ECHL Florida Everblades

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January 24, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades closed out this past week of action with a 1-0-2 record to stretch their unbeaten in regulation streak to seven games. The 'Blades enter this week's action with a record of 20-13-6 (46 pts., 2nd South Division).

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Friday & Saturday, January 28 & 29 vs. Louisiana IceGators Both Games: 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades and IceGators meet for the first two of six times. The IceGators are the only division foe the Everblades haven't played yet this season. The 'Blades and Louisiana will play four of the six games in the season series at Germain Arena, and two at the Cajundome in Lafayette. Last season the Everblades were 2-1-0 against Louisiana, including a perfect 2-0-0 at Germain Arena. The IceGators enter this week's action with a record of 16-20-3 (35 pts., 5th, South Division), and have lost three straight game and eight of their last 10. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 7-7-0 vs. Louisiana. During Saturday night's game, the Everblades will be giving away a large-screen, high definition TV and a Super Bowl party to a lucky fan, coutesy of SportsRadio 770 AM.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, January 18 vs. Augusta Lynx 3-2 Shootout Loss

The Florida Everblades picked up a tie in the standings for the fourth straight game after falling to the Augusta Lynx 3-2 in a shootout Tuesday morning at Germain Arena. The 10:30 a.m. game featured over 5,000 Southwest Florida area school children, who were treated to extra hockey. Florida opened the scoring 5:17 into the game when Matt Hendricks beat Augusta goalie Jason Saal with a wrist shot on the power play. Augusta tied the game late in the first period, and each team later scored a goal in the third period. After the Lynx took a 2-1 lead, Hendricks notched his second goal of the game, also on the power play at 3:02 of the third to tie the game, and eventually send it to overtime. Neither team scored in the five-minute overtime period sending the game to a shootout. In the shootout, the Lynx outscored the 'Blades 2-1 to pick up the extra point in the standings.

Craig Kowalski started in goal for Florida and earned the tie, stopping 28 shots in regulation and overtime. Florida special teams: PP: 2-for-7, PK: 7-for-7.

Friday, January 21 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators 4-3 Shootout Loss

The Florida Everblades earned a tie in the standings for the fifth straight game after falling 4-3 to the Gwinnett Gladiators in a shootout Friday night at Germain Arena. Florida held a lead of 3-2 into the final minute of the game on goals by Brad Church, Reggie Berg and Brent McDonald. But a late penalty called against the Everblades gave Gwinnett a power play with 48 seconds remaining in regulation. That, along with the goalie pulled gave the Gladiators a 6-on-4 advantage. With 12.4 seconds remaining in the game, Gwinnett tied the game sending it to overtime. Neither team notched the game-winning goal in overtime, sending the 'Blades to their second straight shootout. In the shootout, Gwinnett scored on their first shot, and none of the five shooters for Florida could dent the twine, giving Gwinnett the extra point in the standings.

Craig Kowalski picked up another tie in goal for Florida turning away 32 shots in regulation and overtime. Florida special teams: PP: 1-for-5, PK: 3-for-4.

Saturday, January 22 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators 5-3 Win

The Everblades picked up a big come-from-behind win over the Gwinnett Gladiators on Saturday night at Germain Arena. Florida trailed 3-1 entering the third period and scored four goals in the final frame to earn a 5-3 win over their South Division rivals. Kris Vernarsky started things off well for Florida scoring 44 seconds into the game, but Gwinnett responded with the next three goals. In the third period Brad Church, Brent McDonald and Damian Surma scored in a 2:02 span in the first 4:40 of the stanza to put Florida on top 4-3. Vernarsky sealed the win with 48 seconds remaining scoring his second goal of the game into the empty Gwinnett goal.

Craig Kowalski made his third straight start in goal for the 'Blades and picked up the win by stopping 30 of 32 shots. Florida special teams: PP: 0-for-7, PK: 4-for-4.

