ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Receive Five Players from Charlotte

October 4, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades announced Thursday that the team has received five players from the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League. Four of the five players reassigned were members of the Everblades championship team last season. The following is listing of the five players reassigned to Florida on Thursday:

David Rutherford - forward Matt Beca - forward Bobby Raymond - defenseman Joe Sova - defenseman Rob Madore - goaltender.

Rutherford, 25, returns to Florida after finishing last season with 55 points, including a team leading 25 goals. The 5-9, 195-pound forward also added 12 points in 17 playoff games to help lead the club to its first Kelly Cup title. The championship was not the first for Rutherford who has won titles with Bossier-Shreveport of the Central Hockey League in 2011, and a Memorial Cup with Spokane (WHL) in 2008. Last season, the Ladner, British Colombia native posted a 17-game home point scoring streak (Nov. 18 to Feb. 18) scoring 23 points (10g, 13a) during that stretch. He also recorded a hat trick in a November 25 game at Kalamazoo

Beca, 26, finished last season as the Everblades leading scorer totaling 60 points (21g, 39a). The 5-10, 181-pound forward registered 14 points (5g, 9a) in 18 postseason games last season for the Everblades. The Mississauga, Ontario native posted 50 points for the Blades during the 2010-11 season. Beca played in seven games for Charlotte last season logging one assist. Beca was a four-year standout at Clarkson University from 2006-2010. Beca had the lead assist on the game wining overtime goal in Game Five of the Kelly Cup Finals which sealed the Everblades first ECHL title.

Raymond, 27, returns to the Everblades after totaling 12 points (3g, 9a) and a plus-13 rating last season. The 5-10, 185-pound blue-liner also recorded 10 points (2g, 8a) in 18 playoff appearances with Florida. Raymond also appeared in 38 games with the Binghamton Senators last season logging four assists. The Lucknow, Ontario native posted a goal and an assist in nine playoff games during Binghamton's Championship season in 2011. During that same season, he led all Everblades defensemen in points with 33 (8g, 25a) in 72 games played.

Sova, 24, registered three assists in seven postseason appearances for the Everblades last spring. Last season, the 6-3, 190-pound defenseman posted seven points (2g, 5a) and a plus-10 rating in 18 contests with the Kalamazoo Wings, while also logging four assists in 20 games with Charlotte. The Berwyn, Illinois native totaled eight points with the Albany Devils (AHL) from 2010-12. Sova played three seasons at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

Madore, 24 enters his first full season as professional. The 5-10, 176-pound rookie netminder played the past four years at the University of Vermont compiling 41 career victories, along with a 2.94 goals against average, and a .900 save percentage. Following his collegiate career last spring, he posted an 8-3-1 record in 12 games with the Chicago Express (ECHL). The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native was picked up by the South Carolina Stingrays during the 2012 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Madore registered a 2-3 postseason mark, which included a 54-save performance against Gwinnett on April 6.

All five players could be available for the Everblades preseason games this weekend against the Orlando Solar Bears. Friday's game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., while Saturday's game slated for 7:00 p.m.

The Everblades open up their 15th Anniversary season against Orlando. Opening night is slated for Friday, October 12 at 7:30 p.m. The Everblades will raiser their championship banner prior to the game. The first 2,500 fans will receive a championship mini-banner. The two teams meet again the following day on Saturday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m. The first 5,000 fans to enter the arena for the Saturday game, will receive an Everblades Magnet schedule courtesy of Jack's Cleaning Services.

Individual games tickets for preseason and opening weekend are currently on sale! Stop by any Ticketmaster outlet, or the Capital Bank Box Office at Germain Arena. The Capital Bank Box Office is open Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Fans may also call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or order online at www.ticketmaster.com

Season ticket packages are currently available, starting at $380 per seat for all 36 home games. Partial-season packages start as low as $150, and offer a flexible option for fans. For more information on all available packages, call the Everblades office at 239-948-7825, or visit the team online atwww.floridaeverblades.com.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics



ECHL Stories from October 4, 2012


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.

OurSports Central