ECHL Florida Everblades

Blades start year 2-0-0 for only second time in team history

Published on October 22, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades opened their 10th Anniversary season in strong fashion, winning both games on their schedule. The Everblades start the year with a record of 2-0-0 (4 pts., T-1st South Division.). The two wins to begin the season marks only the second time in team history the club has won it's first two games of the regular season. The only other time the 'Blades began the season 2-0-0 was in 1999-00, the year they went on to win the Brabham Cup.

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Saturday & Sunday, October 27 & 28 at Texas Wildcatters 8:05 p.m. (Sat.) & 5:05 p.m. (Sun.)

GAME NOTES: The Everblades embark on their first road trip of the season this weekend when they head to Beaumont, TX to renew their rivalry with the Texas Wildcatters. The games this weekend are the first two of ten meetings between the South Division rivals this season, and are the first two of five in Texas. Last season the Wildcatters won seven of ten meetings from the Everblades during the regular season, but the Everblades ousted Texas in the second round of the playoffs 4-games-to-2. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 6-8-0 vs. Texas and are 3-4-0 all-time on the road vs. the Wildcatters.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Friday, October 19 vs. Mississippi Sea Wolves 6-1 W

The Florida Everblades opened the 2007-08 season with a commanding 6-1 win over the Mississippi Sea Wolves, spoiling the Sea Wolves return to play after a two-year hiatus because of the damage done by Hurricane Katrina in the summer of 2005. Rookie forward Mathieu Melanson scored twice in game and fellow rookies Kyle McAllister and Brandon Roach each notched their first professional goals in the contest. Returning forwards Adam Taylor and Brad Zancanaro also chipped in a goal each. The Blades scored three times on the power play and added a short-handed goal as well. Justin Peters got the start in goal for Florida and picked up the win stopping 25 of 26 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 3-for-8; PK: 4-for-4.

Saturday, October 20 vs. Mississippi Sea Wolves 4-1 W

The Everblades completed the weekend sweep over Mississippi on Saturday after turning in a 4-1 effort. The 'Blades used four different goal scorers on the way to the victory, picking up tallies from Mathieu Melanson, Brad Zancanaro, Derek Damon and Kyle McAllister. The Everblades collected three power play goals for the second straight game. In goal Justin Peters earned his second win of the year after turning away 27 of 28 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 3-for-9; PK: 7-for-7.

EVERBLADES ITINERARY:

Monday, Oct. 22: Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Tuesday, Oct. 23: Practice, 10:00 p.m. @ Germain Arena

Wednesday, Oct. 24: Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Thursday, Oct. 25: Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Friday, Oct. 26: Travel Day to Texas

Saturday, Oct. 27: GAME vs. Texas Wildcatters, 8:05 p.m. @ Ford Arena

Sunday, Oct. 28: GAME vs. Texas Wildcatters, 5:05 p.m. @ Ford Arena

2007-08 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERSQuick Stats

Overall Record 2-0-0

Home Record 2-0-0

Road Record 0-0-0

Overtime Record 0-0

Shootout Record 0-0

Power Play 6-17 (2nd)

Penalty Kill 11-11 (T-1st )

Leading Scorers

Derek Damon 1-3-4

Mathieu Melanson 3-0-3

Brad Zancanaro 2-1-3

Brandon Roach 1-2-3

Kyle McAllister 2-0-2

Leading Goaltenders

Justin Peters 1.00 GAA, 2-0-0

'

Plus/Minus Leaders

Kyle McAllister +2

J.D. Forrest +2

Ernie Hartlieb +2

Steve Ward +2

Player / Goaltender of the Week Nominees: The week's Everblades player of the week nominee is forward Mathieu Melanson who tallied three goals in his first two games as an Everblade this past weekend. Two of his three tallies came with the Everblades on the power play. This week's goaltender of the week nominee is Justin Peters who won both games this weekend, allowing just two goals on 54 shots.

Special Teams Breakdown: Here's a look at the special teams of the Everblades and how it breaks down home and away: Power play: 6-for-17 (35.3%) which ranks the Everblades 2nd in the ECHL. At home the Everblades are 6-for-17 (35.3%) which ranks 2nd. Penalty Kill: 11-for-11 (100.0%) which ranks the Everblades tied for 1st in the ECHL. At home the 'Blades are 11-for-11 (100.0%) which is tied for 1st in the league.

Big Night: On opening night, the Everblades retired the jersey numbers of two team legends. Reggie Berg and Tom Buckley became the first two players in team history to be honored by having their uniform numbers retired. The Nos. 10 (Berg) and 14 (Buckley) were official retired in a pre-game ceremony before the Everblades opened their 10th Anniversary season against the Mississippi Sea Wolves. A standing room only crowd of 7,462 watched the festivities.

Milestones Reached: Forward Ernie Hartlieb registered his 250th career point in Friday night's 6-1 win over Mississippi with an assist on Kyle McAllister's first pro goal early in the second period. On that same assist, Hartlieb reached the century mark for points in an Everblades uniform.

Milestones: Here's a look at upcoming milestones for Everblades players: Defenseman Steve Czech will reach the 100 games played mark in his 21st game of the season...forward J.B. Bittner is one game shy of his 150th career game and is 22 goals away from 50 in his career...forward Ernie Hartlieb is 20 games away from reaching 400 games played in his career...forward Brad Zancanaro is 18 games away from playing in his 100th career game...forward Brad Herauf's next goal will be the 50th in his career and is 115 penalty minutes away from 1,000 in his career...forward Adam Taylor is five goals away from 50 in his career and is four games shy of playing in his 150th career game...forward Jon Lehun needs 15 more points to reach 100 in his career and is seven games away from skating in his 100th career game...head coach Gerry Fleming is 17 wins away from 300 career wins as a head coach

Ticket Information: Experience the excitement of the Everblades 10th Anniversary season! Individual tickets to all Everblades home games are on sale now! Stop by the Germain Arena box office to reserve your seat for all the exciting action! Visit www.floridaeverblades.com and www.germainarena.com for more information on ticket packages, pricing and upcoming Germain Arena events.

On the Air: Everblades games, home and away, can be heard on SportsRadio 770 ESPN and via the internet courtesy of Waterman Broadcasting by logging on to www.abc-7.com/sports. In addition, Everblades games can be viewed via the internet thanks to B2 Networks by logging on to www.b2live.com. Join the voice of the Everblades Kevin Reiter as he calls all the action! The Everblades pre-game show begins 20 minutes prior to game time.

Everblades Coach's Show!: The Everblades coach's show "Blades Talk!" returns on Tuesday, October 23 from 7 - 8 p.m. at Don Haney's Smokehouse in Ft. Myers! Fans are encouraged to join Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming and the voice of the Everblades Kevin Reiter live in person at the Don Haney's Smokehouse located on Daniels Rd. in Ft. Myers. The show can also be heard live on SportsRadio 770 ESPN from 7 - 8 p.m. or can be heard via the internet by visiting the Everblades website at www.floridaeverblades.com.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics

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ECHL Stories from October 22, 2007


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