ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

January 29, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades finished off this past week with a 1-0-1 record. The Everblades head into this week's action with a record of 25-13-1 (51 pts, 3rd South Div.).

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Tuesday, January, 30 at Pensacola Ice Pilots 8:05 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades take to the road to begin a four-game road trip in Pensacola on Tuesday night. The game is the fifth of 11 meetings between the teams. The Everblades hold a 3-1-0 record vs. the Ice Pilots this season. Most recently, the Everblades swept a weekend series from Pensacola on Dec. 8 & 9 at Pensacola with wins of 7-5 & 4-3. The other win by Florida came on Nov. 17 on home ice in a 4-3 game. Pensacola's lone win came on Nov. 18 in a 2-1 decision. The Ice Pilots enter this week's action with a record of 12-28-2 (26 pts., 8th South Div.) The Everblades hold an all-time record of 40-12-9 vs. Pensacola and are 19-7-3 all-time on the road vs. the Ice Pilots.

Thursday, February 1 at Augusta Lynx 7:35 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades continue their trip with their second of nine games against the Lynx. It is the second of five at Augusta. The Everblades won the only meeting of the season 6-5 on Dec. 15 at Augusta. Thursday's game is the first of five between the South Division rivals in the month of February. The Lynx enter this week's action as one of the hottest teams in the ECHL having gone 8-0-1 in their last nine games and hold an overall record of 24-18-1 (49 pts., T-4th South Div.) The Everblades hold an all-time record of 40-12-6 vs. Augusta and are 19-7-3 all-time on the road vs. the Lynx.

Friday, February 2 at Charlotte Checkers 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades make their second visit to Charlotte Bobcats Arena this season when they travel there on Friday. The Everblades are 5-1-0 vs. Charlotte this season. The most recent meetings saw the Everblades sweep a three-game series at Germain Arena, winning 9-7 in regulation, 4-3 in overtime and 4-3 in a shootout on Jan. 5, 6, & 9. The only meeting between the teams in Charlotte saw the Everblades collect a 7-1 win. The next final three games between the teams will be in Charlotte. The Checkers enter this week's action with a record of 22-15-3 (47 pts., 6th South Div.) The Everblades hold an all-time record of 23-9-2 vs. Charlotte and are 9-7-2 all-time on the road vs. the Checkers.

Saturday, February 3 at Augusta Lynx 7:35 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades wrap up their road trip on Saturday in Augusta.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Friday, January 26 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators 6-5 OTL

The Everblades earned a point in the standings after falling in overtime to the Gladiators. Playing in front of their largest home crowd of the season (7,436), the Everblades erased a 5-2 deficit in the third period with three goals in a span of 3:35 midway through the period. Overall, the special teams ruled the night as only three of the 11 goals scored came even strength. The Gladiators collected four power play markers, including the game-winner in overtime, and the Everblades added three power play goals and one short-handed tally. The Everblades' lone first period goal was a short-handed tally by Steve Czech, then each team scored in the second period with Brent McDonald scoring for Florida. In the third period Gwinnett grabbed a 5-2 lead before the 'Blades stormed back on goals by Reggie Berg, McDonald and Brett Peterson. In goal, Craig Kowalski earned a tie in the standings stopping 31 of 37 shots to bring his record to 13-7-1. Florida special teams: PP: 3-for-9, PK: 4-for-8.

Saturday, January 27 vs. Gwinnett Gladiators 7-1 W

The Everblades matched their largest offensive output with a 7-1 win over the Gladiators. The Everblades tallied four power play goals and set an all-time team record with 16 power play opportunities in the game. The 'Blades grabbed a 3-1 lead after one period on goals by David Brine, Reggie Berg, and Dustin Johner. Neither team scored in the second period, but in the third the Everblades exploded for four goals, three of which were on the power play. Ernie HArtlieb, Brent McDonald, Johner and Chris Lee all scored in the period to help snap Florida's four-game winless streak. In goal, David Shantz saw his record climb to 12-6-0 with an impressive performance by stopping 30 of 31 shots. Florida special teams: PP: 4-for-16, PK: 7-for-8.

