ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

February 20, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades finished a busy week with a 3-2-0 record which puts their overall record at 32-16-3 (67 pts., 2nd South Division) and are 6-2-0 in their last eight games.


THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Tuesday, February 21, at Greenville Grrrowl 7:05 p.m.
GAME NOTES: The Everblades take on the Grrrowl for the fifth of six times this season and the third and final time at the BI-LO Center in Greenville, SC. The Everblades are 2-2-0 vs. Greenville this season, having split a two-game series in each building. The season series saw the first two games played in Greenville with the Grrrowl winning the first game 3-1 on Nov. 22 and the Everblades picking up a 6-3 win on Nov. 26. The most recent game between the South Division rivals took place at Germain Arena with the Grrrowl picking up a 5-2 win on Feb. 14 and Florida winning the next night 6-4. The Grrrowl enter this week's action with a 31-17-2 (64 pts., 3rd South Division) and are 16-8-1 at home this season. Florida holds an all-time record of 31-17-4 vs. Greenville, and are 17-8-2 all time on the road vs. the Grrrowl.

Friday & Saturday, February 24 & 25, vs. Gwinnett Gladiators Both Games: 7:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES: The Everblades return home for the first two games of a season-long eight-game home stand this weekend against the Gladiators. The Everblades are 3-4-1 vs. Gwinnett this season. The most recent games between the South Division rivals saw the teams split a weekend series in Duluth, GA this past weekend. Gwinnett won the first game 3-2 and the Everblades scored an big 3-2 shootout win in the second. This season the Everblades are 2-0-0 vs. Gwinnett at Germain Arena. The Gladiators enter this week's with an overall record of 34-11-6 (74 pts., 1st South Division). Gwinnett is 13-9-3 on the road this season. Florida holds an all-time record of 7-9-4 vs. Gwinnett, and is 4-1-3 all-time at home vs. the Gladiators.

Saturday night's game vs. Gwinnett will be broadcast locally on TV on UPN-8.


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, February 14 vs. Greenville Grrrowl 5-2 Loss
The Everblades suffered a 5-2 loss to the Grrrowl last Tuesday night at Germain Arena. Dustin Johner scored the games first goal, but Greenville tallied the next four. Late in the third period Jeremy Swanson scored his first goal of the season to bring Florida back to within two-goals, but the Grrrowl sealed the game with a goal less than a minute later. Greenville out-shot the Everblades 33-27. Phil Osaer suffered the loss in goal for Florida dropping his record to 14-8-2. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-6; PK: 3-for-3.

Wednesday, February 15 vs. Greenville Grrrowl 6-4 Win
The Everblades battled back the next night to earn a 6-4 win over Greenville at Germain Arena. The win evened the season series a 2-2. The Everblades began strong scoring the game's first three goals. Steve Saviano, Phil Aucoin and Kevin Bergin staked the Everblades to a 3-0 advantage early in the second period. After Greenville picked up a couple second period goals, the Everblades got goals from Ernie Hartlieb and Reggie Berg to open a 5-2 lead. Berg tallied a second goal sandwiched in between two Grrrowl goals late in the third period. Greenville out-shot the Everblades 2-28. Kevin Nastiuk earned the win in goal for Florida raising his record to 4-1-1. Florida Special Teams: PP: 3-for-6; PK: 4-for-4.

Friday, February 17 at Gwinnett Gladiators 3-2 Loss
The Everblades suffered a tough 3-2 loss to the Gladiators on Friday night at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth,GA. Dan Sisca scored the game's first goal early in the second period, but Gwinnett answered with the next three goals. Kevin Bergin tallied a third period goal for Florida to but the lead to one, but that was as close as the Everblades would get. The Everblades were out-shot 33-21 in the game. Kevin Nastiuk suffered the tough-luck loss in goal for the Everblades, dropping his record to 4-2-1. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-5; PK: 4-for-4.

Saturday, February 18 at Gwinnett Gladiators 3-2 Shootout Win
The Everblades bounced back the next night to pick up a big 3-2 shootout victory over the Gladiators in Gwinnett. After Gwinnett scored the first goal of the game, Dustin Johner and Steve Saviano tallied a pair of goals for the Everblades to grab a 2-1 lead midway through the third period. Gwinnett tied the game late in the final period, sending the contest to overtime. Neither team scored in the overtime sending the game to a shootout. In the shootout, the Everblades picked up goals by Saviano, Dan Sisca and Kevin Bergin in the first three rounds, and Phil Aucoin sealed the game scoring in the fifth round. Florida out-shot Gwinnett 43-36 in the game. Kevin Nastiuk picked up the win in net for the Everblades to improve his record to 5-2-1. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-3; PK: 6-for-6.

