Roanoke Express Weekly

Published on April 5, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Roanoke Express News Release


ROANOKE, VA – The Roanoke Express capped the 2003-2004 regular season by winning its two games this past week, running its overall winning streak to nine straight games, and putting the team into to Kelly Cup Playoffs for the 11th consecutive season. Roanoke finished the season with a record of 38-26-8, (84 pts., 2nd place in Southern Division).

LAST WEEK'S ACTION

FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2004 vs. CHARLOTTE 4-2 Win The Express closed out its season series with division rival Charlotte, and came away with a hard-fought 4-2 victory on Friday night at the Roanoke Civic Center. The win pushed Roanoke's record to 4-1-1 vs. Charlotte this season.

The game began fast for Roanoke when Joe Dusbabek tallied his 16th goal of the season just 3:04 into the first period to put the Express on top. However, that was the only scoring the game would see until the third period. The Checkers managed to tie the game just over four minutes into the third period before an explosion of scoring took place in the final six minutes of the games.

The wild finish began with Shaun Fisher notching his fifth goal of the season at 14:02 to put the Express back on top. Dusbabek collected his second goal of the night just nine seconds later to give Roanoke the 3-1 lead. Charlotte battled back to close within one at 16:12, but Express captain Rick Kowalsky answered that goal with his 31st of the season a mere 41 seconds later to regain the two-goal advantage.

David Belitski turned away 21 of 23 Charlotte shots to earn the win in goal for Roanoke, and push his personal winning streak to 9-0-1 in his last 10 starts, and overall to 21-10-5. The win also pushed the team's winning streak to eight straight victories.

SATURDAY, APRIL 3, 2004 vs. GREENVILLE 4-2 Win

The Express played its final game of the regular season on Saturday night at the Roundhouse against Southern Division rival Greenville. The Express battled from behind to collect the 4-2 victory, clinching a playoff spot.

The hard-fought game saw Greenville open the scoring at 3:20 of the first period on Michael Chin's 24th of the season. Duncan Dalmao evened the score for the Express at 15:17 with a power play goal, and his 8th overall of the year. The game remained tied at one until late in the second period when the Grrrowl recaptured the lead on the power play at 17:14.

This season when trailing after two periods, the Express had won just four games, but Roanoke erased any chance of falling to the Grrrowl with three third period goals. Dan Carlson started it off just 1:58 into the final stanza. The goal was Carlson's 24th. Rick Kowalsky snapped the 2-2 tie at 17:28 of the third period when his slap shot from the blue line snuck between the pads of Greenville goaltender Michel Robinson to give Roanoke a 3-2 lead. Carlson sealed the victory with his second goal on the night, an empty netter with just 1.4 seconds remaining in the game.

David Belitski again performed strong in net for the Express stopping 13 of 15 Greenville shots. The 15 shots against the Express was the lowest total allowed this season. The win gave Belitski a 10-0-1 record over his final 11 starts, and allowed him to finish with a 22-10-5 record. The Express closed out the season with nine straight wins, and a 12-0-2 record in its final 14 games. Roanoke closed the season series with Greenville with an impressive 5-1-0 mark.

UPCOMING GAMES

ROUND 1 – SOUTHERN DIVISON PLAYOFFS vs. FLORIDA EVERBLADES

Roanoke earned home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs by virtue of finishing in second place. Roanoke and Florida closed out the regular season each with 84 points, but because Roanoke had one more win than the Everblades, the Express finished ahead of Florida. The Everblades finished the season with a record of 37-25-10. The regular season series between the teams saw the home team win every game. Overall the teams were 2-2 vs. each other this season. Here's a look at the season series:

Nov. 28 - @ Roanoke – 7-5 Express wins.

Jan. 16 - @ Florida – 4-2 Everblades win.

Jan. 17 - @ Florida – 6-2 Everblades win.

Mar. 26 - @ Roanoke – 2-1 Express wins.

Florida outscored Roanoke 16-13.

Express finished 6-for-22 on the power play vs. Florida (27.2%)

Roanoke killed off 24 of 28 Everblades powerplay chances (85.7%)

ROUND 1 GAME SCHEDULE:

Game 1: Tuesday, April 6, 2004 @ Roanoke – 7:00 p.m.

