ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

Published on January 2, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades finished this past week with a 2-1-1 record which puts their overall record at 19-8-2 (40 pts., T-1st South Division).

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Tuesday, January 3, 2006 at Pensacola Ice Pilots 8:05 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades take on the Ice Pilots for the fifth of 12 times this season on Tuesday night at the Pensacola Civic Center. The Everblades have won the previous four meetings, earning wins on home ice of 4-2 (Dec. 9), 5-2 (Dec. 21) & 5-3 (Dec. 22) and collecting a 4-0 victory at Pensacola on Dec. 28. The Everblades have outscored the Ice Pilots 18-7 this season, and have killed off 24 of 26 Pensacola power play chances. The Ice Pilots enter this week's action with a record of 11-15-3 (25 pts., 8th South Division) and are 8-8-0 on home ice this season. Florida holds an all-time record of 29-11-9 vs. Pensacola and are 12-7-3 all-time on the road vs. the Ice Pilots.

Friday, January 6, 2006 vs. Columbia Inferno 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades skate against the Columbia Inferno for the third of eight times on the season and for the first of four at Germain Arena. Florida holds a record of 1-0-1 vs. the Inferno this season. The Everblades began the season series with a 3-0 win at Columbia on Nov. 23. The Inferno picked up a 4-3 overtime win in the second meeting on Dec. 17 at the Carolina Coliseum. The Inferno enter this week's action with a record of 13-16-3 (29 pts., 8th South Division) and have lost six straight games. Florida holds an all-time record of 13-10-6 vs. Columbia and are 7-2-4 all-time at home vs. the Inferno.

Saturday, January 7, 2006 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades face the Ice Pilots for the sixth time this season on Saturday night at Germain Arena. The home game is Florida's last before the team's annual west coast trip. The ‘Blades won't return to home ice again until Jan. 20. Florida holds an all-time home record of 17-4-6 vs. Pensacola.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, December 27 at Augusta Lynx 1-0 Win

The Everblades won their fourth straight game with the help of a late third period power play goal to upend the Augusta Lynx 1-0 on Tuesday night at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center. The teams battled to a scoreless tie after the first two periods, but in the third period Kevin Bergin notched his 11th goal of the season deflecting a shot past Augusta net-minder Jason Wolfe with just 1:10 remaining in the third period. The power play goal extended Florida's streak to at least one power play goal in 12 of their last 13 games. The Everblades also used 23 saves by goaltender Phil Osaer to help even their road record at 6-6-1. The shutout was Osaer's second of the season, and improved his overall record to 7-2-1. On the power play, the Everblades closed out the night 1-for-5, while the Lynx finished the game 0-for-4 with the man-advantage. With the win the Everblades improved to 5-0-0 vs. Augusta this season. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-5; PK: 4-for-4.

Wednesday, December 28 at Pensacola Ice Pilots 4-0 Win

The Everblades won their fifth straight game with the help of goaltender Craig Kowalski's first shutout of the season, picking up a 4-0 win over the Pensacola Ice Pilots on Wednesday night at the Pensacola Civic Center. The shutout was Florida's second straight, and ran their shutout streak to 148:19. The Everblades opened the scoring when rookie John Ronan tallied his fifth goal of the season with a wrist shot from the right circle past Pensacola goalie Frederic Cloutier at 11:23 of the first period. The Everblades increased their lead in the second period with a pair of goals in the first six minutes of the frame. Dan Sisca extended his point scoring streak to ten straight games with a short-handed goal just 33 seconds into the period and Kevin Bergin followed that with his 12th goal of the season at 6:02, which also pushed his point scoring streak to ten. Florida finished off the scoring when Jon Lehun tallied at 3:53 of the third period. Kowalski's (12-5-0) first shutout of the season came after stopping 33 shots to win his 10th game in his last 11 appearances. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-5; PK: 4-for-4.

Friday, December 30 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators 5-4 OT Loss

The Everblades picked up a tie in the standings after falling 5-4 in overtime to the Gwinnett Gladiators on Friday night at Germain Arena. Gwinnett used four power play goals to help earn their fourth straight win, and snap Florida's 12 game home-winning streak. The game started strong for the Everblades scoring twice in the first two minutes of the game. Dan Sisca extended his point scoring streak to 11 tapping in a pass by Kevin Bergin at the one minute mark. Exactly one minute later Bogdan Rudenko wristed a shot past Gwinnett goaltender Sean Fields to give the Everblades a quick two-goal lead. The Gladiators responded however by scoring the next three goals. The Everblades regained the lead late in the second period when Phil Aucoin one-timed a pass from Sean Stefanski into the net at 16:13 giving the Everblades a 4-3 lead after two periods. In the final period, Gwinnett took advantage of a late power play opportunity to tie the game at four and saw Jim Sharrow score from the right circle 1:13 into to give the Gladiators the victory. Osaer picked up a tie in the standings after allowing five goals on 36 Gwinnett shots, to bring his record to 7-2-2. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-7; PK: 4-for-8.

