scoring one point. The 24-year-old began the season with Texas, playing in 25 games, notching eight points. In addition, Roanoke traded forward Neil Posillico to the Fresno Falcons for future considerations on Saturday.

In The Division: Roanoke is 16-9-4 against its Southern Division opponents this season. 36 of their 62 points have come against divisional opponents.

How Is He Doing?: Shawn Limpright remains on call-up to the American Hockey League. Limpright has skated in 24 games with the Syracuse Crunch, picking up five goals and four assists, while collecting 46 penalty minutes, and holds a plus-8 rating.

Coach's Corner: The next Coach's Corner LIVE! progam will be held on Monday, March 8 from 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at the Village Grill in Roanoke. Fans can join Express broadcaster Kevin Reiter and Head Coach Tony MacAulay along with guest Joe Dusbabek live, or can tune in to the program live on 3WR.

UPCOMING PRACTICE AND GAME SCHEDULE

Monday, March 1 OFF

Tuesday, March 2 10:00 a.m. practice @ The Roanoke Civic Center

Wednesday, March 3 10:00 a.m. practice @ The Roanoke Civic Center

Thursday, March 4 10:00 a.m. pre-game skate @ The Roanoke Civic Center

7:00 p.m. GAME vs. Columbia @ The Roanoke Civic Center

Friday, March 5 9:00 a.m. practice @ The Ice Station

Saturday, March 6 OFF

Sunday, March 7 OFF

(All practice times and locations are subject to change)

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.wcqv.com



ECHL Stories from March 1, 2004


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