ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

April 17, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades opened the playoffs with a pair of wins in games 1 & 2 vs. the Greenville Grrrowl this past week and currently lead the best-of-five South Division Semi-Final series 2-games-0.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Friday, April 14 vs. Greenville Grrrowl 5-4 OT Win

The Everblades picked up two goals by rookie Vince Bellissimo, including the game-winner in overtime, and two short-handed goals to upend the Greenville Grrrowl 5-4 in game one of the South Division semifinals on Friday night at Germain Arena. Bellissimo's second goal of the night with 9:04 remaining in the first overtime period gave the Everblades the early 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series. The overtime period was necessary after Greenville notched their third power play goal of the night with just 1:05 left in regulation. The wild third period opened with Bellissimo tallying his first of the night when a slow shot from the top of the right circle found its way into the net at 6:14. The Grrrowl answered back with a power play goal at 13:29, but Drew Larman's deflection found the net at 14:44 to regain the lead for the Everblades at 4-3. Greenville opened the scoring at 6:47 of the first period, however the Everblades responded to that by scoring twice on the same Greenville power play midway through the first period. Kevin Estrada tallied the first of the two short-handed goals by completing a breakaway at 10:25. Then, at 11:43 Reggie Berg gave the Everblades their first lead of the night at 2-1. The Grrrowl scored the only second period goal at 6:48. Phil Osaer earned the win in net by stopping 36 of 40 Greenville shots to bring his record to 1-0 in the playoffs. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-6; PK: 4-for-7.

Saturday, April 15 vs. Greenville Grrrowl 4-2 Win

The Everblades scored two more short-handed goals and used 33 saves by goaltender Phil Osaer to grab a 2-0 series lead over the Greenville Grrrowl after a 4-2 win on Saturday night at Germain Arena. After a scoreless first period, the Everblades exploded for three second period goals to help propel them to the game two victory. Paul Cabana notched the first goal of the night by converting a 5-on-3 power play goal for his first playoff goal of the year at 4:11 of the middle period. After Greenville answered back just 1:35 later, Cabana notched his second of the night wristing a shot off the face-off into the net for the 2-1 lead at 6:18. The Everblades added to their lead with their third short-handed goal of the series when Matt Bannan raced in on a breakaway at 17:46 of the second period. The goal was the first of Bannan's professional career and gave the Everblades a 3-1 lead heading into the locker room. In the third period, Reggie Berg notched his second short-handed goal in as many nights at 6:15 to open a 4-1 lead. The Grrrowl notched the game's last goal when, with the goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, and while on a 5-on-3 power play, they tallied with 1:36 remaining in regulation. Phil Osaer improved his playoff record to 2-0 with the 33 saves, many in spectacular fashion. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-7; PK: 9-for-10.





2005-06 EVERBLADES PLAYOFF NUMBERS

Quick Stats
Overall Record 2-0
Home Record 2-0
Road Record 0-0
Overtime Record 1-0
Power Play 1-13 (16th)
Penalty Kill 13-17 (19th)

Leading Scorers
Reggie Berg 2-1-3
Kevin Estrada 1-2-3
Drew Larman 1-2-3
Ryan Brindley 0-3-3
Paul Cabana 2-0-2
Leading Goaltenders
Phil Osaer 2.75 GAA, 2-0

Plus/Minus Leaders

Ryan Brindley +5
Kevin Estrada +3
Drew Larman +3
Tyson Telplitsky +3

Weekly Award Nominees: The Everblades goaltender of the week nominee is Phil Osaer who finished the week 2-0 with a 2.75 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. The Everblades player of the week nominee is Reggie Berg who finished the week with two goals, both of which were short-handed, and an assist.

Florida's Playoff History: A look at how the Everblades have done in the post season: 2005: American Conference Champions, advancing to Kelly Cup Finals before falling to Trenton; 2004: Eastern Conference Champions, advancing to Kelly Cup Finals before falling to Idaho; 2003: Eliminated in South East Division Wild Card by Greenville; 2002: Advanced to second round before falling to Greenville; 2001: Eliminated in first round quarter-final series by Pee Dee; 2000: Eliminated in first round quarter-final series by Augusta; 1999: Advanced to second round semi-final series before falling to Mississippi.

Series at a Glance: The Everblades are 7-4 all-time vs. Greenville in the playoffs...the teams have met three previous times in the Kelly Cup Playoffs during their histories...Florida swept the Grrrowl 3-games-to-0 last year in the second round, winning two of those games in overtime...In 2003 Greenville won a one-game play-in game...In 2002 the Grrrowl up-ended the Everblades 3-games-to-2 in the Division semi-finals.

Playoffs by the Numbers: The Everblades have qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs in each of their eight seasons...the Everblades are 33-23 all-time in the post season, including compiling a 28-14 mark over the past two years...on home ice the Everblades are 18-15 in the post season, while posting a 15-9 road record...Reggie Berg is the team's all-time leader in post-season games played (47), points (42) and is tied for first in goals (17)...the Everblades are 9-6 all-time in game 1 of playoff series', and hold a 8-6 all-time record in game 2.

New Record Holder!: Everblades forward Reggie Berg became the franchises all-time leading playoff scorer with his assist on Paul Cabana's goal at 6:18 of the second period on Saturday night. The assist game him 41 career playoff points in an Everblades uniform, passing Tom Buckley who from 1999-2004 tallied 40 points. In addition, Berg's next playoff goal will give him the all-time franchise lead in that category with 18.

Playoff Ticket Information: Everblades 2006 Kelly Cup Playoff Tickets for Games "C" are on sale now to the general public! Game "C" will be either game 5 of the currently Greenville series on Sunday, April 23 or will be the first home game of the South Division Finals vs. either Gwinnett or South Carolina. 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 17, 2006


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