ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

December 31, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades completed this past week with a 2-0-1 record. The Everblades enter this week's action with a record of 17-10-3 (37 pts., T-3rd, South Division.)

UPCOMING GAMES (All times Eastern)

Tuesday, January 1 at Mississippi Sea Wolves

Game Time: 8:05 p.m.

The Everblades make their second visit to Biloxi, MS this season on Tuesday night. The game is the fourth of nine meetings between the South Division rivals and for the second of four at Mississippi. The Everblades lead the season series 3-0-0 after winning a pair from the Sea Wolves on opening weekend at Germain Arena and picking up a shootout win at Mississippi on Dec. 28. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 19-5-1 vs. Mississippi and are 7-3-0 all-time on the road vs. the Sea Wolves. Mississippi enters this week's action with a record of 9-19-3 (21 pts, 8th, South Division).

Friday & Saturday, January 4 & 5 vs. South Carolina Stingrays

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

The Everblades return home to host the South Carolina Stingrays for a pair of games this weekend. The games are the second and third of nine meetings between the South Division rivals and the first two of five at Germain Arena. The Everblades picked up a 4-2 win in the only other meeting between the teams this season on Nov. 17 at South Carolina. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 39-21-9 vs. South Carolina and are 17-13-6 all-time at home vs. the Stingrays. The Stingrays enter this week riding a team record 11-game winning streak and hold a record of 18-9-1 (37 pts., T-3rd, South Division).

LAST WEEK'S GAMES

Friday, December 28 at Mississippi Sea Wolves 5-4 Shootout Win

The Everblades opened their four-game road trip with a 5-4 shootout win at Mississippi. Brad Herauf, Dan Collins and Preston Callander staked the Everblades to a 3-0 lead by the first minute of the second period. The Sea Wolves scored the game's next two goals before Herauf tallied his second goal of the night with the Everblades short-handed. Mississippi battled back to tie the game with two late third period goals, but in the shootout Collins, Callander and Herauf all scored for Florida while none of the Mississippi shooters scored. In goal Justin Peters picked up the win after stopping a career-high 49 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 2-for-8; PK 10-for-10.

Saturday, December 29 at Pensacola Ice Pilots 6-5 Overtime Loss

The Everblades earned a point in the standings after seeing the Pensacola Ice Pilots come from behind to collect a 6-5 win in overtime on Saturday night. After falling behind 3-1 after one period, the Everblades battled back to tie the game at three after two periods. Each team scored two third period goals, with Pensacola notching the game-tying goal with just 27 seconds remaining in regulation. Pensacola then won the game 1:20 into the overtime period. Scoring for the Everblades were, Dan Collins, Preston Callander, Brandon Roach, David Cornacchia, and Kirk MacDonald. In goal Justin Peters picked up a tie after stopping 32 of 38 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 2-for-3; PK: 2-for-3 .

Sunday, December 30 at Pensacola Ice Pilots 4-3 Win

The Everblades wrapped up the week's action with a 4-3 win at Pensacola on Sunday night. Steve Ward, J.B. Bittner, and Joe Guenther staked the Everblades to a 3-0 by the four minute mark of the second period. After the Ice Pilots scored a pair of goals separated by 32 seconds midway through the second period, Kirk MacDonald notched the eventual game-winning goal 12 minutes into the middle frame. Goaltender Justin Peters picked up the win in goal after stopping 31 of 34 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-6; PK: 6-for-6.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

Monday, December 31 OFF DAY

Tuesday, January 1 GAME vs. Mississippi Sea Wolves, 8:05 p.m. @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum

Wednesday, January 2 OFF DAY

Thursday, January 3 Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Friday, January 4 Pre-Game Skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

GAME vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena

Saturday, January 5 Pre-Game Skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

GAME vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena

Sunday, January 6 OFF DAY

2007-08 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats

Overall Record 17-10-3

Home Record 10-3-2

Road Record 7-7-1

Overtime Record 1-3

Shootout Record 2-0

Power Play 30-159 (10th)

Penalty Kill 154-174 (1st)

Leading Scorers

Mathieu Melanson 19-15-34

Ernie Hartlieb 10-17-27

Derek Damon 9-15-24

Brad Zancanaro 7-13-20

David Cornacchia 5-15-20

Leading Goaltenders

Justin Peters 2.17 GAA, 10-4-1

Kevin Nastiuk 2.53 GAA, 1-1-0

Tyler Plante 2.81 GAA, 4-5-1

Plus/Minus Leaders

Ernie Hartlieb +13

Mathieu Melanson +9

J.D. Forrest +8

Derek Damon +6

Player of the Week Nominee: This week's Everblades player of the Week nominee is Brad Herauf who was had four points this past week and added a shootout goal.

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: 30-for-159 (18.9%) which ranks the Everblades 10th in the ECHL. At home the Everblades are 18-for-82 (22.0%) which ranks 7th, and on the road the Everblades are 12-for-77 (15.6%) which ranks 17th. Penalty Kill: 154-for-174 (88.5%) which ranks the Everblades 1st in the ECHL. At home the 'Blades are 78-for-85 (91.8%) which is 1st in the league and on the road the Everblades have killed off 76 of 89 (85.4%) chances against them which ranks 5th.

Milestone Night: Everblades defenseman Steve Ward registered his first professional goal on Dec. 30 at Pensacola. Ward also has nine assists in his first 27 professional games.

Approaching 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 37 penalty minutes away from 1,000 in his career... 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 14 points shy of 100 for his career...head coach Gerry Fleming is four 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 Derek Damon has points in seven of the last eight games (8g, 10a) dating back to Nov. 10 before he was called up to Albany for a month...F Brad Herauf has points in three straight games (2g, 2a) and in five of the last six (4g, 2a)...F Kirk MacDonald has picked up a point in seven of the last nine games (3g, 5a)...F J.B. Bittner has collected points in six of the last eight games (2g, 4a).

Internet Only: The Everblades game on Tuesday, January 1 at Mississippi will be broadcast via the internet only because of prior obligations of SportsRadio 770 AM to carry college football bowl games. Fans can access the broadcast by visiting www.floridaeverblades.com or by logging on to www.abc-7.com. The game begins at 8:05 p.m. eastern.

Everblades 10th Anniversary Season: 2007-08 marks the 10th Anniversary of the Florida Everblades. In their first nine years the Everblades have compiled a record of 379-198-67 in 644 games...the team has never missed the playoffs in their history, and currently have the longest current streak in the ECHL of consecutive playoff appearances...the Everblades have advanced to the Conference Finals three times in the last four years, and made back-to-back appearances in the Kelly Cup Finals in 2004 & 2005...the team has on Brabham Cup title to its name after finishing with the ECHL's best regular season record in 1999-2000, and the club has won two division titles (1999-2000 & 2006-07).

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.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 31, 2007


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