head coach: Marc Crawford

roster: C - Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Stephane Yelle, Jari Kurri, Josef Marha. LW - Valeri Kamensky, Rene Corbet, Eric Lacroix, Yves Sarault. RW - Claude Lemieux, Adam Deadmarsh, Keith Jones, Jeff Odgers. D - Sandis Ozolinsh, Sylvain Lefebvre, Uwe Krupp, Adam Foote, Alexei Gusarov, Jon Klemm, Aaron Miller, Eric Messier, Francois Leroux, Pascal Trepanier. G - Patrick Roy, Craig Billington.

injuries: Sandis Ozolinsh, d (knee, day-to-day); Eric Messier, d (ankle, day-to-day); Mike Ricci, c (shoulder, mid-November); Jon Klemm, d (thumb, mid-November); Keith Jones, rw (knee, late November).

transactions: Assigned Wade Belak, d, to Hershey (AHL); Signed Jeff Odgers, rw, as free agent; Recalled Yves Sarault, lw, from Hershey; Recalled Josef Marha, c, from Hershey.

standings:

Western Conference - Pacific Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Colorado     15   7   2   6    20   49   38
Anaheim      14   5   5   4    14   32   35
Los Angeles  15   5   6   4    14   48   44
Edmonton     14   5   7   2    12   29   43
Calgary      15   3   9   3     9   39   50
San Jose     14   4  10   0     8   34   46
Vancouver    15   3  10   2     8   36   55

game results:

10/22 Washington    W 4-3
10/24 Carolina      T 3-3
10/25 at Dallas     L 3-1
10/28 Buffalo       W 3-2
10/30 at St. Louis  T 2-2
11/01 Calgary       T 3-3

team news:

by Greg D’Avis, Colorado Correspondent

After blowing third-period leads and winding up with ties or losses for three out of their last four games, the Avalanche started a new trend against Washington: dig yourself as deep as you can, then scramble out.

Washington came to town the hottest team in the league and proceeded to get up 3-1 fast on weird goals: off Michal Pivonka's knee, off Adam Oates' foot. With Caps goalie Olaf Kolzig playing like a madman, all looked lost heading into the third period, till the kids started going nuts.

First, rookie defenseman Eric Messier - a normally steady defender playing a rushing role with Sandis Ozolinsh out of the lineup - set up two quick goals by Joe Sakic and Valeri Kamensky to tie it up. Then, with just over a minute left, fellow rookie Wade Belak (who had received his highest ice time of the season in this game) banked in an Adam Deadmarsh pass for his first NHL goal, the game-winner.

Following in the footsteps of center Josef Marha, who was sent down after his first NHL goal earlier in the year, Belak made the journey to Hershey the next day. Two reasons here - he wasn't getting much ice time and the Avs signed veteran tough guy winger Jeff Odgers that day. It's probably a good move; Belak's big and tough but can be a lot more than a goon, and he'll be able to play more with the Bears.

Next up was the previously pathetic Hurricanes, who got well fast. Once again, thanks to sloppy play, the Avs got behind 3-1 shortly after the start of the final period; and once again, Messier got 'em goin'. His second goal of the year closed the gap, and an Adam Deadmarsh goal earned the tie.

While the Carolina game was underway, Denver was hit by a fairly severe blizzard - one that delayed the Avs' arrival in Dallas until the morning of their game against the Stars. While I'd like to give a detailed report on the game, I can't, since it wasn't televised and the still-going blizzard played havoc with my radio reception. So, uh, they lost.

The next game, against Buffalo, was one of the strongest of the season - tight again, but a good hard-working game throughout, showing a level of consistency that the Avs have lacked this season. Grinders Rene Corbet and Eric Lacroix got the final two goals for the win.

Unfortunately, the next game the team was back to its old tricks, getting in a 2-0 hole to the surprising Blues quickly. Joe Sakic - continuing what's looking like his best season ever - scored and Corbet picked up another to squeak out a tie.

In the midst of all this, one of the worse trends from the 1996-97 season was being repeated: wholesale injuries. Though the team has more than enough depth to cover - Yves Sarault and Josef Marha returned from Hershey to fill in - a lot of character's been gettin' hurt. With Mike Ricci and Keith Jones out until this month, the Avs were already missing a lot of grit; then power play specialist Sandis Ozolinsh went down; then Messier, who stepped in so ably, sprained his ankle; then Jon Klemm, who's developed into one of the team's smartest defensemen and top penalty killers, tore ligaments in his thumb. Calgary was looking to continue this trend; after his check in an earlier game knocked Eric Andersson out, Adam Deadmarsh's very existence was threatened by various Flames - including Sandy McCarthy, from who such threats should be taken pretty seriously.

The Avalanche had a little vengeance in mind as well - in that last game, they'd blown a 4-0 lead to eventually lose 6-5. The game started out spookily like the last one; Valeri Kamensky scored two fast goals to make it look like a rout-in-progress. But Patrick Roy gave up a couple bad goals, the teams traded third period tallies and then Flames rookie goalie Tyler Moss turned away several million Avalanche opportunities in the closing minutes for the tie. Both teams came away disappointed: Adam Deadmarsh still lived; the Avalanche didn't get the win.

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