ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades weekly

Published on March 6, 2006 under 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 36-18-3 (75 pts., 2nd South Division). The Everblades have also clinched a spot in the 2006 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Friday & Saturday, March 10 & 11 vs. Columbia Inferno Both Games 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades face the Inferno for the fifth and sixth times this year during the weekend. The Everblades are 3-0-1 overall this season vs. Columbia. Three of the four meetings between the teams have been decided in overtime or a shootout. The Everblades won the most recent matchup 4-3 in a shootout on Feb. 19 at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, SC. The shootout was the longest in Everblades history lasting 11 rounds. The only other meeting between the team at Germain Arena this year resulted in a 5-4 overtime win for the Everblades on Jan. 6. Prior to that, the Everblades won the first meeting 3-0 on Nov. 23 and lost in overtime 4-3 on Dec. 17. The Inferno enter this week's action with a record of 20-31-7 (47 pts., 7th South Division) and are 8-17-3 on the road this season. The Everblades have an all-time record of 15-10-6 vs. Columbia, and are 8-2-4 all-time at home vs. the Inferno.

PROMOTIONS: Friday night is Pack The House Night! Join the Everblades as they seek to set an all-time single game attendance record at Germain Arena! Tickets are going fast, so hurry and get yours today!!

Saturday night is our annual firefighter charity hockey game! Come cheer on the SW Florida firefighters, including former Everblades Matt Pagnutti and Terry Lindgren, as they take on firefighters from Miami! The game begins at 5:00 p.m. Contact the Everblades at 239-948-7825 for more information.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, February 28 vs. South Carolina Stingrays 4-1 Win

The Everblades picked up their fifth win in their last six games, and saw Reggie Berg become the team's all-time leading goal scorer with a 4-1 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays on Tuesday night at Germain Arena. Berg wasted little time passing Matt Demarski as the team's all-time leading goal scorer when he tallied his 112th career goal in an Everblades uniform just 2:54 into the first period. The goal stood as the game's only one until South Carolina scored their lone goal at 5:41 of the second period. The Everblades however, responded quickly after Steve Saviano scored just 22 seconds later. Florida increased its lead to 3-1 at 11:10 of the second period when Phil Aucoin notched his 15th goal of the season. The Everblades sealed the win when Saviano tallied an empty net goal with seven seconds remaining in regulation. With the win, Phil Osaer improved to 17-8-2, after stopping 35 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-6; PK: 7-for-7.

Wednesday, March 1 vs. South Carolina Stingrays 7-3 Loss

The Everblades suffered a 7-3 loss the South Carolina Stingrays on Wednesday night at Germain Arena. The Stingrays came out of gate quickly putting the Everblades down 3-0 after the first 20 minutes. In the second period, Florida got on the board after Brandon Coalter's dump in kicked off a glass support and into the slot, where Phil Aucoin fired the puck into an open net at 10:30. Florida remained down by two until South Carolina notched two late second period goals to open a 5-1 lead. The Stingrays made it a 6-1 game 2:55 into the final period, before Florida responded with a pair of goals to cut South Carolina's lead in half. Paul Cabana extended his points scoring streak to five straight with a power play goal at 6:23 and John Ronan notched his ninth goal of the season at 14:10, but that was as close as the Everblades would get. South Carolina sealed the victory with 2:48 remaining in regulation. Goaltender Phil Osaer suffered the loss after allowing the six goals on 35 shots, dropping his record to 17-9-2. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-9; PK: 2-for-5.

Saturday, March 4 vs. Charlotte Checkers 6-3 Win

The Everblades used four power play goal to help clinch a spot in the 2006 Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 6-3 victory over the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday night at Germain Arena. The Everblades came out fast and furious scoring twice in the first six and a half minutes. Vince Bellissimo opened the scoring just 2:32 into the game with a power play goal. Steve Saviano notched the first of his two goals at 6:28. The Checkers responded with pressure of their own, resulting in their first goal of the night at 11:09 of the opening period. Corey Neilson extended Florida's lead to 3-1 with a power play tally at 16:26 of the opening period, and the Everblades increased their lead to 4-1 when Bellissimo notched his second goal of the night, also on the power play just 1:38 into the middle period. Charlotte however responded by scoring twice in the last half of the period to cut the gap to one, but the Everblades erased any hopes of a Charlotte come-back by scoring twice in the first five minutes of the third period. Dan Sisca notched his 21st goal of the season just 35 seconds into the period and Saviano collected his second goals of the night and Florida's fourth power play goal of the game at 4:30. In goal, Kevin Nastiuk earned the win by turning away 30 of 33 Charlotte shots to raise his record to 7-3-1. Florida Special Teams: PP: 4-for-9; PK: 6-for-7.

