ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

Published on December 27, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades finished out a light week of action with a 1-1-0 record. The ‘Blades enter this week's action with a record of 15-12-1 (31 pts., 3rd South Division).

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Tuesday, December 28 at Pensacola Ice Pilots 8:05 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Everblades and Ice Pilots meet for the fifth of eight times this season, and for the third of four times at the Pensacola Civic Center. The match-up is also the fourth between the two division rivals in the past three weeks. The Everblades are 1-2-1 this season vs. Pensacola. The Ice Pilots won the first meeting of the year 5-4 on Oct. 30 in Pensacola, and then collected a 2-1 overtime victory over the ‘Blades in Florida on Dec. 14. The teams split a pair of games last week, with Florida winning 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 21 in Pensacola, and the Ice Pilots collecting a 6-4 win in Florida on Dec. 22. Last year the Everblades finished with a 2-3-2 record vs. Pensacola, including going 1-2-0 in Pensacola. The Ice Pilots enter this week's action with a record of 16-5-3 (35 pts., 1st South Division). The Everblades hold an all-time record of 23-11-7 vs. Pensacola.

Friday & Saturday, December 31 & January 1 vs. Charlotte Checkers Both Games: 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The ‘Blades and Checkers meet up for the first two games of a four-game season series this weekend at Germain Arena. The two former division rivals skate twice more this season at Cricket Arena in Charlotte, NC. Last season the Everblades finished with a record of 3-0-1 vs. Charlotte, including a perfect 2-0-0 at Germain Arena. The Checkers enter this week's action with a record of 16-10-2 (34pts., 1st East Division). Florida holds an all-time record of 11-5-0 vs. Charlotte, and are 5-1-0 all-time at home vs. the Checkers.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, December 21 at Pensacola 3-2 OTW

The Everblades earned collected two big points in the standings with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Pensacola Ice Pilots at the Pensacola Civic Center. The overtime win was Florida's first this season. Damian Surma notched the game-winning goal just 43 seconds into the extra frame for the Everblades. All the regulation scoring took place during the second period of the contest with Matt Hendricks and Brad Church notching Florida's goals. Craig Kowalski started in goal for the Everblades and earned the win by stopping 30 of 32 Pensacola shots, bringing his record to 10-5-1 overall, and 7-1-1 in his last nine starts. Florida special teams: PP 1-for-3, PK: 4-for-4. The win brought the ‘Blades record to 1-1-1 vs. Pensacola this season.

Wednesday, December 22 vs. Pensacola 6-4 L

The Everblades lost a tough one to the Ice Pilots the Wednesday night at Germain Arena, falling 6-4 and snapping their three-game winning streak. The ‘Blades had opened a 3-1 lead by the midpoint of the second period, but saw the Ice Pilots reel off four straight goals after that point to earn the come-from-behind victory. Pensacola opened the scoring in the first period, but the Everblades tallied three straight goals by the mid-point of the second frame. Matt Pagnutti, Brad Church and Damian Surma all scored for the ‘Blades to open the 3-1 lead. After Pensacola's four straight markers, the Everblades cut the lead to 5-4 with 1:44 remaining in the third period on Matt Hendricks' team-leading 15th goal of the year. The Ice Pilots sealed the win with an empty net goal in the closing minute. Craig Kowalski started in net for the Everblades, but played only the first two periods allowing four goals on 17 shots. Rob Zepp closed ou the game, and suffered the loss making eight saves, but allowing the game-winning goal. The loss dropped his record to 5-7-0. Florida special teams: PP: 1-for-4, PK: 2-for-3. The loss brought Florida's record to 1-2-1 vs. Pensacola this season.

EVERBLADES ITINERARY:

Monday, Dec. 27: Practice @ Pensacola Civic Center

Tuesday, Tue. 28: GAME vs. Pensacola, 8:05 p.m. @ Pensacola Civic Center

Wednesday, Dec. 29: OFF DAY

Thursday, Dec. 30: Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Friday, Dec. 31: Pre-Game skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

GAME vs. Charlotte, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena

Saturday, Jan 1: Pre-Game Skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

GAME vs. Charlotte, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena

Sunday, Jan. 2: OFF DAY

2004-05 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats

Overall Record 15-12-1(3rd)

Home Record 8-7-1

Road Record 7-5-0

Overtime Record 1-1

Shootout Record 2-0

Power Play 12-116 (28th)

Penalty Kill 74-100 (28th)

Leading Scorers

Matt Hendricks 15-15-30

Damain Surma 13-13-26

Brad Church 10-13-23

David Lundbohm 4-10-14

Matt Pagnutti 3-11-14

Brent McDonald 7-5-12

Leading Goaltenders

Craig Kowalski 2.65 GAA, 10-5-1

Rob Zepp 2.95 GAA, 5-7-0

Plus/Minus Leaders

Brad Church +20

Damain Surma +15

Tim O'Connell +12

Matt Hendricks +10

Weekly Award Nominee's: This week's ECHL Player of the Week nominee is forward Damian Surma who notched six points in two games this past week. Surma notched a goal and two assists in each of Florida's games last week.

Who's Hot: Everblades forward Steve Saviano has picked up a point in seven of the last 10 games (0g, 10a)...rookie forward Matt Hendricks has a point in nine of the last 12 games (9g, 7a)...Brad Church has a point in seven of the last 10 games (4g, 9a)...Damian Surma has notched eight points (3g, 5a) in his last four games...Craig Kowalski is 7-1-1 in his last 10 starts.

League Leaders: Matt Hendricks enters this week's action ranked tied for second in the ECHL in scoring with his 30 points. He is also tied for first in scoring among all ECHL rookies. Hendricks' 15 goals ranks first among ECHL rookies, while his 15 assists is fourth among first-year players...Brad Church & Damian Surma are the among the top five in the ECHL in plus/minus. Church leads the league with a plus-20 while Surma ranks tied for third with a plus-15...Matt Pagnutti finds himself tied for ninth in scoring among ECHL defenseman with 14 points.

Special Teams: Entering this week, here's a look at the Everblades special teams: Power Play: Overall: 28th (12-for-116), 10.3%; Home: 26th, 9.3%; Road: 23rd, 12.2%. Penalty Kill: Overall: 28th (74-for-100), 74.0%; HHome: 27th, 73.7%; Road: 28th, 74.4%.

Ticket Information: The Germain Arena Box Office is open from 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Monday through Friday and 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM on Saturday. Individual Tickets can be purchased at the Germain Arena Box Office or at any TicketMaster location. To order tickets by phone, call (239) 334-3309. For Season Tickets, Flex Packs, or Group Tickets call the Everblades Ticket Office at (239) 948-7825.

Everblades On The Air: The Florida Everblades are broadcast on Sportsradio 770 AM and on the web at www.floridaeverblades.com. Join the "Voice of the Everblades" Kevin Reiter for all the play-by-play action. The Everblades pre-game show begins 15 minutes before face-off.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics

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ECHL Stories from December 27, 2004


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