ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

December 10, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades completed this past week with a 1-2-0 record, with all games coming on the road.. The Everblades enter this week's action with a record of 14-8-0 (28 pts., 3rd, South Division.)

UPCOMING GAMES (All times Eastern)

Tuesday, Friday & Saturday, December 11, 14 & 15 vs. Texas Wildcatters

Game Times: 7:30 p.m. All Games

The Everblades open a five-game homestand on Tuesday night when they host the Texas Wildcatters for the first of three straight between the South Division rivals. The Everblades are 1-1-0 vs. Texas this season after winning in a shootout on Oct. 27 and falling in regulation to the Wildcatters on Oct. 28, both in Beaumont, TX. The games at Germain Arena this week are the first three of five between the clubs in Southwest Florida and overall are games 3, 4, & 5 of 10 between the teams this year. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 7-9-0 vs. Texas and are 3-4-0 all-time at home vs. the Wildcatters. Texas enters this week's action with a record of 17-2-4 (38 pts, 1st, South Division).

PROMOTIONS: The Everblades game vs. Texas on Saturday, December 15 is the annual "Teddy Bear Toss!" Fans attending the game are asked to bring a new, stuffed toy with them to the game, and toss it on the ice when the Everblades score their first goal of the game. The toys collected will be donated to Southwest Florida area charities to benefit children in need during the holiday season!

LAST WEEK'S GAMES

Thursday, December 6 at Gwinnett Gladiators 3-1 Loss

The Everblades saw their three-game winning streak end after allowing three third period goals to the Gladiators in a 3-1 loss to Gwinnett on Thursday night. The Everblades opened the scoring on Mike McLean's first goal of the season just over three minutes into the second period, when he beat former Everblade goaltender Craig Kowalski on a breakaway. The Gladiators however answered with three straight in the final period with the first coming on the power play and the last coming into an empty Everblades net after they pulled the goalie for an extra attacker. Justin Peters got the start in goal for Florida and saw his personal five-game win streak end after allowing two goals on 35 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-3; PK 2-for-3.

Friday, December 7 at Gwinnett Gladiators 4-2 Loss

In eerie fashion, the Everblades fell for a second straight night to the Gwinnett Gladiators after coughing up three third period goals and allowing Gwinnett to come from behind to pick up the win. Brandon Roach opened the scoring in the game just over two minutes into the contest, but Gwinnett evened the score five minutes after that. Mathieu Melanson then re-gained the Everblades lead three minutes into the third period, a lead held by the Blades until the 10:39 mark when Gwinnett began their come back with a pair of power play goals separated by two and a half minutes. The final goal again came into an empty Everblades net. Tyler Plante started in goal for Florida and suffered the loss allowing three goals on 34 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-5; PK: 4-for-6.

Saturday, December 8 at Columbia Inferno 3-2 Win

The Everblades bounced back on Saturday night to pull out a come-from-behind win of their own in Columbia, SC. Twice in the game the Everblades erased one-goal leads by the Inferno on goals by Jarret Lukin in the first period and Brad Zancanaro in the second period. The game-winning goal was turned in by rookie defenseman Jordan Henry who skated end-to-end to tally the third Florida goal midway through the third period. In net Justin Peters earned the win by stopping 32 of 34 Columbia shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-4; PK: 5-for-5.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

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

Tuesday, December 11 Pre-Game Skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

GAME vs. Texas Wildcatters, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena

Wednesday, December 12 Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Thursday, December 13 Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Friday, December 14 Pre-Game Skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

GAME vs. Texas Wildcatters, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena

Saturday, December 15 Pre-Game Skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

GAME vs. Texas Wildcatters, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena

Sunday, December 16 OFF DAY

2007-08 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERSQuick Stats

Overall Record 14-8-0

Home Record 9-1-0

Road Record 5-7-0

Overtime Record 1-0

Shootout Record 2-0

Power Play 21-123 (14th)

Penalty Kill 117-130 (1st)

Leading Scorers

Mathieu Melanson 15-12-27

Ernie Hartlieb 9-12-21

Derek Damon 9-10-19

Brad Zancanaro 7-12-19

David Cornacchia 3-14-17

Leading Goaltenders

Justin Peters 2.05 GAA, 9-3-0

Tyler Plante 2.58 GAA, 4-3-0

Plus/Minus Leaders

Ernie Hartlieb +16

Mathieu Melanson +8

J.D. Forrest +8

Derek Damon +7

Player of the Week Nominee: This week's Everblades goaltender of the Week nominee is Justin Peters who was 1-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA this past week, and assisted on the game-winning goal on Saturday night in Florida's 3-2 win over Columbia.

Special Teams Breakdown: Here's a look at the special teams of the Everblades and how it breaks down overall, home and away: Power play: 21-for-123 (17.1%) which ranks the Everblades 14th in the ECHL. At home the Everblades are 13-for-63 (20.6%) which ranks 8th, and on the road the Everblades are 8-for-60 (13.3%) which ranks 16th. Penalty Kill: 117-for-130 (90.0%) which ranks the Everblades 1st in the ECHL. At home the 'Blades are 59-for-60 (98.3%) which is 1st in the league and on the road the Everblades have killed off 58 of 70 (82.9%) chances against them which ranks 13th.

Milestone Reached: Everblades forward Brad Zancanaro skated in his 100th career game on December 6 in Florida's 3-1 loss to Gwinnett... forward Mike McLean scored his first professional regular season goal on December 6 at Gwinnett.

Milestones: Here's a look at upcoming milestones for Everblades players: Defenseman Steve Czech is five games away from playing in the 100th game of his career...forward Brad Herauf's is 73 penalty minutes away from 1,000 in his career...forward Adam Taylor is four goals shy of his 50th career goal and is 35 games away from playing in his 200th career game...forward Jon Lehun needs 10 more points to reach 100 in his career and is 10 goals away from 50 in his career... defenseman Ryan Van Buskirk is 16 points shy of 100 for his career...head coach Gerry Fleming is seven wins away from 300 career wins as a head coach

Who's Hot!: Here's a look at who's hot for the Blades entering this week: F Mathieu Melanson has points in 13 of the last 15 games (11g, 10a)...F Brad Zancanaro has points in eight of the last nine games (4g, 8a)...G Justin Peters has won six of his last seven starts (2.13 GAA).

Ticket Information: Experience the excitement of the Everblades 10th Anniversary season! Individual tickets to all Everblades home games are on sale now! Stop by the Germain Arena box office to reserve your seat for all the exciting action! Visit www.floridaeverblades.com and www.germainarena.com for more information on ticket packages, pricing and upcoming Germain Arena events.

On the Air: Everblades games, home and away, can be heard on SportsRadio 770 ESPN and via the internet courtesy of Waterman Broadcasting by logging on to www.abc-7.com/sports. In addition, Everblades games can be viewed via the internet thanks to B2 Networks by logging on to www.b2live.com. Join the voice of the Everblades Kevin Reiter as he calls all the action! The Everblades pre-game show begins 20 minutes prior to game time.

Everblades On TV: The third of six Everblades games to be televised this season comes on Saturday, December 15 when they host the Texas Wildcatters. The game can be seen live locally on MY TV-8 starting at 7:30 p.m. The game will later be replayed on the NHL Network.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 10, 2007


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