EVERBLADES ITINERARY:
Monday, Jan. 24: OFF DAY (All-Star Break)
Tuesday, Jan. 25: OFF DAY (All-Star Break)
Wednesday, Jan. 26: OFF DAY (All-Star Break)
Thursday, Jan. 27: Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena
Friday, Jan. 28: Pre-Game skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena
GAME vs. Louisiana, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena
Saturday, Jan. 29: Pre-Game skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena
GAME vs. Louisiana, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena
Sunday, Jan. 30: OFF DAY

2004-05 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats

Overall Record 20-13-6
Home Record 11-7-4
Road Record 9-6-2
Overtime Record 1-4
Shootout Record 2-2
Power Play 21-173 (27th)
Penalty Kill 121-154 (26th)

Leading Scorers

Matt Hendricks 19-21-40
Damian Surma 19-16-35
Brad Church 14-16-30
Steve Saviano 4-19-23
Brent McDonald 11-11-22
Matt Pagnutti 4-16-20

Leading Goaltenders

Rob Zepp 2.75 GAA, 8-7-1
Craig Kowalski 2.82 GAA, 12-6-5

Plus/Minus Leaders

Brad Church +20
Damian Surma +19
Tim O'Connell +12
Matt Hendricks +11

Weekly Award Nominee's: This week's ECHL award nominee's from the Everblades are Craig Kowalski for goaltender of the week and Reggie Berg for player of the week. Kowalski posted a 1-0-2 record with a 2.52 goals against average. Berg notched four points in three games, scoring a goal and adding three assists.

Who's Hot: Everblades forward Reggie Berg has a point in eight of his last nine games (7g, 9a)...Steve Saviano has picked up points in 10 of the last 12 games (3g, 9a)...Ryan Brindley has scored a point in six of the last nine games (2g, 5a)...Matt Hendricks has notched a point in 10 of the last 15 games (8g, 9a)...Brad Church has scored a point in nine of the last 14 games (6g, 7a) ...Damian Surma has points in 10 of the last 15 games (9g, 8a)...Chris Lee has 10 points (1g, 9a) in his last 13 games...Craig Kowalski is 9-2-5 in his last 16 games.

Seeing Stars: The Florida Everblades have two players representing the club in the 2005 Coors Light ECHL All-Star Game in Reading, PA on January 26. Matt Hendricks and Matt Pagnutti were both voted as starters for the American Conference squad. For both players this is the first All-Star Game they will play in. Pagnutti was also recently named as one of the two alternate captains for the American Conference squad.

League Leaders: Matt Hendricks enters this week's action ranked tied for sixth in the ECHL in scoring with his 40 points. He is also tied for the lead in scoring among all ECHL rookies. Hendricks' 19 goals also leads all first year players...Brad Church & Damian Surma are both among the league leaders in plus/minus. Church is tied for second in the league with a plus-20 rating and Surma is tied for fourth with a plus -19...defenseman Matt Pagnutti is tied for 14th in scoring among ECHL defenseman with his 20 points.

Come-Back Kids!: In their last seven games, the Everblades have battled back from third period deficits to either tie or win the game. In their last five, the Blades are 2-0-5. The biggest come-back in this stretch of games, came on Jan. 6 at Pee Dee when Florida trailed 3-0 just 20 seconds into the third period, and came back to win 4-3 in regulation. Overall this season, the Everblades have mustered nine come-from-behind wins.

Approaching Milestones: A couple Everblades players are closing in on milestones, here's a look at who's doing what: Jared Newman is five games from skating in his 100th professional game...Brent McDonald is six games away from skating in his 300th career game...Ryan Brindley needs to play in 25 more games to hit the 400 games played plateau in his career...Brandon Coalter finds himself eight games away from his 100th game in an Everblades uniform...Damian Surma is 24 games shy of playing in his 200th professional game and is 18 points away from his 100th career point.

Coach's Show: The next edition of "Blades Talk" will take place on Monday, January 24 from 7-8 p.m. at Steve Tomato's SportsPage in Ft. Myers. Join the voice of the Everblades Kevin Reiter along with this week's guests, Everblades forward Reggie Berg and News-Press sports writer Ed Reed. Fans are encouraged to attend! In addition, the program can be heard on SportsRadio 770 AM and via the internet by visiting www.floridaeverblades.com

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



ECHL Stories from January 24, 2005


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