Sunday, February 19 at Columbia Inferno 4-3 Shootout Win
The Everblades won their second straight game in a shootout, by outlasting the Inferno through an 11 round shootout at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, SC. Columbia jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the first 18 minutes of the game, but Reggie Berg tallied for Florida with 53 seconds remaining in the first period to cut the lead in half. The Inferno scored an early second period to open a 3-1 advantage, but the Everblades collected goals from Dustin Johner and Berg to tie the game at three after two periods. Neither team scored in the third period sending the contest to overtime. In overtime the Everblades killed off a Columbia power play to help send the game to a shootout. In the shootout Steve Saviano and Dan Sisca scored on Florida's first two chances, but it wasn't until the Everblades' 11th round when Saviano tallied again, that the Everblades picked up the game-winner. The Everlades were out-shot 33-30 in the game. Phil Osaer earned the win in goal for Florida by turning away nine of the 11 Columbia shooters in the shootout. The win raised his overall record to 15-8-2. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-8; PK: 5-for-6.

EVERBLADES ITINERARY:
Monday, Feb. 20: OFF DAY
Tuesday, Feb. 21: GAME vs. Greenville, 7:05 p.m. @ BI-LO Center
Wednesday, Feb. 22: OFF DAY
Thursday, Feb. 23: Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena
Friday, Feb. 24: Pre-Game Skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena
GAME vs. Gwinnett Gladiators, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena
Saturday, Feb. 25: Pre-Game Skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena
GAME vs. Gwinnett Gladiators, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena
Sunday, Feb. 26: OFF DAY

2005-06 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats
Overall Record 32-16-3
Home Record 17-7-2
Road Record 15-9-1
Overtime Record 3-2
Shootout Record 4-1
Power Play 65-295 (4th)
Penalty Kill 254-299 (4th)

Leading Scorers
Dan Sisca 19-40-59
Ernie Hartlieb 17-32-49
Kevin Bergin 19-26-45
Steve Saviano 13-23-36
Corey Neilson 11-25-36
Phil Aucoin 14-19-33



Leading Goaltenders
Kevin Nastiuk 2.68 GAA, 5-2-1
Craig Kowalski 2.80 GAA, 12-6-0
Phil Osaer 3.17 GAA, 15-8-2

Plus/Minus Leaders
Dan Sisca +17
Steve Saviano +9
Kevin Bergin +9
John Adams +9
Chris Lee +7


Weekly Award Nominee: This week's Everblades ECHL Player of the Week nominee is forward Reggie Berg who collected six points (4g, 2a) in Florida's five games. This week's ECHL Goaltender of the Week nominee is Kevin Nastiuk, who was 2-1-0 in his three starts this past week with a GAA of 2.93.

Everblades Special Teams Breakdown: After 51 games, here's a look at Florida's special teams breakdown heading into the week: The overall power play is ranked 4th (65-for-295, 22.0%). At home, the ‘Blades are ranked 5th (22.6%) and on the road, Florida is ranked 5th (21.3%). The overall penalty kill is ranked 4th (254-for-299, 84.9%). At home, the Everblades are ranked 7th (84.9%) and on the road the team ranks 7th (85.0%).

League Leaders: Everblades forward Dan Sisca is tied for sixth in the ECHL in scoring with his 59 points...the point total also ranks Sisca second among rookies in scoring and ranked second among rookies with his 40 assists...defenseman Corey Neilson is sixth among ECHL defenseman in scoring with his 36 points...defenseman Chris Lee is tied for 11th among ECHL defenseman with 31 points...forward Ernie Hartlieb is tied for the league lead with three power play goals in one game...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.

Holy Shoot!: On February 19, the Everblades picked up a 4-3 shootout over the Columbia Inferno. The shootout lasted an Everblades season-high 11 rounds! Florida picked up goals by Steve Saviano and Dan Sisca in the first two rounds, but then didn't score again over the next seven rounds. Saviano eventually scored the game-winner in the 11th round. Goaltender Phil Osaer earned the win stopping nine of 11 Columbia shooters. For those wondering, the ECHL record for the longest shootout came in 1991-92 when Hampton Roads and Birmingham took 21 rounds to decide the game.

Milestone Accomplishment: Everblades forward Reggie Berg skated in his 200th career Everblades game on Friday night at Gwinnett. Berg currently ranks fifth in Everblades history with games played.

Coach's Show: "Blades Talk", the Everblades coach's show returns to the air on Monday, February 27 at 7:00 p.m. from Stevie Tomato's Sports Page in Ft. Myers. Fans are encouraged to join the voice of the Everblades Kevin Reiter and head coach Gerry Fleming live at Stevie Tomato's. Fans can also hear the show on SportsRadio 770 AM, and via the internet by visiting www.floridaeverblades.com.
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



ECHL Stories from February 20, 2006


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