EVERBLADES ITINERARY:

Monday, Jan 29: Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Tuesday, Jan. 30: GAME vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots, 8:05 p.m. @ Pensacola Civic Center

Wednesday, Jan. 31: Practice @ Augusta Civic Center

Thursday, Feb. 1: GAME vs. Augusta Lynx, 7:35 p.m. @ Augusta Civic Center

Friday, Feb. 2: GAME vs. Charlotte Checkers, 7:00 p.m. @ Charlotte Bobcats Arena

Saturday, Feb. 3: GAME vs. Augusta Lynx, 7:35 p.m. @ Augusta Civic Center

Sunday, Feb. 4: OFF DAY

2006-07 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERSQuick Stats

Overall Record 25-13-1

Home Record 13-7-1

Road Record 12-6-0

Overtime Record 1-1

Shootout Record 4-0

Power Play 47-292 (16th)

Penalty Kill 236-279 (8th)

Leading Scorers

Reggie Berg 21-23-44

Dustin Johner 16-18-34

Brent McDonald 14-18-32

Vince Bellissimo 12-19-31

Jonathan Lehun 11-12-23

Chris Lee 4-18-22

Leading Goaltenders

Craig Kowalski 2.60 GAA, 13-7-1

David Shantz 2.96 GAA, 12-6-0

Plus/Minus Leaders

Brad Zancanaro +11

Brett Peterson +10

Brent McDonald +9

Jon Lehun +8

David Brine +7

Player of the Week Nominee: This week's player of the week nominee from the Everblades is forward Brent McDonald who picked up four points (3g, 1a) in the two games this past week. This week's goaltender of the week nominee is David Shantz who picked up the win in his lone start this weekend by stopping 30 of 31 shots vs. Gwinnett.

Special Teams Breakdown: Here's a look at the special teams of the Everblades and how it breaks down home and away: Power play: 47-for-292 (16.0%) which ranks the Everblades 16th in the ECHL. At home the Everblades are 23-for-160 (14.4%) which ranks 20th. On the road the Everblades are 24-for-132 (18.2%) which ranks 7th. Penalty Kill: 236-for-279 (84.6%) which ranks the Everblades 8th in the ECHL. At home the 'Blades are 135-for-161 (83.9%) which is 11th in the league. On the road, Florida is 101-for-118 (85.6%) which is 8th best in the league.

Who's Hot: F Reggie Berg has points in nine of the last ten games (9g, 6a)...F Vince Bellissimo has tallied 17 points in the last 12 games he's played in (6g, 11a))...F Jon Lehun has registered points in five of the last nine games (3g, 5a) ...F Brad Zancanaro has 12 points (3g, 9a) in the last seven games he's played in.

It's not so bad being Short: The Everblades registered their league-leading 16th short-handed goal Friday night in their 6-5 overtime loss to Gwinnett. The Everblades, who have been strong on the penalty kill all year, tied an ECHL record earlier this season when, on Jan. 5 when they scored four shorthanded goals in their 9-7 win over the Charlotte Checkers. The next night, the Everblades tallied two more short-handed markers against the Checkers.

All-Time 'Blades Records: Midway through the season two Everblades all-time marks have been broken and others are being approached. Brent McDonald became the all-time games played leader on Dec. 8 when he took the ice at Pensacola. His 289th game broke the previous all-time number of 288 held by Tom Buckley. Reggie Berg became the organization's all-time leading power play goal scorer when he notched his 31st power play goal as an Everblade on Jan. 26 vs. Gwinnett. The milestone goal unseated the 30 scored by Matt Demarski who played for the Everblades from 1998-2002. In addition, Berg is only 14 points away from becoming the team's all-time leading point getter, as he chases Buckley's mark of 310.

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 four goals away from reaching the 100 mark...D Ryan Brindley is 13 points shy of collecting his 300th ...D Chris Dyment is 10 games shy of his 200th in his career.

2 Millionth Fan!: The Florida Everblades will welcome its 2-millionth during its home series vs. Pensacola on Feb. 9 & 10. As the 2 millionth fan, the lucky winner will receive 10 tickets to a suite at the Florida Panthers game on February 22 at Bank Atlantic Center, when the Panthers take on Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins! The winner and nine of his/her friends will also get a ride to and from the game in a limousine, courtesy of Racing Limos!

Coach's Show: The Everblades coach's show, "Blades Talk" will air tonight, January 29 from 7-8 p.m. The show will be broadcast from the studio of SportsRadio 770 a.m. Fans can tune in to hear Kevin Reiter along with head coach Gerry Fleming discuss last week's action and the upcoming games for the Everblades. This week's guest will be forward Reggie Berg. The show can also be heard via the internet by accessing www.floridaeverblades.com or www.abc-7.com.

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



ECHL Stories from January 29, 2007


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