ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

February 27, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades closed out this past week with a 2-1-0 record, which puts their overall mark at 34-17-3 (71 pts., 2nd South Division).

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Tuesday & Wednesday, February 28 & March 1 vs. South Carolina Stingrays Both Games 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades face the Stingrays for the sixth and seventh of nine times this season. The Everblades hold a 2-3-0 record against South Carolina this year. Florida won the first two games of the season series 5-4 in overtime on Nov. 8 at Germain Arena and 3-1 on Nov. 27 in Charleston. The Stingrays have won the last three games 3-2 (Nov. 29) in Charleston, 4-1 (Jan 27) at Germain Atena and 4-2 (Jan. 28) at Germain Arena. Following these two games, the final two of the season series will be held at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Stingrays enter this week's action with a record of 22-19-11 (55 pts., 5th South Division) and are 9-11-4 on the road this season. The Everblades have an all-time record of 29-17-8 vs. South Carolina, and are 14-9-5 all-time at home vs. the Stingrays.

PROMOTION: Brandon Coalter Bobblehead Dolls will be given out to the first 2,500 fans into the arena on Tuesday night, February 28 courtesy of the Naples Daily News.

Saturday, March 4 vs. Charlotte Checkers 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades take on the Charlotte Checkers for the sixth of seven times on the season this Saturday night, and for the first time since December 18. The Everblades are 3-2-0 vs. Charlotte this season and won the most recent matchup on Dec. 18 at Charlotte 4-3 in a shootout. Prior to that, Florida won the first two games on home ice by scores of 5-2 and 4-3. Charlotte picked up wins in the next two in Charlotte, NC by scores of 5-2 and 8-6. The Checkers enter this week's action with a record of 27-24-5 (71 pts., 4th South Division) and are 12-14-2 on the road. The Everblades have an all-time record of 16-8-2 vs. Charlotte, and are 9-1-0 all-time at home vs. the Checkers. Saturday night's game will be another locally televised game on UPN-8.

PROMOTION: The first 5,000 fans will receive an Everblades 2005-06 team photo when they enter the arena courtesy of Direct Impressions.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, February 21 at Greenville Grrrowl 3-2 Shootout Win

The Everblades won their third straight game in a shootout after up-ending the Greenville Grrrowl 3-2 last Tuesday night at the BI-LO Center. The Everblades picked up regulation goals from Ernie Hartlieb and Dan Sisca. For the third straight game, the Everblades needed extra time to decide the winner. Neither team scored in the overtime period, which included a power play for the Everblades, sending the contest to a shootout. In the shootout, Florida picked up goals from Steve Saviano and Sisca in the first two rounds, while Greenville managed only a fourth round goal. With the shootout win, the Everblades improved to 5-1 on the season in games decided in a shootout. In goal, Kevin Nastiuk picked up the win after turning away 32 Greenville shots in regulation and overtime to improve his record to 6-2-1. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-4; PK: 5-for-5.

Friday, February 24 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators 4-3 Shootout Win

The Everblades earned their fourth straight win, and improved to 6-1 in shootouts after a 4-3 decision over the Gwinnett Gladiators on Friday night at Germain Arena. Paul Cabana netted a power play goal and Kevin Bergin scored twice, including the game-tying goal with 41 seconds remaining in regulation and the goaltender pulled. For the fourth straight game, the Everblades needed a shootout to decide the contest after neither team scored in the overtime period. In the shootout, Dan Sisca netted the only goal, scoring in Florida's second round. Everblades goaltender Phil Osaer turned away all five Gwinnett shooters. Osaer earned the win by stopping 39 of 42 Gwinnett shots to increase his record to 16-8-2. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-5; PK: 5-for-6.

Saturday, February 25 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators 4-2 Loss

The Everblades saw their four-game winning streak snapped after falling 4-2 to the Gwinnett Gladiators on Saturday night at Germain Arena. Florida's first goal came on a 5-on-3 power play goal by Corey Neilson midway through the second period tying the game at one. Paul Cabana netted an early third period goal which tied the game at two, but Gwinnett responded with the eventual game-winning goal just 1:07 later. The Gladiators later sealed the game with an empty-net goal at 19:56. Everblades goaltender Kevin Nastiuk (6-3-1) played well in goal for Florida, but suffered the tough-luck loss after stopping 31 of 34 Gwinnett shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-5; PK: 4-for-6.

2005-06 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats
Overall Record 34-17-3
Home Record 18-8-2
Road Record 16-9-1
Overtime Record 3-2
Shootout Record 6-1
Power Play 68-309 (4th)
Penalty Kill 268-316 (5th)

Leading Scorers
Dan Sisca 20-41-61
Ernie Hartlieb 18-33-51
Kevin Bergin 21-27-48
Steve Saviano 13-27-40
Corey Neilson 12-26-38
Paul Cabana 19-14-33

Leading Goaltenders
Kevin Nastiuk 2.63 GAA, 6-3-1
Craig Kowalski 2.80 GAA, 12-6-0
Phil Osaer 3.16 GAA, 16-8-2

Plus/Minus Leaders
Dan Sisca +17
Steve Saviano +9
Kevin Bergin +8
Paul Cabana +7
Chris Lee +7

Weekly Award Nominee: This week's Everblades ECHL Player of Week nominee is Kevin Bergin who scored three points (2g, 1a) in Florida's three games this past week. Bergin scored both of his goals on Feb. 24 vs. Gwinnett.

