Roanoke Express Weekly

Published on March 29, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Roanoke Express News Release


ROANOKE, VA – The Roanoke Express edged its way into second place in the Southern Division with a perfect 4-0-0 record this past week, which ran its overall winning streak to seven games. Roanoke is

10-0-2 in its last 12 games to move closer to a playoff spot. Roanoke enters this week with a record of 36-26-8, (80 pts., T-2nd place in Southern Division).

LAST WEEK'S ACTION

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2004 vs. GREENVILLE 5-2 Win

The Express met the Greenville Grrrowl in a make-up game from January 27 on Wednesday at the Roanoke Civic Center, and came away with a 5-2 victory.

Roanoke opened the game with a pair of goals in the first period. Bryan Perez and Kevin Bergin put the Express up with goals separated by three and a half minutes midway through the opening period. After the Grrrowl cut the lead to 2-1 early in the second period, Carl Mallette put the Express up 3-1 with his 26th goal of the season at 11:48 of the middle stanza. Greenville again, cut the Roanoke lead to one, but Roanoke reopened a two-goal advantage on Bergin's second of the night with five minutes left in the second period. Shaun Fisher sealed the win with a shorthanded empty net goal with five seconds remaining in the game. The shorthanded goal was Roanoke's fourth in four games.

David Belitski made 34 saves for the win in goal for the Express. The win brought his record to 19-10-5, and pushed his personal winning streak to 7-0-1. Carl Mallette's goal and assist in the game brought his point-scoring streak to 15 consecutive games. The win pushed Roanoke's record to 3-1-0 vs. Greenville this season.

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2004 vs. FLORIDA 2-1 Win

The Express played its biggest game of the season on Friday night at the Roanoke Civic Center against division rival Florida, and gutted out a 2-1 win in a pivotal playoff race game. With both teams battling for one of three remaining playoff spots in the Southern Division, the Express emerged with the crucial two points in the standings in the final meeting of the year between the teams.

The Everblades scored first tallying a power play goal at 10:50 of the first period. The Express answered back four and a half minutes later on a power play goal by Duncan Dalmao to even the score. The game remained tied at one until midway through the third period, when Joe Dusbabek broke the tie with a power play goal to put the Express on top.

The Everblades came with late pressure in the playoff-style game, but could not find the tying goal in the closing moments of the contest. David Belitski turned away 27 of 28 shots he faced to earn the win between the pipes and bring his winning streak to 8-0-1. The win also evened the season series at 2-2, and brought Roanoke's home winning streak to 9-0-1 in the last 10 at the Roundhouse.

SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 2004 at GREENVILLE 5-2 Win

Roanoke continued its climb toward a playoff spot on Saturday night at the BI-LO Center in Greenville, SC with a 5-2 victory over the Grrrowl. In the fifth of six meetings between the Southern Division rivals, the Express took command of the game quickly.

Carl Mallette scored a pair of goals just 18 seconds apart in the first five minutes of the game to give the Express the early advantage. Greenville battled back to tie the game with a late first period goal, and an early second period goal, however, Express captain Rick Kowalsky responded 31 seconds after the Grrrowl had tied the game with his 29th goal of the season at 3:45 of the second period. Roanoke extended the lead to 4-2 on Kevin Bergin's 12th goal of the year at 16:37 of the middle period, and then sealed the victory on Dan Carlson's 22nd of the season at 18:44 of the second period.

The third period passed without much action, as the Express clamped down defensively to keep Greenville from getting any scoring chances. Jason Wolfe stopped 23 of 25 Greenville shots to pick up the win, and bring his record to 15-16-3 on the season. The win brought Roanoke's record to 4-1-0 on the season vs. the Grrrowl, and gave Roanoke a perfect 3-0-0 record in Greenville this season.

SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2004 vs. AUGUSTA 7-4 Win

Roanoke wrapped up its perfect week with a 7-4 thumping of the Augusta Lynx on Sunday afternoon at the Roanoke Civic Center. The seven-goal output tied Roanoke's season high for most in one game. In addition, Roanoke picked up goals from seven different players, and all but two players collected at least one point for the Express.

After Augusta opened the scoring less than a minute into the game, Doug Scatchard scored his first goal in over a month on a deflection to tie the game at 2:15 of the first period. The Lynx regained the lead four minutes later, but the Express again answered back this time on a goal by Kevin Bergin at 10:29 of the first. At 16:37 of the first period, the Express took the lead for good on Joe Dusbabek's 15th goal of the season.

Leading 3-2 going into the second period, Roanoke opened a two-goal advantage on Dan Carlson's third shorthanded goal of the season 5:26 into the second period. Dan Carney then brought the Express lead to 5-2 at 12:45 of the middle stanza. Augusta notched their third goal of the night less than a minute later, but the Express collected its third goal of the period at 15:50 when a Rob Snowball slap shot beat Lynx netminder Will Hamele, giving Roanoke a 6-3 lead after two periods.

The Lynx lifted Hamele at the start of the third period for Jason Saal, however the Express got to him quickly as well. Andrew McPherson capped off a strong night with his first goal in over a month, and his 17th on the season just 1:10 into the third period for the 7-3 lead. Augusta closed out the scoring at 11:40 of the final period.

Jason Wolfe made his second consecutive start in net for the Express and picked up the win stopping 28 of 32 Lynx shots. Wolfe's record climbed to 16-16-3 on the year. The Express finished the season series against Augusta with a 3-2-0 record.

UPCOMING GAMES

FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2004 vs. CHARLOTTE 7:30 p.m.