Game 2: Thursday, April 8, 2004 @ Roanoke – 7:00 p.m.

Game 3: Friday, April 9, 2004 @ Florida – 7:30 p.m.

Game 4:* Monday, April 12, 2004 @ Florida – 7:00 p.m.

Game 5:*^ Thursday, April 15, 2004 @ Roanoke – 7:00 p.m.

* If Necessary

^ Game played at The Ice Station

NEWS & NOTES

Playoff Run: The Express finished off the 2003-04 season in unbelievable fashion, going unbeaten in regulation in its last 14 games, including winning its last nine games, a team season high. The last regular season loss the Express suffered was on February 27 when the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies notched a 4-2 win at Boardwalk Hall. In addition, the Express closed out the regular season with a 12-0-1 record in its final 13 home games. The last regular season home loss for the Express came on February 20, when the Gwinnett Gladiators defeated the Express 7-3. Roanoke finished off the season winning its last seven home games.

By The Numbers: Heading into the playoffs here's a look at how the Express finished in the league in several different categories:

Overall record: 38-26-8

Home record: 25-8-3

Road record: 13-18-5

ECHL Rank: 13th

Eastern Conference rank: 6th

Southern Division record: 24-9-5

Power Play: 16th (17.3%)

Penalty Kill: 12th (83.9%)

Penalty minute average: 26.9 per game (1st)

Average goals for: 3.04 (16th)

Average goals allowed: 3.22 (20th)

Longest winning streak: 9 (3/18-4/3)

Leading after 1st Period: 15-1-2

Leading after 2nd Period: 26-1-3

Trailing after 1st Period: 6-16-3

Trailing after 2nd Period: 5-21-2

Playoff Streak: The Roanoke Express has qualified for the post-season in each of its 11 seasons in the ECHL. The run of 11 consecutive years in the playoffs is matched only by the South Carolina Stingrays, who have also qualified for the post-season for the last 11 years.

Who's Hot: Defenseman Duncan Dalmao scored points in four of the last five games (2g, 4a)...defenseman Shaun Fisher picked up points in seven of the last nine games (3g, 8a)...forward Carl Mallette has picked up points in 18 of the last 20 games (13g, 15a)...forward Kevin Bergin scored 10 points in the last eight games (4g, 6a)...forward Dan Carlson notched points in the last five games (4g, 5a) and in eight of the final nine games (6g, 9a)...forward Rick Kowalsky scored points in the final four games (3g, 5a) and in eight of the last nine games (5g, 9a)...forward Joe Dusbabek closed out the season scoring points in the last six games (4g, 6a)...goaltender Jason Wolfe finished the year 6-2-1 in his last eight starts ...goalie David Belitski was 10-0-1 in his last 11 starts.

League Leaders: Express captain Rick Kowalsky finished the season tied for 12th among ECHL scorers with 76 points (31g, 45a)...goaltender David Belitski was 3rd among ECHL netminders is shootout save percentage with a .824 mark... forward Carl Mallette finished 19th among all ECHL scorers with his 71 points (28g, 43a) and was 4th among ECHL rookie scorers that point total. He is also 4th among ECHL rookies with his 43 assists...defenseman Duncan Dalmao closed out the season 7th in scoring among ECHL defenseman with 54 points (8g, 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.

Coach's Show: A playoff edition of "Coach's Corner LIVE!" will be held on Wednesday, April 7 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 live at the Village Grill or can catch all the action on 3WR, 910 AM.

UPCOMING PRACTICE AND GAME SCHEDULE

Monday, April 5 10:00 a.m. practice @ The Roanoke Civic Center

Tuesday, April 6 10:00 a.m. pre-game skate @ The Roanoke Civic Center

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

Wednesday, April 7 10:00 a.m. practice @ The Roanoke Civic Center

Thursday, April 8 10:00 a.m. pre-game skate @ The Roanoke Civic Center

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

Friday, April 9 7:30 p.m. GAME vs. Florida @ TECO Arena

Saturday, April 10 Practice in Florida – if necessary

Sunday, April 11 Practice in Florida – if necessary

(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.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from April 5, 2004


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.

OurSports Central