The Roanoke Express held a press conference today to announce that they
have reached an affiliation agreement with the Lowell Lock Monsters of the
AHL. Former Express coach Frank Anzalone (who has been recently described
as the Express' "Guardian Angel") did most of the footwork for this
arrangement before being offered the head coaching job with the Monsters,
and the folks in Lowell waited to finalize the agreement until they were
satisfied that the new head coach and general manager were going to
maintain the good stuff that had impressed them about the Express
organization. Lowell Director of Hockey Operations Greg Carvel said,

"We are enthusiastic about this relationship. Roanoke is a franchise that
has established itself in the East Coast Hockey League as a quality
organization. This wil be a very positive and mutually beneficial
affiliation."

When asked for specifics about how many players we could expect would be
sent to Roanoke, he was understandably vague, saying it would be between
1-10 players for next season. The Monsters are an expansion franchise, and
they will not know who they'll have on their own roster for a while yet.
I'll keep you posted on their player signings as the summer rolls on.

Express, Lowell locked up by Katrina Waugh Roanoke Times (July 17, 1998)