The Roanoke Express were a professional minor league

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

from 1993 until 2004. Home games were played at the

Roanoke Civic Center Berglund Center (originally called the Roanoke Civic Center) is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in the Williamson Road, Roanoke, Virginia, Williamson Road neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It was built in 1971. It was the former home to ...

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

. The Express were owned by legendary coach John Brophy and the Hampton Roads Admirals.

History

Roanoke Valley's first minor league ice hockey team, called the Salem Rebels, played its inaugural season at the

Salem Civic Center The Salem Civic Center is a 6,820-seat multi-purpose arena in Salem, Virginia. It was built in 1967 and is part of the James E. Taliaferro Sports and Entertainment Complex (named after a former mayor of Salem), which also includes the Salem Football ...

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 The Virginia Lancers were a minor league hockey team that played in several leagues from 1983 until 1990. Their home ice was the Vinton Sports Complex, which held 3400 people. Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1983–1987) The Virginia Lancers w ...

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 The 1993 Storm of the Century (also known as the 93 Superstorm, The No Name Storm, or the Great Blizzard of '93/1993) was a cyclonic storm that formed over the Gulf of Mexico on March 12, 1993. The cold weather, heavy snowfall, high winds and st ...

resulting in hockey moving back to the Roanoke Civic Center.

Joining the ECHL

The Express proved to be a success both on the ice and in drawing more fans than previous hockey teams in the

Roanoke Valley The Roanoke Valley ( ) in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west. The valley includes much of Roanoke County, as well as the ...

. 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 Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now "ECHL") when that ...

. The Express typically had outstanding goalkeeping with

Daniel Berthiaume Daniel J. Berthiaume (born January 26, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, and ...

and

Dave Gagnon David Anthony Gagnon (born October 31, 1967) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender. Dave played 2 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings during the 1990–91 season, posting a record of 0–1–0 and goa ...

. The team continued to be successful, and in fact reached new heights, after Anzalone left for the

Lowell Lock Monsters The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey L ...

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.

Afterward

In 2005, Roanoke tried to field another hockey team, this time in the UHL: the

Roanoke Valley Vipers The Roanoke Valley Vipers were a minor professional ice hockey team located in Roanoke, Virginia. They were a member of the United Hockey League and played in the Roanoke Civic Center. The franchise was formed in 2002 as the Port Huron Beacons an ...

. This team folded after just one season. Then, in 2016, the

Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs are a professional ice hockey team and a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League. Based in Roanoke, Virginia, the Rail Yard Dawgs play their home games at Berglund Center. History The Rail Yard Dawgs are t ...

formed in the SPHL. The Dawgs have made numerous references to the Express, including retiring the number of Terence Tootoo, who had committed suicide not long after his sole season in Roanoke. The Berglund Center tried to keep hockey alive in Roanoke by hosting

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

's games, as well as through an annual "Guns 'n' Hoses" game to benefit the

MDA MDA, mda, or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Moldova, a country in Europe with the ISO 3166-1 country code MDA Politics * Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (2018), ruling coalition government in the Indian State of Meghalaya led by National Pe ...

, in which area firefighters would go up against area law enforcement. In the late 2000s, the "Roanoke Express" name was revived for a youth hockey team. It was eventually absorbed into the Dawgs' youth team.

Playoffs

*1993–94: Lost to

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

2–0 in first round. *1994–95: Defeated

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

3–1 in first round; lost to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

3–1 in quarterfinals. *1995–96: Lost to

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

3–0 in first round. *1996–97: Lost to

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

3–1 in first round. *1997–98: Defeated Huntington 3–1 in first round; lost to

3–2 in quarterfinals. *1998–99: Defeated

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

3–1 in first round; defeated

Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

3–1 in quarterfinals; lost to

4–0 in semifinals. *1999–00: Lost to Johnstown 3–1 in first round. *2000–01: Lost to Toledo 3–2 in first round. *2001–02: Lost to Trenton 3–1 in first round. *2002–03: Lost to

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

3–1 in first round. *2003–04: Lost to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

3–1 in first round.

Notable players

- former NHL goaltender *

- two-time

Riley Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

MVP *

Jason Jaffray Jason Jaffray (born June 30, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and the Winnipeg Jets before finishing his career with EHC Münch ...

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

forward *

Jeff Cowan Jeff Cowan (born September 27, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Cowan was a left winger and played 434 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). In 2019, he was named the interim head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs, a ...

- played with Canucks, Flames, Kings, and Thrashers * Vernon Fiddler -

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

forward * John Tripp - formerly of the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

External links

History of the Express from 1993-2001
from

The Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...

. {{ECHLdefunct Defunct ECHL teams Sports in Roanoke, Virginia Defunct ice hockey teams in the United States Ice hockey teams in Virginia Ice hockey clubs established in 1993 Sports clubs disestablished in 2004 1993 establishments in Virginia San Jose Sharks minor league affiliates Calgary Flames minor league affiliates New York Islanders minor league affiliates Chicago Blackhawks minor league affiliates 2004 disestablishments in Virginia