ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

Published on February 7, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades finished up this past week with a 2-1-0 record, moving them into second place in the American Conference standings. The 'Blades enter this week's action with a record of 24-14-6 (54 pts., 2nd South Division).

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Tuesday, February 8 vs. Mississippi Sea Wolves 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades and the Sea Wolves meet for the second of five times this season and for the second of three at Germain Arena on Tuesday night. Florida picked up a 6-3 win in the only other meeting this year back on Oct. 29. Last season the Everblades finished the season with a record of 3-2-0 against Mississippi, including a 2-1-0 mark at Germain Arena. The Sea Wolves enter this week's action with a record of 22-16-3 (47 pts., 4th, South Division) and are 6-4-0 in their last ten games. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 13-4-1 vs. Mississippi.

Friday, February 11 at Augusta Lynx 7:35 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades travel to Augusta, Georgia for the final meeting between the teams in the regular season. The game will be the seventh between the clubs, and the third at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center. Florida is 4-1-1 vs. Augusta this season. Most recently, the 'Blades completed a weekend sweep over the Lynx in Augusta on Feb. 4 & 5, winning 3-1 and 4-3 (OT). Prior to that, the Everblades won the first two games of the season series 3-2 & 5-2 on Dec. 17 & 18. Augusta picked up a 3-2 shootout win on Jan. 18, and defeated the Everblades 4-2 on Feb. 1. Entering this week, Augusta has a record of 15-24-6 (36 pts., 6th East Division). Florida is 33-10-4 all-time vs. Augusta.

Saturday, February 12 at Gwinnett Gladiators 7:35 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades travel to Duluth, GA to take on the Gwinnett Gladiators for the fifth of six meetings between the two South Division rivals. The contest will be the second of three games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. On the season, the Everblades hold a record of 3-0-1 vs. Gwinnett. Florida picked up a 4-3 shootout win in the first meeting of the year on Oct. 26 at Germain Arena, then earned a 5-2 victory over the Gladiators on Dec. 7 at Gwinnett. The Gladiators knocked off the 'Blades in a shootout on Jan. 21 in Florida, but the Everblades won the most recent match-up 5-3 on Jan. 22, also in Florida. Gwinnett enters this week with a record of 22-13-6 (50 pts., 3rd, South Division). The Everblades hold an all-time record of 3-4-3 vs. the Gladiators.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, February 1 vs. Augusta Lynx 4-2 Loss

The Everblades saw their three-game winning streak come to an end with a 4-2 loss to the Augusta Lynx last Tuesday night at Germain Arena. The loss in regulation was Florida's first in their last nine home games. Augusta used three first period goals to help set the tone, allowing them to hold a 3-0 lead at the end of one period. The Everblades made a strong push to get back in the game with a pair of power play goals in the second period, but unfortunately couldn't find the equalizer, despite taking 28 shots in the final two periods. Brent McDonald and Chris Lee scored less than three minutes apart midway though the period to bring the 'Blades back to within one. Florida limited Augusta to just seven shots over the final two periods, but the Lynx sealed the win with an empty net with eight seconds remaining in the game. Goaltender Terry Dunbar, who was just signed by the Everblades on Monday out of the Southern Professional Hockey League, suffered the loss, allowing three goals on 17 shots faced to fall to 0-1-0. Florida Special Teams: PP: 2-for-5; PK: 2-for-3.

Friday, February 4 at Augusta Lynx 3-1 Win

The Everblades used two first period goals to help pick up a 3-1 victory over the Augusta Lynx on Friday night at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center. The Everblades were able to jump out to a 2-0 lead by the end of the first period of play on goals by Damian Surma and Reggie Berg. Surma put the Everblades on the scoreboard at 6:55 with the team's eighth power play goal in the last two-plus games, and Berg notched the first of his two goals on the night at 15:07. Augusta collected the lone goal in the second period to cut the Florida lead in half. The game remained a 2-1 Florida lead until the final 43 seconds of the contest when Berg sealed the win with an empty net tally for his 10th goal of the season. Everblades goaltender Tyler MacKay, who had just been acquired by the Everblades in a trade with Atlantic City, earned the win in his Florida debut by stopping 28 of 29 Augusta shots bringing his record to 1-4-0. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-3; PK: 4-for-4.

Saturday, February 5 at Augusta Lynx 4-3 OT Win

The Everblades picked up an 4-3 overtime victory over the Augusta Lynx on Saturday night at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center. Damian Surma converted an Augusta turnover into the game-winner 3:47 into the overtime period, saving the 'Blades after they allowed Augusta to come back from a two-goal deficit entering the third period. Matt Hendricks got the Everblades off to the fast start with his 20th goal of the season at 4:59 of the opening period. Brent McDonald extended the 'Blades to a 2-0 late in the first period, by jamming home a rebound at 18:42 while Florida was on the power play. A hard-fought second period saw each team collect a goal, allowing the Everblades to retain their two-goal lead after two periods. Augusta cut into Florida's lead with a power play goal at 11:46. However, less than a minute later, Brandon Coalter picked up a rebound and chipped it into the net giving the 'Blades their two-goal advantage back. In the third period, the Lynx dominated the Everblades out-shooting them 15-3 and scoring twice in a span of 47 seconds to tie the game and eventually force it to overtime. Tyler MacKay picked up his second straight win in goal for the Everblades, making 45 saves, many of them spectacular, to push his record to 2-4-0. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-1; PK: 3-for-4.

