ECHL Florida Everblades

Eveblades Weekly

Published on February 16, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades wrapped up this past week by taking two of three games from the Cincinnati Cyclones at Germain Arena. Overall the Everblades still enter this week with the league's best record at 35-13-2 (72 pts., 1st South Division).

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Tuesday, Thursday, & Saturday, February 17, 19 & 21 at Charlotte Checkers All Games: 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades return the Charlotte this week for three games against their South Division rival. The trio of games are the 10th, 11th, & 12th of 19 between the clubs this year and are the fifth, sixth and seventh of nine at Charlotte. The Everblades enter the week with a 5-4-0 record vs. Charlotte this season. The last time the team's met, the Checkers took home a 4-3 win over the Everblades on Feb. 8 in Charlotte. The Checkers enter this week's action unbeaten in their last five (3-0-2) and with an overall record of 25-20-4 (54 pts., 3rd, South Division).

Sunday, February 22 at Gwinnett Gladiators 4:05 p.m.

The Everblades finish off their four-game road trip with an afternoon tilt in Gwinnett. The game is the 11th of 13 between the club and the first since the Everblades' 3-2 win over the Gladiators on January 31 in Gwinnett. The Everblades hold a commanding 8-2-0 record over the Gladiators this season and have won the last two. The Gladiators come into this week's action with a 21-22-5 record (47 pts., 5th, South Division)

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS & COMMUNITY APPEARANCES:

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Wednesday, February 11 vs. Cincinnati Cyclones 5-0 Win

The Everblades earned their eighth shutout of the season and handed the high-scoring Cyclones their first shutout of the year on Wednesday night at Germain Arena. Goaltender Anton Khudobin stopped 22 shots he faced to earn his fourth shutout of the year. Offensively Noah Babin chipped in two goals while Kevin Baker, Brad Zanon and Peter Metcalf added the other goals. Florida's Special Teams: PP: 2-of-9; PK: 9-of-9.

Friday, February 13 vs. Cincinnati Cyclones 3-2 Loss

The Cylones rebounded to collect their first-ever win over the Everblades with a 3-2 victory on Friday night. Florida had to battle from behind all night long after allowing a short-handed goal less than two minutes into the game. Mathieu Roy tied the game at one in the first period, but Cincinnati climbed to a 3-1 lead with a second period goal and an early third period marker. The Everblades did cut the lead down to one on a late third period power play goal by Mark Lee, but that was as close as they would get. In goal, Anton Khudobin suffered the loss allowing the three goals on 24 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 2-of-7; PK: 8-of-8

Saturday, February 14 vs. Cincinnati Cyclones 3-1 Win

The Everblades finished off the season series with Cincinnati by coming up with a 3-1 win on Saturday night. After a scoreless first period the Everblades broke through with two quick goals early in the second period by Ross Carlson and Kevin Baker that were separated by just 37 seconds to grab a 2-0 lead. After the Cyclones cut the lead to one midway through the second period, Colin Nicholson nabbed an insurance goal with just over three minutes left in regulation. In goal David Leggio picked up the facing just a total of 12 shots, the fewest allowed by Florida all season long. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-of-4; PK: 6-of-7.

EVERBLADES ITINERARY: (all times eastern)

Monday, Feb 16: Travel Day to Charlotte

Tuesday, Feb. 17: GAME vs. Charlotte Checkers, 7:00 p.m. @ Time Warner Cable Arena

Wednesday, Feb. 18: Practice at Charlotte

Thursday, Feb. 19: GAME vs. Charlotte Checkers, 7:00 p.m. @ Time Warner Cable Arena

Friday, Feb. 20: Practice at Charlotte

Saturday, Feb. 21: GAME vs. Charlotte Checkers, 7:00 p.m. @ Time Warner Cable Arena

Sunday, Feb. 22: GAME vs. Gwinnett Gladiators, 4:05 p.m. @ The Arena at Gwinnett Center

2008-09 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats

Overall Record 35-13-2

Home Record 17-7-0

Road Record 18-6-2

Overtime Record 2-1

Shootout Record 1-1

Power Play 76-337 (1st)

Penalty Kill 294-337 (3rd)

Leading Scorers

Kevin Baker 42-34-76

Peter Metcalf 6-40-46

Ryan Lang 16-26-42

Ernie Hartlieb 14-26-40

Mathieu Roy 18-16-33

Yannick Tifu 6-27-33

Leading Goaltenders

David Leggio 2.30 GAA, 17-6-1

Anton Khudobin 2.61 GAA, 18-7-1

Plus/Minus Leaders

Ryan McGinnis +13

Ernie Hartlieb +13

Doug O'Brien +12

Ross Carlson +12

Ryan Lang +12

Player of the Week Nominee: This week's Player of the Week nominee is Kevin Baker who registered six points in the three games this past week (2g, 4a). This week's Goalie of the Week Nominee is David Leggio who was 1-0-0 in his lone start this week with a 1.00 goals against average.

