ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

April 3, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades finished this past week with a record of 2-0-1, which puts their overall record at 45-20-4 (94 pts., 2nd South Division) and are 8-1-1 in their last ten games.


THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Tuesday, April 4, at Gwinnett Gladiators 7:05 p.m.
GAME NOTES: The Everblades travel to Duluth, GA to take on the Gwinnett Gladiators for the 11th and final time this season. The game is also the fifth between the South Division rivals at the Arena at Gwinnett Center, where the Everblades are 1-3-0 this season. The Everblades hold an overall record of 4-5-1 vs. Gwinnett this season. The Gladiators won the most recent meeting 4-2 on February 25 at Germain Arena. The Gladiators enter this week's with an overall record of 48-14-7 (103 pts., 1st South Division) and have clinched home ice advantage throughout the American Conference playoffs. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 8-10-4 and are 3-7-0 all-time at Gwinnett.

Friday & Saturday, April 7 & 8, at Pensacola Ice Pilots Both Game 8:05 p.m.
GAME NOTES: The Everblades wrap up the regular season with a pair of games at Pensacola. The games are the 11th & 12th between the South Division opponents, and the fifth and sixth games at the Pensacola Civic Center, where the Everblades are 4-0-0. Overall the Everblades are a perfect 10-0-0 vs. the Ice Pilots this season, and have outscored Pensacola 49-15. Pensacola enters this week's with an overall record of 21-42-7 (49 pts., 8th South Division) and are 10-22-2 at home. The Everblades are 35-11-9 all-time vs. Pensacola and are 15-7-3 all-time at Pensacola.


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, March 28 at South Carolina 4-2 Win
The Everblades wrapped up their longest road trip of the season with a 4-1 win over the South Carolina Stingrays on Tuesday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Everblades, with the help of 17 first period shots, got off to the quick start scoring twice in the first eight minutes of the game. Steve Saviano notched his 21st goal of the season by collecting a power play goal at 5:47 of the opening frame. Vince Bellissimo gave the Everblades a 2-0 lead just over two minutes later at 7:58. The Everblades managed to add to their lead with a second period goal by Reggie Berg at 14:11. After the Stingrays battled back to cut the Florida lead to two at 8:56 of the period, the Everblades scored a late power play goal by Kevin Bergin with just 1:53 remaining in regulation. With the win in goal Phil Osaer racked up his seventh win in his last nine starts and improved to 20-10-2 overall by stopping 23 of 24 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 2-for-6; PK: 4-for-5.

Friday, March 31 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots 6-2 Win
The Everblades used four Steve Saviano goals and 36 saves from goaltender Phil Osaer to improve to 10-0-0 vs. the Pensacola Ice Pilots this season after a 6-2 win in front of a standing-room only crowd of 7,512 at Germain Arena. Saviano tied an Everblades franchise record with his four goals and five total points. The 24-year-old scored his first of the night at 9:54 of the first period after Kevin Bergin had given the Everblades a 1-0 lead just 1:33 into the game. Saviano's second tally came after being awarded a penalty shot by referee Nygel Pelletier at 3:31 of the second period. Saviano tallied Florida's fifth hat-trick of the season with his 24th goal of the year at 7:07 of the middle period, then notched his fourth goal of the game at 16:10 to open a 5-0 lead for the Everblades heading into the locker room. In the third period Dustin Johner got in on the fun by collecting his 16th goal of the season just 39 seconds into the frame. Pensacola answered with two third period power play goals. Phil Osaer won his seventh of his last nine start and improved overall to 21-10-2 by making 36 saves. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-3; PK: 5-for-7.


Saturday, April 1 vs. Greenville Grrrowl 5-4 Overtime Loss
The Everblades dropped a 5-4 overtime decision to the Greenville Grrrowl on Saturday night, but still clinched a first round playoff bye by claiming a point. A wild-and-wooly ending to a playoff-type game saw both teams score a goal in the final 65 seconds of regulation. Just after Greenville tallied a power play goal with 1:03 remaining in regulation to grab a 4-3 lead, Vince Bellissimo sent the standing-room only crowd of 7,523 into a frenzy by scoring with just 46 seconds remaining to even the contest up at four, and send the game to overtime. With the Everblades holding the 3-2 lead heading into the third period, Greenville battled their way back to tie the game at three while a delayed penalty was coming against the Everblades to help set up the wild ending. Prior to that, the action shifted back-and-forth during the first two periods of play. The Everblades staked themselves to an early 2-0 lead when Dan Sisca and Bellissimo scored in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Grrrowl answered back with a late power play goal that came with just 36 seconds remaining in the opening period, then tied the game at 3:11 of the second period. The Everblades grabbed the lead back when Paul Cabana deflected home a short-handed goal at 16:14 for his team-leading fourth and Florida's 15th as a team. In goal, Kevin Nastiuk earned a tie in the standings to bring his overall record to 12-4-2 after allowing the five goals on 29 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-6; PK: 4-for-6.

