ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly Release for 12 December

December 12, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades finished the past week with a 2-0-0 record, extending their overall winning streak to four, and their home winning streak to 10. The 'Blades enter this week with a record of 13-6-0 (26 pts., T-1st, South Division.)

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern) Wednesday, December 14 at Augusta Lynx 7:05 p.m. GAME NOTES: The Everblades meet the Lynx for the second consecutive game and the fourth of nine times on the season at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center. The game is the first of five between the South Division rivals in Augusta. The 'Blades lead the season series 3-0-0 after three wins at Germain Arena. Florida picked up a 3-2 regulation win on Nov. 4 and then earned a 4-3 shootout victory the next night. Most recently Florida notched a 6-4 win over the Lynx on Dec. 10. Augusta enters this week's action with a record of 10-11-2 (22 pts., 6th South Division) and are 7-4-0 on home ice. Florida holds an all-time record of 35-10-6 vs. Augusta and is 14-6-3 all-time on the road vs. the Lynx.

Friday, December 16 at Charlotte Checkers 7:05 p.m. GAME NOTES: The Everblades skate against the Checkers for the fourth of seven times this season on Friday night at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The game is the second of four in Charlotte. The 'Blades hold a 2-1-0 record vs. Charlotte this season. Florida won a pair of games against Checkers at Germain Arena on Nov. 18 & 19 by scores of 5-2 & 4-3. The Checkers' lone win in the season series came on Nov. 25 in Charlotte with a 5-2 decision. The Checkers enter this week with a record of 10-9-1 (21 pts., T-7th South Division). Florida holds an all-time record of 15-7-2 vs. Charlotte and is 6-6-2 all-time on the road vs. the Checkers.

Saturday, December 17 at Columbia Inferno 3:00 p.m. GAME NOTES: The Everblades meet the Inferno for the second of eight times this season when the teams skate on Saturday afternoon at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, SC. The 'Blades lead the season series after picking up a 3-0 win at Columbia on Nov. 23. The game is also the second of four in Columbia. The Inferno enter this week with a record of 12-8-2 (26 pts., T-1st South Division). Florida holds an all-time record of 13-10-5 vs. Columbia, and is 6-8-1 all-time on the road vs. the Inferno.

Sunday, December 18 at Charlotte Checkers 4:00 p.m. GAME NOTES: The Everblades skate against the Checkers for the fifth of seven times this season on Sunday afternoon at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The game is the third of four in Charlotte, and wraps up Florida's four-game road trip.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS Friday, December 9 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots 4-2 W The Everblades tied a franchise record with their ninth straight home win after upending the Pensacola Ice Pilots 4-2 on Friday night at Germain Arena. The Everblades used a pair of goals from rookie Dan Sisca and 35 saves by goaltender Craig Kowalski to help tie the record that was originally set in the 1999-2000 season. Despite Pensacola carrying the majority of the play in the first period, the 'Blades managed to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission after Sisca scored at 13:08. The Everblades extended their lead to 2-0 just 3:19 into the second period when Jonathan Lehun scored on a breakaway, but the Ice Pilots answer right back just 1:29 later. Holding a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, the Everblades tallied a pair of power play goals to help grab a three-goal advantage heading into the third period. Sisca notched his second goal of the night while the 'Blades were up a man at 9:54 and Ernie Hartlieb collected his team-leading 10th goal of the season at 17:46. In the third period Pensacola cut the Everblades lead to two after a short-handed goal at 9:04. The story of the game however, was Kowalski's big saves, including 13 in the first period. The win was Kowalski's fourth straight which brought his overall record to 6-4-0. Florida Special Teams: PP: 2-for-6; PK: 7-for-7. The Everblades lead the season series 1-0-0.

Saturday, December 10 vs. Augusta 6-4 W The Everblades set a franchise record with their 10th straight home win and won their fourth straight overall after knocking off the Augusta Lynx 6-4 on Saturday night at Germain Arena. On their annual "Teddy Bear Toss", the Everblades allowed the fans to toss their teddy bears quickly after Paul Cabana scored just 1:16 into the game. The 'Blades continued to dominate the first period out-shooting the Lynx 18-2 and taking a 2-0 lead into the locker room after Dan Sisca notched his seventh goal of the season at 17:33. The Lynx however came out firing in the second period out-scoring the Everblades 3-1 with the help of a hat-trick by Nicolas Corbeil. Florida's lone goal in the period came from Cabana who notched his second goal of the night for Florida with a short-handed marker at 3:55. In the third period, the two teams swapped early goals with Ryan Brindley briefly giving the Everblades 4-3 lead with a power play goal at 2:14. However the Lynx responded with a goal at 3:46 to tie the contest at four. The 'Blades picked up the eventual game-winner from Chris Lee as he blasted a shot from the point on the power play at 8:32 of the final period erupting the crowd of 6,819, and then saw Ernie Hartlieb seal the game with an empty net goal with just seven seconds remaining. The Everblades used both goaltenders to combine for the win. Phil Osaer started the game for the Everblades but was pulled after allowing three goals on 14 Augusta shots. Craig Kowalski relieved him and earned the win by stopping 15 of 16 Augusta shots. The win was Kowalski's fifth straight and brought his record to 7-4-0. The Everblades now lead the season series 3-0-0. Florida Special Teams: PP: 3-for-5; PK: 4-for-5.

