Roanoke Express

Roanoke Express

The Roanoke Express were a team in the ECHL from 1993 until 2004. Home games were played at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia. Hockey briefly returned to Roanoke for the 2005-2006 season with the relocation of the UHL "Port Huron Beacons", which became the Roanoke Valley Vipers.

The Express proved to be a success both on the ice and in drawing more fans than previous hockey teams in the Roanoke Valley. During the mid to late 1990s, some crowds nearly filled the over 9,000 seat civic center. In 1995-1996, average attendance was 5,679. The team's hard-nosed style of play reflected their coach, Frank Anzalone, who later coached the ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs. The Express typically had outstanding goalkeeping with Daniel Berthiaume and Dave Gagnon. The team continued to be successful, and in fact reached new heights, after Anzalone left for the Lowell Lock Monsters and was replaced by Scott Gordon. However, by the early 2000s, the novelty of hockey in the Roanoke Civic Center had worn off and the team's inability to advance deep into the playoffs led to a frustrated fanbase and sagging attendance. Turmoil in management and ownership contributed to bad press for the team and less effective marketing than in the team's early years. The Express folded after the 2003-2004 season.

Roanoke Valley's first minor league ice hockey team, called the Salem Rebels, played its inaugural season at the Salem Civic Center in the 1967-1968 season with Jim Jago as team captain. The first season had some sparse crowds of less than 1,000 in the 4,848 seat arena. Over the next few years, the team developed a fanbase and a number of games were sold out. In 1971, the team moved to the newly built Roanoke Civic Center near downtown Roanoke and were renamed the Roanoke Valley Rebels.

For most of the 1980s and early 1990s, various teams such as the Virginia Lancers and Roanoke Valley Rampage played in a custom built facility called the LancerLot in Vinton. The Virginia Lancers were owned by Henry Brabham, who also owned a chain of convenience stores named Lancer Mart. The roof of the LancerLot collapsed as a result of heavy snowfall during the Blizzard of 1993 resulting in hockey moving back to the Roanoke Civic Center.

While the failure of the Roanoke Valley Vipers has ended professional hockey in the Roanoke Valley for the time being, the Southern Professional Hockey League would likely be the most promising candidate to bring hockey back in the near future. Nearly all of the cities with SPHL teams once had ECHL franchises.

External links

* [http://www.angelfire.com/va2/roexpress/hof.html Roanoke Valley Hockey online Hall of Fame]
* [http://www1.roanoke.com/sports/hockey/3564.html History of the Express from 1993-2001]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Roanoke Express — Gründung 1993 Auflösung 2004 Geschichte Roanoke Express 1993 – 2004 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Express De Roanoke — Express de Roanoke …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Express de roanoke — Express de Roanoke …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Express de Roanoke — Données clés Fondé en 1993 Disparu en 2 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Roanoke Valley Vipers — Gründung 2005 Auflösung 2006 Geschichte Port Huron Beacons 2002 – 2005 Roanoke Valley Vipers 2005 – 2006 Stadion Roanoke Civic Center Standort …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Roanoke Civic Center — is a 9,828 seat multi purpose arena located in the Williamson Road neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1971. It was the former home to the Roanoke Dazzle basketball team, as well as the Roanoke Express and Roanoke Valley Vipers ice …   Wikipedia

  • Roanoke, Virginia — For the metropolitan area, see Roanoke metropolitan area. For unsuccessful colonization attempt, see Roanoke Colony. Roanoke, Virginia   City …   Wikipedia

  • Roanoke Steam — Afl2 team name = Roanoke Steam conference = American division = Northeastern Atlantic founded = 2001 arena = Roanoke Civic Center location = Roanoke, Virginia championships = noneThe Roanoke Steam is a now defunct af2 charter member franchise.… …   Wikipedia

  • Roanoke Dazzle — NBADL team color1 = #FFB20E color2 = blue name = Roanoke Dazzle imagesize = 125px League = NBA Development League founded = 2001 history = Roanoke Dazzle 2001 2006 arena = Roanoke Civic Center city = Roanoke, Virginia colors = Blue, Yellow and… …   Wikipedia

  • Roanoke Valley Vipers — The Roanoke Valley Vipers were a professional ice hockey team located in Roanoke, Virginia. They were formed for the 2005 06 season, mainly to fill the gap after the ECHL s Roanoke Express disbanded and to provide a travel partner near the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”