Everblades Special Teams Breakdown: After 54 games, here's a look at Florida's special teams breakdown heading into the week: The overall power play is ranked 4th (68-for-309, 22.0%). At home, the 'Blades are ranked 5th (22.5%) and on the road, Florida is ranked 4th (21.4%). The overall penalty kill is ranked 5th (268-for-316, 84.8%). At home, the Everblades are ranked 7th (84.2%) and on the road the team ranks 5th (85.6%).

Holy Shootout!: Florida's recent four-game winning streak saw all four victories come in a shootout. The Everblades began the shootout streak on Feb. 18 with a 3-2 victory at Gwinnett, then followed that with a 4-3 win at Columbia on Feb. 19. The 'Blades ended their road trip with a 3-2 win at Greenville on Feb. 21 and the picked up their second shootout win over Gwinnett with a 4-3 effort on home ice on Feb. 24. The recent run, pushed Florida's record to 6-1 in shootouts this season. In addition, the win over Columbia on Feb. 19 went an Everblades franchise-high 11 rounds, before Steve Saviano, who was shooting for the second time in the shootout, scored to win it for Florida.

Home Sweet Home: This past weekend marked the first games of a season-long eight-game home stand for the Everblades. The stand will extend until March 14. During the two and a half weeks on home ice, the Everblades will play Gwinnett twice, South Carolina twice, Charlotte once, and Columbia three times. After the 8-game stand comes to an end, the Everblades will only play two more games on home ice during the regular season.

Career Mark!: With his first goal in Florida's 4-3 shootout win over Gwinnett on Feb. 24, Kevin Bergin reached a career high in goals during one season with 20. His previous high was set last season when he combined to score 19 goals with Greenville and Toledo. In addition, Bergin is approaching a career high in points. Last season the 24-year-old tallied 54 points, and he currently has 48 points this season.

League Leaders: Everblades forward Dan Sisca is seventh in overall scoring with his 61 points and is second among rookies in scoring, he also leads all rookies with his three short-handed goals ...defenseman Corey Neilson is sixth in scoring among ECHL defenseman with his 38 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.

Who's Hot: Forward Dan Sisca has points in six of the last nine games (3g, 7a)...forward Kevin Bergin has notched points in five of the last seven games (4g, 5a)...Steve Saviano has picked up a point in four of the last five games (1g, 6a)...Reggie Berg has tallied a point in five of the last seven games (4g, 5a)...Ernie Hartlieb has a point in 11 of the last 14 games (2g, 14a)...Dustin Johner has picked up a point in six of the last eight games he's played in (4g, 4a)...Paul Cabana is currently riding a three-game scoring streak (2g, 1a).

Approaching Milestones: Here's a look at members of the Everblades that are approaching career milestones: F Reggie Berg is 33 points shy of 300 in his career...D Ryan Brindley is 26 points away from reaching 300 in his professional career...F Kevin Bergin is 14 games shy of playing in his 300th professional game...F Paul Cabana is eight games away from reaching 200 in his career...D Corey Neilson's next goal will be his 100th in his pro career.

How Are They Doing?: Here's a look at how the Everblades players that earned call-ups to the AHL this season are doing: Defeseman John Adams has no points in two games with Grand Rapids, and overall has no points in seven AHL games this season...Forward Kevin Estrada has nine points (2g, 7a) in 44 games with the Lowell Lock Monsters ...goaltender Craig Kowalski is 4-5-3 in his 12 games with Lowell, registering a 3.02 GAA and .918 save percentage...forward Drew Larman has collected 14 points (6g, 8a) in 33 games with Rochester.

Upcoming Promotion: On Tuesday, February 28, when the Everblades host the South Carolina Stingrays the first 2,500 fans will receive a Brandon Coalter bobblehead courtesy of the Naples Daily News.

Coach's Show: The next addition of "Blades Talk", the Everblades coach's show will take place on Monday, February 27 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. from Stevie Tomato's Sports Page in Ft. Myers. Fans can join the voice of the Everblades Kevin Reiter and head coach Gerry Fleming live! Monday's guest will be Everblades forward Brandon Coalter. The show can also be heard live on SportsRadio 770 AM and via the internet at www.floridaeverblades.com.

Ticket Information: Everblades 2005-06, 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.

Next Telecast: The next Everblades game on TV will be Saturday, March 4, 2006 vs. the Charlotte Checkers. The game can been seen locally on UPN-8 beginning at 7:30 p.m.

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 27, 2006


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