Barracudas weekly wrap-up

Published on November 18, 2005 under SPHL (SPHL)
Jacksonville Barracudas News Release


RECENT ACTION

Last week started bad and ended disastrously for the Barracudas, as they faced a team about to awake from their slumber, and a team streaking towards the top of the league.

Cudas vs. Cottonmouths

On November 12th the Cudas faced off against the Columbus Cottonmouths, last year's SPHL champs. The previously win-less Cottonmouths had shown signs of coming around, and the Cudas gave them the help they needed allowing the Cottonmouths 12 power plays. That was just the tonic the slumping Snakes needed, as they proceeded to score four power play goals en route to a 5-0 shutout of the Barracudas. Snakes' forward Tim Green was the lone bright spot for the Cottonmouths before Saturday's game, and he exploded for a goal and three assists. Cudas' goaltender Pat Berrigan performed admirably under fire, as he managed to stop 40 of the Snakes' 45 shots, many of them from point-blank range.

Cudas vs. FireAntz

Injuries decimated the Cudas heading into Tuesday night's game against the Fayetteville FireAntz. A strong and poised FireAntz squad routed the Cudas 11-1, picking apart the depleted Cudas lineup, who were without top defenseman Greg Lecolst and veteran forward Derrell Upton. The Barracudas had three players making their debut for the Cudas, and the FireAntz had no problem exploiting the raw Barracudas' lineup, as they scored a stunning seven goals on Berrigan, leading him to be pulled after the first period. FireAntz forwards Josh Welter and Rob Widden each scored four goals and two assists to lead their team on the rout.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Barracudas have had a couple of days to regroup and retool in preparation for back-to-back games in Kissimmee against the Florida Seals. The early losses of Justin Kot to injury and Shawn Roed on a call-up, along with the sub-par performances of others on the club, have forced coaches Ron Duguay and Brett Strot to scramble and scour the hockey world for the individuals who will fill these rather large holes. The Cudas are certainly a team in transition, and each and every game is going to be a battle.

The Florida Seals have had a mediocre start to their SPHL existence. Sitting in next-to-last place, the Seals have only come up with two wins thus far. Scoring goals has proven to be very difficult for everyone on the Seals, with the exception of forward John Gurskis who has 11 points. Veteran stars such as David Deeves, Ryan Rivard, and Art Mnatsakanov have played below expectations so far. However, given their past production, one would have to expect that just like the Cottonmouths, the Seals are due for a bit of a surge. So far goaltender, and former Cuda, Terry Denike has performed well and has kept the team competitive. IN THE LOOP

Players Released

The Barracudas have released forwards David Mitchell and Bret Peppler. Mitchell had yet to record a point while picking up 9 penalty minutes and carrying a -2 rating. Peppler had no goals and three assists in his 5 games with the Cudas. He had the lowest plus/minus rating on the team with a -9, including a -6 game in the loss to Fayetteville.

Cudas Called Up

The Jacksonville Barracudas have had two players called up to other leagues. Goaltender Jan Chovan has been called up to the Charlotte Checkers of the East Coast Hockey League. Jan was 0-2 with a 6.68 goals against average, and a .849 save percentage. Newly signed defenseman A.J. Bozoian was quickly called up to the Fort Wayne Komets of the United Hockey League. Bozoian was a -5 with no points or penalty minutes in his one game with the Cudas. The Cudas retain the Southern Professional Hockey League rights to both of these players.

Geoff Rollins returns to the SPHL, signs with the Cudas

6-foot-2, 200-pound forward Geoff Rollins has returned to the league where he scored 23 points in 25 games in 2004-2005, signing with the Barracudas this morning. The 23-year-old forward was called up to the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL last season, based upon his strong showing with the Winston-Salem Polar Twins. He began this season with the Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League, but was lost in a numbers game when former Cuda Shawn Roed joined the team. He will wear number 22 for the Cudas.

Three More Sign on With Cudas

The Barracudas filled more holes today, signing two defensemen and a goalie. Defensemen Jake Laime and Dan Hickman both join the Cudas from the United Hockey League. 6-foot, 225 pound Laime began the season with the Flint Generals, playing four games and picking up 30 penalty minutes. He played college hockey at Davenport University, where he scored 16 points and had 230 penalty minutes in 36 games.

Hickman has already played two games in the SPHL, starting the year with the Columbus Cottonmouths before being called up to the Port Huron Flags where he also played two games. Hickman is 5-foot-10, and weighs 190-pounds.

Goaltender Frank Novello will take Chovan's spot backing up Pat Berrigan. He put up impressive stats last season with the Danbury Trashers of the United Hockey League, carrying a 1.50 goals against average, and a .938 save percentage.

All three will be in the lineup tonight against the Seals.

UPCOMING EVENTS

KB Home Toy Drive Kick-Off

Chomper, the Barracudas' mascot, and the Ice Girls will be helping KB Home kick-off their 2005 Toy Drive this Saturday, from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm. The event will be held at the KB Home studio at 11112-34 San Jose Blvd. The Barracudas' organization is proud to be able to take part in this event, and invite all fans to stop by and donate a toy!

Ice Girls Taking Part in Abess Elementary PTA Fall Festival

The Ice Girls will be busy on Saturday, as they will also be attending the Fall Festival in support of the Abess Elementary Parent Teacher Association. The event runs from 10:00am until 2:00pm and is located at 12731 Abess Blvd., near the intersection of Kernan and Atlantic.

Autograph Session at Melrose Apartments

Some of the Barracudas' players and Ice Girls will be signing autographs at Melrose Apartments from 6:30pm until 7:30pm, Monday November 21st. Fan favorite Greg Lecolst will be among those in attendance.

NOTES

Game Music

As an organization, we are continually working on our game production to make the experience as fun and enjoyable as possible for fans. One spot where it seems everyone has an opinion is game music. We are currently working with our game day production company, PRI (who does a fantastic job for us) to update and improve our game music. Fans can get involved in this as well! If you have any suggestions at all as far as game music is concerned, feel free to forward them to me at ken@go-cudas.com. I cannot promise that all suggestions will be put into action, but certainly all of them will be considered. Its impossible to please everyone 100% of the time, especially where the music is concerned, but we'll do our best!

Appearance and Donation Requests

The Barracudas are always looking for opportunities to get out into the community, meet our fans, and to introduce ourselves to new ones. Given the success of the recent meet and greet even at Soho Sports Grille, Cudas fans can look forward to many similar events over the course of the season. However, fans are more than welcome to suggest other opportunities for players, Ice Girls, and Chomper to get out into the community. One season ticket holder has already done so, and it has led to what will be a very fun time this weekend. If you are a member of an organization that is holding a function and could use the team to make it more exciting, or even if you just know of a coming event that you think the Cudas could be a part of, please email ken@go-cudas.com with the idea! The players, Ice Girls, and Chomper all have very busy schedules, so not all appearance suggestions will be do-able. However, all will be considered very seriously.

The Barracudas would like to thank all of our great fans for their continued support! The feedback I have received personally is going a long way to helping us improve the job we do. Please continue offering the feedback, and I will continue to do my best to answer all of it personally. Here's to the best fans in the league!

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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.

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