EVERBLADES ITINERARY: Monday, Dec. 12: Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena Tuesday, Dec. 13: Travel to Augusta Wednesday, Dec. 14: GAME vs. Augusta, 7:05 p.m. @ Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center Thursday, Dec. 15: Travel to Charlotte Friday, Dec. 16: GAME vs. Charlotte, 7:05 p.m. @ Charlotte Bobcats Arena Saturday, Dec. 17: GAME vs. Columbia, 3:00 p.m. @ Carolina Coliseum Sunday, Dec. 18: GAME vs. Charlotte, 4:00 p.m. @ Charlotte Bobcats Arena

2005-06 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERSQuick Stats Overall Record 13-6-0 (1st) Home Record 10-1-0 Road Record 3-5-0 Overtime Record 1-0 Shootout Record 1-0 Power Play 24-109 (5th) Penalty Kill 90-105 (2nd) Leading Scorers Dan Sisca 7-13-20 Ernie Hartlieb 11-6-17 Paul Cabana 10-6-16 John Lehun 4-11-15 Chris Lee 4-11-15 Kevin Bergin 5-9-14

Leading Goaltenders Phil Osaer 2.65 GAA, 6-2-0 Craig Kowalski 2.87 GAA, 7-4-0

Plus/Minus Leaders

Dan Sisca +12 Chris Lee +8 Kevin Bergin +7 John Adams +6

ECHL Weekly Award Nominee: The Everblades ECHL player of the week nomination is forward Dan Sisca. The 22-year-old rookie collected five points (3g, 2a) in two games this past week. Sisca began the week with two goals and an assist on Dec. 9 vs. Pensacola, including a power play goal. The Woodbridge, Ontario native then added a goal and an assist on Dec. 10 vs. Augusta. Everblades goaltender Craig Kowalski was nominated for the ECHL Goalie of the Week after picking up the win in both games this past weekend, stopping a total of 50 of 53 shots faced, and finishing with a 2.05 GAA.

New Team Record!: With Florida's 6-4 win over the Augusta Lynx on Dec. 10 the team set a franchise record with their 10th straight home victory. During the streak, the Everblades have picked up wins over Las Vegas, Augusta, South Carolina, Charlotte, Gwinnett and Pensacola. The record was originally set during the 1999-2000 season when current Augusta head coach Bob Ferguson was at the helm for the 'Blades. The ECHL record for most consecutive home wins belongs to the South Carolina Stingrays with 18 in 1994-95.

Teddy Bear Toss Delivery!: The Everblades held their annual "Teddy Bear Toss" on Saturday, December 10 vs. Augusta, and as always, the 'Blades fans came through in strong fashion! Nealy 3,500 stuffed toys which will be donated to SW Florida area charities. A large portion of the toys that were collected will be donated to Toys-for-Tots and the Children's Advocacy Center of Collier County. In addition, many of the toys will be hand delivered by Everblades players to kids at the Children's Hospital of South West Florida on Monday, December 12. In the seven years the 'Blades have held the teddy bear toss, Everblades fans have donated over 30,000 stuffed toys for SW Florida charities.

Record Setting Night: In the Everblades 6-4 win over the Gwinnett Gladiators on Dec. 2, the Everblades set two franchise records and tied an all-time ECHL record. Florida's first franchise record set was the combination of eight goals scored by the two teams in one period when the teams each scored four times in the second period. The 'Blades also set a franchise record and matched an ECHL record with the fastest two goals when Kevin Bergin and Paul Cabana scored 3.2 seconds apart at the end of the second period.

Everblades Special Teams: Here's a breakdown of the Everblades special teams after 19 games: Overall Power Play: 24-for-109, (22.0%, 5th ECHL). Home PP: 9th, 21.5%; Road PP: 3rd, 22.7%. Overall Penalty Kill: 90-for-105 (85.7%, 2nd ECHL). Home PK: 8th, 85.1%; Road PK: 4th, 86.8%.

Approaching Milestones: Here's a look at members of the Everblades that are approaching career milestones: F Ernie Hartlieb is 10 games shy of playing in his 300th career game and is 21 points away from reaching the 200 mark as a pro...F Reggie Berg is 41 games away from reaching the 300 mark in his career and is 47 points shy of 300 in his career...D Ryan Brindley is 30 points away from reaching 300 in his professional career...F Kevin Bergin is seven goals away from reaching 50 in his career...F Phil Aucoin is 16 points from reaching the 100 mark.

Who's Hot: Forward Ernie Hartlieb has picked up points in 10 of the last 16 games (11g, 6a)...F Kevin Bergin has a points in five of the last six games (4g, 5a)...F Paul Cabana has scored a point in five of the last seven games (6g, 3a) ...F Jonathan Lehun has currently scored points in six of the last seven games (4g, 5a)...F Dan Sisca has points in nine of the last 12 games (6g, 10a)...D Chris Lee has points in seven of the last eight games (4g, 6a)...G Phil Osaer is 6-1-0 in his last eight starts with a 2.29 goals against average...G Craig Kowalski has won his last five starts (2.47 GAA).

Made it to the Show!: Former Everblades forward Chad LaRose became the 12th former 'Blade to play a game in the National Hockey League when he suited up for the Carolina Hurricanes on December 6. LaRose was the 26th former ECHL player to play his first NHL game in 2005-06 and the 282nd player to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL. As an Everblade, LaRose skated in 41 regular season games during the 2003-04 season, scoring 35 points (16g, 19a) and collected seven points in 14 playoff games during Florida's first run to the Kelly Cup Finals.

Everblades Coach's Show: "Blades Talk," The Everblades coach's show will Monday, December 12 from Stevie Tomato's Sports Page in Fort Myers. Fans can join the voice of the Everblades Kevin Reiter along with Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming from 7-8 p.m. at Stevie Tomato's. Everblades defenseman Chris Lee will join the show as well. The show can also be heard live on SportsRadio 770 AM, and via the internet by visiting www.floridaeverblades.com or www.abc-7.com.

Everblades Ticket Information: Everblades 2005-06 half season, 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

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 12, 2005


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