Roanoke enters the final weekend of action with a pair of home games. The first coming against Southern Division rival Charlotte. The game is the sixth and final meeting of the season between the clubs. The Express holds a 3-1-1 mark vs. the Checkers this season. The Express won the first two meetings of the season, both at the Roanoke Civic Center by scores of 2-0 and 2-1. Charlotte picked up its first win in the season series on Feb. 7 with a 3-0 decision at Cricket Arena. Roanoke collected a 2-1 win in Charlotte on Feb. 15 for its third win in the series, and the most recent meeting resulted in the Checkers picking up a 2-1 shootout victory on Mar. 13 also at Cricket Arena. The Checkers enter this week's action with a record of 31-31-8 (70 pts., 6th Southern Division), and is 0-6-1 in their last seven games. Roanoke is 42-19-14 all-time vs. Charlotte.

Friday night at the Roanoke Civic Center, the Express is giving away foam hockey sticks to the first 1,000 fans, courtesy of Shell/Stop-In Foods.

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2004, vs. GREENVILLE 7:30 p.m.

The Express closes out the regular season on Saturday night at the Roanoke Civic Center vs. the Greenville Grrrowl. The game is the sixth and final meeting between the Southern Division rivals. Roanoke holds a 4-1-0 record vs. the Grrrowl this season. Roanoke's wins have come on Oct. 31 (4-1 in GRV), Dec. 14 (4-1 in GRV), Mar. 24 (5-2 in RKE), and Mar. 27 (5-2 in GRV). The Grrrowl collected its lone win in the season series on Nov. 27 (6-3 in RKE). The Grrrowl begin this week with a league worst record of 14-51-5 (33 pts., 8th Southern Division), and have lost their last six. The 51 losses for Greenville is a new ECHL record for most in one season, breaking the old mark of 49. The Express is 7-1-1 all-time vs. the Grrrowl.

Saturday night is "Fan Appreciation Night" at the Roundhouse. The Express will be giving away several prizes throughout the contest, and four lucky fans will win a 20" television.

NEWS & NOTES

Playoff Race: The Express has two games remaining on the 2003-2004 schedule heading into tonight's game. Roanoke finds fighting with three other teams for the final three playoff spots available in the Southern Division. Here's a look at Roanoke's remaining schedule, and the teams they are battling:

Ronaoke - 2 games remaining (2 home, 0 away) - vs. CHR, vs. GRV.

Greensboro - 3 games remaining (1 home, 2 away) - vs. GWI, at FLO, at SC

South Carolina - 4 games remaining (3 home, 1 away) - vs. AUG, at GRV, vs. CBA, vs. GBO

Florida - 2 games remaining (2 home, 0 away) - vs. AUG (2)

On the Short End of Things?: The Express had scored just three shorthanded goals over the first 63 games of the 2003-2004 season. However the team has tallied five shorthanded goals in the last seven games. The total of eight goals moved Roanoke from tied for last in the league with the fewest, to tied for 20th in the league. The overall league leaders are Pensacola and Charlotte, both with 14.

Streaking!: Express forward Carl Mallette had his 15-game point scoring streak snapped on Friday vs. Florida, however picked right back up where he left off on Saturday, when he tallied two goals and an assists. The streak for the rookie began on Feb. 17 vs. Greensboro when he collected a goal and an assist, and ended on Mar. 26 vs. Florida. During the streak, Mallette picked up 11 goals and 12 assists. It is also the third longest streak in the league. Sylvain Deschatelets of San Diego has the longest streak with 22 consecutive games, and his teammate Mark Pederson holds the second longest with a 20 game streak.

Home Sweet Home: Heading into the final two weeks of the season, the Roanoke Civic Center has been a comfortable place for the Express. Overall this year, the Express is 23-8-3 at the Roundhouse. However since Roanoke returned from its season-long 10-game road trip on Feb. 17, the Express is 11-1-1 at home, and is unbeaten in regulation at home in its last 12 games (10-0-2). The good news for Roanoke, both of its remaining games on the schedule are at home.

Who's Hot: Defenseman Shaun Fisher has picked up points in five of his last seven games (2g, 4a)...forward Bryan Perez has five points in his last seven games (2g, 3a)...forward Carl Mallette has picked up points in 17 of the last 18 games (13g, 14a) and in 19 of the first 21 games he has played in with Roanoke (14g, 15a)...forward Kevin Bergin has 10 points in his last six games (4g, 6a)...forward Dan Carlson has notched points in six of the last seven games (4g, 6a)...forward Rick Kowalsky has scored points in eight of the last ten games (5g, 7a)...forward Rob Snowball has earned a point in four of the last five games...goaltender Jason Wolfe is 6-2-1 in his last eight starts ...goalie David Belitski is 8-0-1 in his last nine starts with a 1.96 GAA and .941 save percentage.

League Leaders: Express captain Rick Kowalsky is tied for 15th among ECHL scorers with 72 points (29g, 43a)...goaltender David Belitski is 3rd among ECHL netminders is shootout save percentage with a .824 mark... forward Carl Mallette is 19th among all ECHL scorers with his 70 points (28g, 42a) and is 4th among ECHL rookie scorers that point total. He is also 4th among ECHL rookies with his 42 assists...defenseman Duncan Dalmao is 6th in scoring among ECHL defenseman with 53 points (7g, 46a). His 46 assists ranks 5th among ECHL defenseman, and Dalmao is also 4th among defenseman with 24 power play assists, and 4th with 29 power play points.

In The Division: Roanoke is 23-9-5 against its Southern Division opponents this season. 51 of their 80 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 37 games with the Syracuse Crunch, picking up eight goals and seven assists, while collecting 64 penalty minutes, and holds a plus-11 rating.

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