Special Teams Breakdown: Here's a look at the special teams of the Everblades and how it breaks down overall, home and away: Power play: 76-of-337 (22.6%) which ranks the Everblades 1st in the ECHL. At home the Everblades are 27-of-150 (18.0%) which ranks 7th. On the road the Everblades are 49-of-187 (26.2%) which ranks 1st in the league. Penalty Kill: 294-of-337 (87.2%) which ranks the Everblades 3rd in the ECHL. At home the 'Blades are 143-of-167 (85.6%) which is 5th. On the road the Everblades have killed off 151-of-170 (88.8%) which ranks 3rd in the league.

Record Breaking Night: Everblades captain Kevin Baker became Everblades' most prolific single-season goal scorer when he scored his 41st goal of the year on Wednesday night vs. Cincinnati. The goal broke the previous single-season mark held by Brian McCullough who scored 40 goals in 2003-04. Baker now holds two Everblades single-season records. Along with the overall goal mark, Baker earlier this season set the record for the most power play goals in one season when he scored his 15th on Jan. 30 at South Carolina.

Single Season Records in Danger!: There are a few Everblades' all-time single season records that are in danger of falling. Amazingly, Kevin Baker is also in striking distance of the Everblades single-season points record which is held by Brian McCullough and Tom Buckley at 87. Baker currently has 76 points...Ryan Lang is one short-handed goal away from tying for the top spot for most one in year with four...goaltenders David Leggio and Anton Khudobin are both currently second in single season history with four shutouts, one off the pace of Jeff Maund (2003-04) and Marc Magliarditi (1998-99) for the top spot.

Who's Hot: Here's a look at who's been playing well for the Everblades of late: F Kevin Baker is currently on a team-high, 12-game point scoring streak that began on Jan. 23. During the span Baker has 12 goals and added 12 assists...D Peter Metcalf has picked up points in nine of the last 11 games (2g, 12a)...F Ernie Hartleb has also recorded points in eight of the last 11 games (2g, 8a)...F Mathieu Roy is riding his best stretch of the season right now, scoring a goal in six of the last eight games and points in nine of the last ten (8g, 5a).

The first one was a big one!: Everblades rookie defenseman Brad Zanon scored his first professional goal on Wednesday night vs. Cincinnati. The goal came short-handed midway through the second period of Florida's 5-0 win. Zanon has played in 44 games with the Blades this year and after beginning his pro career in Victoria briefly last season, the 25-year-old has 10 total points in 59 career games.

Individual League Leaders: Now past the half way point in the season, the Everblades' players and team find themselves at or near the top of the ECHL in several statistical categories. Kevin Baker is leading the league in several categories, beginning with his 76 points, he's also leading the league in goals scored with 42, power play goals scored with 20, power play points with 35 and game winning goals with eight...Danick Bouchard leads all rookies with six game-winning goals...defensively Peter Metcalf is first in scoring among all blue liners with 46 points and is first among all d-men, and third overall in the league with 40 assists. He is also second in power play assists and points with 23 and 28 respectively...goaltending wise, both Anton Khudobin and David Leggio are among the top 10 goalies. Leggio ranks second with his 2.30 GAA and Khudobin is ranked seventh with his 2.61 GAA. Both are also second in the league with four shutouts.

Game Date Change!!: The Everblades have moved their originally scheduled game on Sunday, March 1 at 4:00 p.m. to Saturday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. The game day promotion of "Kid's Day" will still take place on the 28th with the first 1,000 kids entering the arena receiving a kids Everblades jersey courtesy of Chick-fil-A.

Ticket Information: Everblades 2008-09 group tickets and individual game tickets are on sale now! Fans can purchase tickets at the Germain Arena box office, which is open from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone by calling TicketMaster at (239) 334-3309, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For additional information, contact the Everblades office at (239) 948-7825.

On the Air: Everblades games, home and away, can be heard on 770 ESPN Radio and via the internet courtesy of Waterman Broadcasting by logging on to www.floridaeverblades.com or 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.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics

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