Saturday, December 31 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators 5-2 L

The Everblades suffered a 5-2 loss to the Gwinnett Gladiators on Saturday night at Germain Arena. The win was Gwinnett's fifth straight. When the dust settled in a wild first period, Gwinnett held a 3-2 lead. The Everblades opened the scoring on a Nick Vukovic shot from the left point that found its way past Gwinnett goaltender Sean Fields. The Gladiators responded with a pair of goals 39 seconds apart midway through the period. The Everblades responded shortly after when Sean Stefanski collected his first professional goal at 13:12 to tie the game at two, but Gwinnett grabbed the momentum when by scoring with four seconds remaining in the period. The Gladiators continued to add momentum early in the second period with a power play goal just 45 seconds into the middle frame. Gwinnett closed out the scoring at 5:14 of the third period. In goal, Kowalski suffered only his second loss in his last 13 games, allowing five goals on 31 shots to fall to 12-6-0. With the loss, the Everblades fell to 2-3-1 vs. Gwinnett this season. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-7; PK: 8-for-9.

2005-06 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats
Overall Record 19-8-2
Home Record 12-2-1
Road Record 7-6-1
Overtime Record 1-2
Shootout Record 2-0
Power Play 35-165 (5th)
Penalty Kill 137-165 (10th)

Leading Scorers
Dan Sisca 10-26-36
Ernie Hartlieb 15-15-30
Kevin Bergin 12-15-27
Jonathan Lehun 9-15-24
Paul Cabana 12-9-21
Chris Lee 6-14-20

Leading Goaltenders
Craig Kowalski 2.80 GAA, 12-6-0
Phil Osaer 2.99 GAA, 7-2-2

Plus/Minus Leaders
Dan Sisca +19
Chris Lee +14
Kevin Bergin +11
John Adams +9
John Ronan +5

Weekly Award Nominee: This week's Everblades ECHL Player of the Week nominee is forward Dan Sisca who collected five points (2g, 3a) in Florida's four games. The 22-year-old native of Woodbridge, Ontario picked up at least one point in Florida's first three games this past week, which extended his points scoring streak to 11. Everblades Special Teams Breakdown: After 28 games, here's a look at Florida's special teams breakdown heading into the week: The overall power play is ranked 5th (35-for-165, 21.2%). At home, the ‘Blades are ranked 9th (20.9%) and on the road, Florida is ranked 7th (21.6%). The overall penalty kill is ranked 10th (137-for-165, 83.0%). At home, the Everblades are ranked 14th (82.7%) and on the road the team ranks 8th (83.6%).

Seeing Stars!: The Everblades will have three representatives on the American Conference roster in the 2006 Bud Light ECHL All-Star Game on Jan. 25 in Fresno, CA. Forward Ernie Hartlieb was voted as a starter by ECHL coaches and will be joined by forward Dan Sisca and defenseman Chris Lee. All three will be making their ECHL All-Star debuts. With Hartlieb starting the game for the American Conference squad, it marks the seventh consecutive season the Everblades have had a starter in the All-Star game. Hartlieb joins Matt Pagnutti (2005), Brian McCullough (2004), Rob Zepp (2003), Briane Thompson (2002), Matt Demarski (2001) and Jeff Maund (2000) as All-Star Game starters.

Home by the Fire: The Everblades saw their franchise record 12-game winning streak on home ice end on Dec. 30 with an overtime loss to Gwinnett. The new team record, which began on Oct. 29 vs. Las Vegas, saw the ‘Blades defeat the Wranglers, Augusta, South Carolina, Charlotte, Gwinnett and Pensacola during the stretch. The previous record for most consecutive home wins was nine, set during the 1999-2000 season.

League Leaders: Everblades forward Dan Sisca is tied for seventh in overall scoring with his 36 points and is second in the ECHL with his 26 assists. The point total also has Sisca ranked third among rookies in scoring and he is tied for the lead among rookies with his plus-19 rating...forward Jon Lehun is tied for ninth in rookie scoring with 24 points...defenseman Chris Lee is 14th among ECHL defenseman with 20 points...forward Ernie Hartlieb leads the league with three power play goals in one game...goaltender Craig Kowalski is 13th in the ECHL with his 2.80 GAA and is tied for third among goalies with his 12 wins...Phil Osaer is ranked 17th with his 2.99 GAA,...as a team, the Everblades are tied for the league lead with five power play goals in one game, and hold the longest streak for consecutive home wins with 12.

Who's Hot: Forward Ernie Hartlieb has picked up points in nine of the last 12 games (6g, 9a)...D Ryan Brindley has points in five of his last nine games played (1g, 5a)...F Kevin Bergin has a points in 11 of the last 12 games (7g, 9a)...F Paul Cabana has scored a point in nine of the last 15 games (8g, 6a) ...F Jonathan Lehun has currently scored points in 14 of the last 16 games (9g, 10a)...F Dan Sisca has picked up a point in 11 of the last 12 games (6g, 14a)...D Chris Lee has points in 12 of the last 16 games (6g, 10a) ...G Craig Kowalski has won his last 10 of his last 12 games played in.

Milestone Reached!: Everblades forward Ernie Hartlieb reached a milestone in his six-year career by playing in his 300th career professional game on Dec. 31 vs. Gwinnett. The 26-year-old native of Warren, Michigan has collected 192 points (70g, 122a) since his pro career began in 2000-01 with the Dayton Bombers. In his career, Hartlieb has skated in the ECHL with Dayton, Arkansas, and the Everblades. He has also seen time in the American Hockey League with Worcester, Lowell and Grand Rapids.

Approaching Milestones: Here's a look at members of the Everblades that are approaching career milestones: F Ernie Hartlieb is eight 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 38 games shy of playing in his 300th professional game...F Paul Cabana is 27 games away from reaching 200 in his career...F Phil Aucoin is six points from reaching the 100 mark...D Chris Lee is five games away from skating in his 100th professional game. 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.

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 20 minutes before face-off.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics

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