ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

Published on January 2, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida finished 2006 with a 1-2-0 record. The Everblades head into this week's action with a record of 20-10-0 (40 pts, 2nd South Div.).

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Friday & Saturday, Jan, 5 & 6 vs. Charlotte Checkers Both Games 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades host the Charlotte Checkers for a pair of games this weekend. The games are the fourth and fifth of nine between the South Division rivals. The Everblades lead the season series 2-1-0, picking up a 4-1 win at home on Oct. 26 and a road win of 7-1 on Nov. 24. The Checkers picked up a 3-1 win at Germain Arena on Oct. 28. The Checkers enter this week's action with a record of 16-13-1 (30 pts., 5th South Div.) The Everblades hold an all-time record of 20-9-2 vs. Charlotte and are 11-2-0 all-time at home vs. the Checkers.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Thursday, December 28 at Texas Wildcatters 4-1 L

The Everblades dropped the first of three at division rival Texas on Thursday night. The Wildcatters opened the game with two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game before Reggie Berg tallied a power play goal with six seconds left in the first period. Texas extended their lead to 3-1 with a mid-second period goal before tacking on some insurance early in the third period. In goal for the Everblades David Shantz stopped 31 of 35 shots but suffered the loss to fall to 9-4-0. Florida special teams: PP: 1-for-6, PK: 5-for-6.

Friday, December 29 at Texas Wildcatters 1-0 SOW

The Everblades and Wildcatters played a rare scoreless game on Friday night at Ford Arena in Beaumont, TX. Neither team scored during regulation nor during the five minute overtime period, sending the game to a shootout with the score 0-0. In the shootout, the Everblades scored of three of their four chances, with Vince Bellissimo, Brent McDonald, and Chris Lee all scoring for Florida. In goal, net-minder Craig Kowalski took care of the rest to record his second straight shutout by stopping all 33 shots he faced in regulation and overtime, plus stopping three of four shooters faced in the shootout. Florida special teams: PP: 0-for-7, PK: 6-for-6.

Saturday, December 30 at Texas Wildcatters 4-1 L

The Everblades dropped the final game of the three-game set at Texas 4-1 on Saturday night. The Wildcatters again scored two first period goals to grab the early lead. The game remained 2-0 heading into the third period when Reggie Berg tallied his 13th goal of the season at 15:51 of the third. The Everblades bombarded the Texas net with shots, but couldn't find the equalizer. Texas sealed the win with a pair of empty net goals in the final 45 seconds. In goal, Craig Kowalski saw his personal five-game winning streak end after allowing two goals on 24 shots, which dropped his record to 11-6-0. Florida special teams: PP: 0-for-6, PK: 5-for-5.

2006-07 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats
Overall Record 20-10-0
Home Record 8-6-0
Road Record 12-4-0
Overtime Record 0-0
Shootout Record 2-0
Power Play 35-219 (13th)
Penalty Kill 182-216 (11th)

Leading Scorers
Reggie Berg 13-17-30
Vince Bellissimo 12-18-30
Dustin Johner 12-16-28
Brent McDonald 11-17-28
Mike Angelidis 10-8-18
Chris Lee 3-14-17

Leading Goaltenders
Craig Kowalski 2.17 GAA, 11-6-0
David Shantz 2.97 GAA, 9-4-0

Plus/Minus Leaders
Brent McDonald +13
Steve Czech +12
Brett Peterson +9
Mike Angelidis +7
Jonathan Lehun +6

Player of the Week Nominee: This week's Everblades nominee for ECHL goaltender of the week nominee is Craig Kowalski who finished the week 1-1-0 with a shutout and a goals against average of 1.00 in his two games.

Special Teams Breakdown: Here's a look at the special teams of the Everblades and how it breaks down home and away: Power play: 35-for-219 (16.0%) which ranks the Everblades 13th in ECHL. At home the Everblades are 13-for-98 (13.3%) which ranks 22nd. On the road the Everblades are 22-for-121 (18.2%) which ranks 8th. Penalty Kill: 182-for-216 (84.3%) which ranked the Everblades 11th in the ECHL. At home the 'Blades are 88-for-106 (83.0%) which is 16th in the league. On the road, Florida is 94-for-110 (85.5%) which is 8th best in the league.

Who's Hot: Everblades F Brent McDonald has points in seven of the last 11 games (4g, 7a)...F Reggie Berg has points in nine of the last 11 games (6g, 9a)...F Vince Bellissimo has tallied 15 points in the last 11 games (6g, 9a)...F Dustin Johner has picked up points in six of the last 11 games (5g, 6a)...D Ryan Van Buskirk has notched seven points in the last seven games (0g, 7a)...G Craig Kowalski has won his last five of his last six starts and has two shutouts in that span.

Upcoming Milestones: Here are some milestones that Everblades players are approaching in their professional careers: F Brad Parsons is five assists shy of his 100th and is 11 goals away from his 50th ...F Brent McDonald is only seven goals away from reaching the 100 mark...D Ryan Brindley is just one assist away from his 200th and is 15 points shy of collecting his 300th ...D Chris Dyment is 15 games shy of his 200th in his career.

Seeing Stars: Everblades goaltender David Shantz was selected as the lone Florida representative for the 2007 ECHL All-Star Game on January 17 in Boise, ID. The rookie net-minder is 9-3-0 with a 2.89 goals against average and a .906 save percentage in 13 games this season. The 20-year-old has won three of his last four starts and is 6-2-0 in his last nine games. A second round draft pick by the Florida Panthers in 2004, Shantz won his first three starts as a pro, allowing just six goals in those games. The Hamilton, Ontario native earned his first professional win on October 21 vs. Texas.

Internet Only: The Everblades game on Saturday, January 6 vs. Charlotte will be broadcast via the internet only because of NFL playoff coverage on SportsRadio 770 AM. Fans can log onto www.floridaeverblades.com or www.abc-7.com to hear all the action beginning at 7:10 p.m. with the pre-game show.

Ticket Information: Everblades 2006-07 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 Everblades pre-game show begins 20 minutes before face-off.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics

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