2005-06 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats
Overall Record 36-18-3
Home Record 20-9-2
Road Record 16-9-1
Overtime Record 3-2
Shootout Record 6-1
Power Play 73-333 (3rd)
Penalty Kill 283-335 (7th)

Leading Scorers
Dan Sisca 21-43-64
Ernie Hartlieb 18-36-54
Kevin Bergin 21-28-49
Steve Saviano 17-31-48
Corey Neilson 13-27-40
Paul Cabana 20-17-37

Leading Goaltenders
Kevin Nastiuk 2.67 GAA, 7-3-1
Craig Kowalski 2.80 GAA, 12-6-0
Phil Osaer 3.21 GAA, 17-9-2

Plus/Minus Leaders
Dan Sisca +20
Steve Saviano +13
Chris Lee +8
John Adams +8
Several tied with +6

Weekly Award Nominee: This week's Everblades ECHL Player of Week nominee is Steve Saviano who scored eight points (4g, 4a) in Florida's three games this past week. Saviano opened the week by tallying two goals and adding an assist in Tuesday's win over South Carolina, then picking up an assist on Wednesday night, tallied two goals and two assists in Florida's 6-3 win over Charlotte on Saturday.

Everblades Special Teams Breakdown: After 57 games, here's a look at Florida's special teams breakdown heading into the week: The overall power play is ranked 3rd (73-for-333, 21.9%). At home, the 'Blades are ranked 5th (22.3%) and on the road, Florida is ranked 5th (21.4%). The overall penalty kill is ranked 7th (283-for-335, 84.5%). At home, the Everblades are ranked 8th (83.7%) and on the road the team ranks 4th (85.6%).

Roster Moves: The Everblades saw defenseman John Adams recalled to Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League. For the rookie it is his fourth call-up to the AHL this season. In all, the 24-year-old has played in 10 total AHL games between Grand Rapids and Springfield. The Wayzata, Minnesota native has not points and six penalty minutes in those 10 games.

Kelly Cup Playoffs: With their 6-3 win on Saturday night over the Charlotte Checkers the Everblades clinched a spot in the 2006 Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Everblades are the second team in the South Division to claim a spot in the post season joining the Gwinnett Gladiators. To date, Wheeling, Reading, and Toledo have also clinched spots in the American Conference's North Division, and in the National Conference, Alaska, Las Vegas and Fresno have also punched their post-season ticket for this season. With the clinching, the Everblades extended their streak to making the playoffs in each of their eight seasons.

Home Sweet Home: The Everblades are currently mid-way through a season-long eight-game home stand. 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. So far on the stand, the Everblades are 3-2-0.

Hitting the Century Mark!: With his goal vs. Charlotte on March 4, Everblades defenseman Corey Neilson reached the 100 goal mark in his career. The 29-year-old, who was acquired by the Everblades in a January 3 trade with Pensacola, has notched 373 career points in 534 games. The New Brunswick native's professional career began in 1997-98 when he skated in 67 games between Quad City of the UHL and Portland of the AHL. Prior to joining the Everblades, Neilson had spent the previous two and a half seasons with Pensacola of the ECHL.

Franchise Leader!: On Tuesday, Feb. 28 Reggie Berg became the Everblades all-time leading goal scorer. The 29-year-old scored a first period goal against South Carolina to score his 112th career Everblades goal. The total passes Matt Demarski who picked up 111 goals in an Everblades uniform from 1998-2002. Overall in his professional career, Berg has tallied 266 points (122g, 144a) in 270 games from 1999-Present. As an Everblade, Berg has 112 goals and 129 assists in 206 games. The native of Anoka, Minnesota currently ranks fifth in all-time games played, second in all-time points and second in all-time assists as an Everblade.

League Leaders: Everblades forward Dan Sisca is ninth in overall scoring with his 64 points and is second among rookies in scoring, he also leads all rookies with his three short-handed goals ...defenseman Corey Neilson is tied for fifth in scoring among ECHL defenseman with his 40 points...defenseman Chris Lee is tied for 15th 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 11 of the last 17 games (9g, 10a)...forward Kevin Bergin has notched points in 15 of the last 21 games (9g, 13a)...Steve Saviano has picked up a point in five straight (4g, 8a) and 17 of his last 21 games (12g, 19a)... Reggie Berg has tallied a point in six of the last nine games (5g, 5a)...Ernie Hartlieb has a point in 12 of the last 16 games (2g, 16a)...Dustin Johner has picked up a point in six of the last ten games he's played in (4g, 4a)...Paul Cabana is currently riding a six-game scoring streak (3g, 4a).

Approaching Milestones: Here's a look at members of the Everblades that are approaching career milestones: F Reggie Berg is 32 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 11 games shy of playing in his 300th professional game...F Paul Cabana is five games away from reaching 200 in his 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: season...Forward Kevin Estrada has nine points (3g, 7a) in 46 games with the Lowell Lock Monsters ...goaltender Craig Kowalski is 5-5-3 in his 13 games with Lowell, registering a 3.02 GAA and .916 save percentage...forward Drew Larman has collected 14 points (6g, 8a) in 35 games with Rochester.

Coach's Show: The next addition of "Blades Talk", the Everblades coach's show will take place on Monday, March 6 from 7:00-7:30 p.m. from Stevie Tomato's Sports Page in Ft. Myers. Fans can join the voice of the Everblades Kevin Reiter and associate coach Jason Nobili live! 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, April 1, 2006 vs. the Greenville Grrrowl. 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

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