EVERBLADES ITINERARY:
Monday, Apr. 3: Travel to Gwinnett
Tuesday, Apr. 4: GAME vs. Gwinnett Gladiators, 7:05 p.m. @ The Arena at Gwinnett Center
Wednesday, Apr. 5: Practice at Pensacola
Thursday, Apr. 6: Practice at Pensacola
Friday, Apr. 7: GAME vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots, 8:05 p.m. @ The Arena at Gwinnett Center
Saturday, Apr. 8: GAME vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots, 8:05 p.m. @ The Arena at Gwinnett Center
Sunday, Apr. 9: OFF DAY


2005-06 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats
Overall Record 45-20-4
Home Record 23-10-3
Road Record 22-10-1
Overtime Record 3-3
Shootout Record 8-1
Power Play 82-389 (4th)
Penalty Kill 328-392 (8th)

Leading Scorers
Dan Sisca 28-50-78
Steve Saviano 25-43-68
Kevin Bergin 28-34-62
Ernie Hartlieb 18-36-54
Corey Neilson 13-35-48
Paul Cabana 22-23-45
Leading Goaltenders
Kevin Nastiuk 2.60 GAA, 12-4-2
Craig Kowalski 2.80 GAA, 12-6-0
Phil Osaer 3.07 GAA, 21-10-2

Plus/Minus Leaders
Dan Sisca +29
Steve Saviano +28
Vince Bellissimo +15
Dustin Johner +15
Martin Lojek +13


Weekly Award Nominees: The Everblades Player of the Week nominee is forward Steve Saviano who notched 10 points in the three games this past week. Saviano tallied five goals and five assists, while holding a plus-6 rating. The Everblades goaltender of the week nominee is Phil Osaer who finished the week 2-0-0 with a 1.50 goals against average and a .954 save percentage.

Everblades Special Teams Breakdown: After 69 games, here's a look at Florida's special teams breakdown heading into the week: The overall power play is ranked 4th (82-for-389, 21.1%). At home, the ‘Blades are ranked 6th (21.7%) and on the road, Florida is ranked 6th (19.7%). The overall penalty kill is ranked 8th (328-for-392, 83.7%). At home, the Everblades are ranked 8th (83.3%) and on the road the team ranks 6th (85.3%).

Bye Bye!: With their overtime loss to Greenville on Saturday night, the Everblades earned the one point they needed to clinch the second place spot in the South Division, and thus a first round playoff bye. The Everblades and Gwinnett will each get a week long break after the regular season ends before beginning the quest for the Kelly Cup.

Playoff Home Games: The Everblades will host their first two home playoff games on Friday April, 14 and Saturday, April 15 at Germain Arena. Both games will begin at 7:30 p.m. The opponent is to be determined.

Got that Winning Feeling!: With their win over Pensacola on Friday night, the Everblades assured themselves of tying the franchise record for the second most wins in team history. The Everblades completed their first ever season in the ECHL with 45 wins as well. The franchise record is 53 wins set in year two of the organization. In addition, with a win tonight the Everblades will set the second highest win total on home ice in franchise history with 24.

Did You See That!: Everblades forward Steve Saviano tied and Everblades franchise record with four goals and five points in one night on March 31 vs. Pensacola. His four goals came in succession, and included a penalty shot tally. Four goals have been scored in one game three other times in team history and was last accomplished by Brian McCullough on Feb. 13, 2004 vs. Mississippi. Last night was the fifth time a player has notched five points in one game, with Reggie Berg last accomplishing the feat on January 29, 2005 vs. Louisiana.

League Leaders: Everblades forward Dan Sisca is tied for ninth in the ECHL in scoring with his 78 points...the point total also ranks Sisca second among rookies in scoring and ranked second among rookies with his 50 assists...goaltender Kevin Nastiuk is ranked third in the ECHL with his .927 save percentage...defenseman Corey Neilson is tied for third among ECHL defenseman in scoring with his 48 points...defenseman Chris Lee is for 13th among ECHL defenseman with 37 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.

Milestone Update: Several Everblades players are closing in on career milestones or have recently hit a milestone, here's a look at them: forward Dustin Johner reached the 100 point plateau in his career with an assist on March 21 at Columbia...defenseman Ryan Brindley skated in his 450th career game in on Tuesday at South Carolina, and is four assists away from his 300th...forward Kevin Bergin skated in his 300th career game on Saturday night vs. Greenville...forward Paul Cabana played in his 200th career game on March 18 at Augusta.

Who's Hot: Forward Ernie Hartlieb has picked up points in 13 of the last 18 games he's played in (2g, 17a)...Reggie Berg has points in nine of the last 12 games (3g, 9a)...Steve Saviano has collected a point in 15 of the last 17 games (13g, 18a) after tallying a point in an Everblades season-high 12 straight games...Kevin Bergin has scored a point in eight of the last 12 contests (7g, 6a)...Paul Cabana has a point in 11 of the last 18 games (6g, 9a).. Vince Bellissimo has a point in nine of the last 11 games (10g, 9a)...Dan Sisca has notched at least on point in 11 of the last 13 games (7g, 10a)...goaltender Phil Osaer has won seven of his last nine starts and goalie Kevin Nastiuk has won six of his last eight starts.

Penalty Shot Fever!: After going the first 55 games of the season without a penalty shot for or against, the Everblades have been involved in six penalty shots in their last 14 games. The Everblades have been awarded five penalty shots, while having one against them. In Florida's five penalty shots, only Steve Saviano has converted, and in the lone attempt against the Everblades Phil Osaer made the save. Saviano and Dan Sisca have each been awarded two of the penalty shots, and Vince Bellissimo has taken the other one. In all, the league has had 45 penalty shots this season, with only nine being converted into goals!

Playoff Ticket Information: Everblades 2006 Kelly Cup Playoff Tickets for Games "A" & "B" are on sale now to the general public! 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 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 April 3, 2006


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