EVERBLADES ITINERARY:
Monday, Feb. 7: Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena
Tuesday, Feb. 8: Pre-Game skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena
GAME vs. Mississippi, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena
Wednesday, Feb. 9: Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena
Thursday, Feb. 10: Travel to Augusta
Friday, Feb. 11: GAME vs. Augusta, 7:35 p.m. @ Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center
Saturday, Feb. 12: GAME vs. Gwinnett, 7:35 p.m. @ The Arena At Gwinnett Center
Sunday, Feb. 13: OFF DAY

2004-05 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERSQuick Stats
Overall Record 24-14-6
Home Record 13-8-4
Road Record 11-6-2
Overtime Record 2-4
Shootout Record 2-2
Power Play 31-199 (18th)
Penalty Kill 138-176 (27th)

Leading Scorers
Matt Hendricks 20-23-43
Damian Surma 22-17-39
Brad Church 18-18-36
Brent McDonald 13-13-26
Reggie Berg 10-16-26
Steve Saviano 5-21-26

Leading Goaltenders
Craig Kowalski 2.84 GAA, 13-6-5
Tyler MacKay 2.84 GAA, 2-4-0
Rob Zepp 2.87 GAA, 9-7-1
Terry Dunbar 3.03 GAA, 0-1-0

Plus/Minus Leaders

Brad Church +20
Damian Surma +18
Matt Hendricks +10
Tim O'Connell +9

Weekly Award Nominee: This week's Everblades Player of the Week nominee is Damian Surma, who notched three points in three games this past week. Surma collected two goals and an assist in Florida's three games against Augusta last week. This week's Goaltender of the Week nominee for the Everblades is Tyler MacKay who was a perfect 2-0-0 with a 1.93 GAA in his two games played this past weekend.

Roster Changes: The Everblades saw host of changes to their roster entering this past week. With both goaltenders out with injuries, the team signed Terry Dunbar out of the Southern Professional Hockey League to start in Tuesday's game vs. Augusta. Then, on Friday, the Everblades completed a trade with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies to get goaltender Tyler MacKay and the contractual rights to Jim Henkel, who is currently playing in Lowell of the AHL. In return, the 'Blades sent defenseman Tom Reimann to Atlantic City. In addition, the team released Dunbar back to his current SPHL team.

Who's Hot: Everblades forward Reggie Berg has a point in 11 of his last 14 games (11g, 15a)...Steve Saviano has picked up points in 12 of the last 17 games (4g, 11a)...Brad Church has scored a point in 12 of the last 19 games (10g, 9a) ...Damian Surma has points in 13 of the last 20 games (12g, 9a)...Chris Lee has 12 points (2g, 10a) in his last 18 games...Tyler MacKay is 2-0-0 in his two starts with the Everbldes...Craig Kowalski is 10-2-5 in his last 17 games.

Home Cookin': The Everblades finished off their season-long, seven-game home stand this past Tuesday, and completed it with an impressive record of 3-1-3. The 'Blades have outscored their opponents 30-25 in the seven games, and scored on 26.1% of their power play chances (12-46), while killing off 87.5% of the power play opportunities against them (28-32). Overall, the Everblades are 5-1-3 in their last nine home games.

Road Warriors: With their two victories this past weekend in Augusta, the Everblades are now 9-1-2 in their last 12 road contests. The Everblades' only loss in that stretch came on Jan. 4 in Columbia, SC to the Inferno. Overall, the 'Blades are 11-6-2 away from Germain Arena this season.

Turn On the Power!: After a rough start to the year on the power play, the Everblades have been thriving on the man-advantage of late. The Everblades have scored at least one power play goal in their last five games, including an all-time franchise record five in one game on Jan. 30 vs. Louisiana. Overall, the Everblades are 18-for-74 (24.3 %) in their last 14 games, which has moved the team to 18th overall in the ECHL, with a 15.6% success rate.

League Leaders: Matt Hendricks enters this week's action ranked tied for 10th in the ECHL in scoring with his 43 points. He is also leading all rookies in scoring and his 20 goals also leads all first year players...Damian Surma ranks second in the ECHL in goals scored with his 22...Brad Church is fourth in the league with a plus-20 rating and is tied for fourth in the ECHL with his nine power play goals...defenseman Matt Pagnutti is tied for 14th in scoring among ECHL defenseman with his 23 points.

Approaching Milestones: A few 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 one game away from skating in his 300th career game...Ryan Brindley needs to play in 20 more games to hit the 400 games played plateau in his career...Brandon Coalter finds himself three games away from his 100th game in an Everblades uniform...Damian Surma is 19 games shy of playing in his 200th professional game and is 14 points away from his 100th career point.

Coach's Show: The next edition of "Blades Talk" will take place on Monday, February 8 from 7-8 p.m. at Steve Tomato's SportsPage in Ft. Myers. Join the voice of the Everblades Kevin Reiter along with Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming, and Everblades forward Brandon Coalter for this week's program. 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 Florida Lottery pre-game show begins 25 minutes before face-off.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from February 7, 2005


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