ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Weekly

January 7, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades completed this past week with a 2-1-0 record. The Everblades enter this week's action with a record of 19-11-3 (41 pts., 3rd, South Division.)

UPCOMING GAMES (All times Eastern)

Thursday & Friday, January 10 & 11 at Augusta Lynx

Game Times: 7:05 p.m. (Thurs.) & 7:35 p.m. (Fri.)

The Everblades make their second visit of the season to Augusta for a pair of games on Thursday and Friday. The games will be the second and third of seven between the South Division rivals and the second and third of four at James Brown Arena. The Lynx lead the season series 1-0-0 after picking up a 5-3 win over the Everblades on Nov. 15. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 47-14-6 vs. Augusta and are 22-9-3 all-time on the road vs. the Lynx. Augusta enters this week's action with a record of 18-13-3 (39 pts, T-4th , South Division).

Saturday, January 12 at Columbia Inferno

Game Time: 1:05 p.m.

The Everblades finish up their quick three-game road trip Saturday afternoon in Columbia. The game is the seventh of eight between the two clubs and the third of four at the Carolina Coliseum. The Everblades lead the season series 4-2-0 and are 1-1-0 on the road vs. Columbia. The Everblades won the most recent meeting between the teams 3-2 on Dec. 22 at Germain Arena. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 29-14-7 vs. Columbia and are 11-10-3 all-time on the road vs. the Inferno. The Inferno enter this week with a record of 13-15-8 (34 pts., 6th, South Division).

LAST WEEK'S GAMES

Tuesday, January 1 at Mississippi Sea Wolves 5-2 Loss

The Everblades ended their four-game road trip with a 5-2 loss to Mississippi on Tuesday night in Biloxi. After allowing three first period goals, the Everblades responded with two in the second period. Mike McLean and Derek Damon tallied the two for Florida to trim the lead to 3-2 entering the third period, but the Sea Wolves sealed the win with two third period goals. In goal Justin Peters suffered the loss allowing the five goals on 26 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-9; PK 8-for-10.

Friday, January 4 vs. South Carolina Stingrays 6-3 Win

The Everblades returned home for a weekend pair vs. South Carolina and captured the first in come-from-behind fashion. The Stingrays jumped out to a 3-1 lead by the 36 second mark of the second period with Florida's lone goal coming from Derek Damon in the first period. The Everblades however roared back fueled by a hat-trick by Preston Callander who scored the game's next three goals. J.B. Bittner and Mike McLean added third period tallies as well to open the 6-3 lead. In goal David Shantz picked up the win in his first start as a Blade this season by stopping 24 of 27 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 2-for-6; PK: 5-for-7 .

Saturday, January 5 vs. South Carolina Stingrays 7-2 Win

The Everblades wrapped up the week's action with a lopsided 7-2 win vs. South Carolina at Germain Arena. Four different players scored four first period goals for the Everblades to carry a 4-0 lead into the second period. Ernie Hartlieb, Mike McLean, Kirk MacDonald and Steve Czech all tallied in the opening frame for the Blades. In the second period, Dan Collins made it 5-0, then MacDonald notched a short-handed marker to give Florida a 6-0 lead entering the third period. The Stingrays out-scored the Everblades 2-1 in the final frame with Florida's lone goal in the period coming from Preston Callander. Goaltender Justin Peters picked up the win in goal after stopping 30 of 32 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-8; PK: 7-for-8.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

Monday, January 7 Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Tuesday, January 8 Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Wednesday, January 9 Travel Day to Augusta

Thursday, January 10 GAME vs. Augusta Lynx, 7:05 p.m. @ James Brown Arena

Friday, January 11 GAME vs. Augusta Lynx, 7:35 p.m. @ James Brown Arena

Saturday, January 12 GAME vs. Columbia Inferno, 1:05 p.m. @ Carolina Coliseum

Sunday, January 6 OFF DAY

2007-08 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERSQuick Stats

Overall Record 19-11-3

Home Record 12-3-2

Road Record 7-8-1

Overtime Record 1-3

Shootout Record 2-0

Power Play 33-182 (11th)

Penalty Kill 174-199 (2nd)

Leading Scorers

Mathieu Melanson 19-15-34

Ernie Hartlieb 11-20-31

Derek Damon 11-20-31

David Cornacchia 5-16-21

Brad Zancanaro 7-13-20

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 +16

Derek Damon +11

Mathieu Melanson +9

J.D. Forrest +8

Player of the Week Nominee: This week's Everblades player of the Week nominee is Preston Callander who had seven points this past week, including notching his first career hat-trick on Jan. 4.

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: 33-for-182 (18.1%) which ranks the Everblades 11th in the ECHL. At home the Everblades are 20-for-96 (20.8%) which ranks 8th, and on the road the Everblades are 13-for-86 (15.1%) which ranks 15th. Penalty Kill: 174-for-199 (87.4%) which ranks the Everblades 2nd in the ECHL. At home the 'Blades are 90-for-100 (90.0%) which is 2nd in the league and on the road the Everblades have killed off 84 of 99 (84.8%) chances against them which ranks 8th.

Milestone Night: Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming recorded his 300th win as a head coach with Florida's 7-2 win over South Carolina on Jan. 5. Fleming, who is in his seventh season with the Everblades now holds a career head coaching record of 300-175-62. His head coaching resume also includes one season at the helm with Tallahassee of the ECHL in 2000-01.

Approaching Milestones: Here's a look at upcoming milestones for Everblades players: Defenseman Steve Czech is three games away from playing in the 100th game of his career...forward Brad Herauf's is five 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 12 points shy of 100 for his career.

Who's Hot!: Here's a look at who's hot for the Blades entering this week: Prior to his call-up to Manitoba of the AHL F Mathieu Melanson has points in 17 of the last 20 games (15g, 13a)...F Ernie Hartlieb has points in eight of his last 11 games (2g, 9a)...F Derek Damon's hot streak dates back to Nov. 10 before his call-up to Albany of the AHL, since his return he's remained hot scoring a point in 10 of his last 11 games as an Everblade (10g, 15a)...Prior to his injury, F Brad Zancanaro had points in nine of his last 12 games (5g, 8a)...F Brad Herauf has registered points in six of the last nine games (4g, 3a)...F Kirk MacDonald is currently on a five-game point scoring streak and has points in 10 of the last 12 games (5g, 8a)...F J.B. Bittner has points in seven of his last ten games (3g, 5a).

Seeing Stars: The ECHL on Thursday announced the 2008 American Conference All-Star roster, and two Everblades were on the list. Representing the Everblades this season in the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game will be rookie forward Mathieu Melanson and goaltender Justin Peters. Melanson currently leads the Everblades in scoring with 31 points and ranks second among all ECHL rookies with that point total. Peters, who is currently on re-call to the Albany River Rats, is 10-4-1 with an ECHL fifth best GAA of 2.17. The All-Star Game will take place on Wednesday, January 23 from Stockton, CA.

Everblades Coach's Show: The Everblades coach's show "Blades Talk!" returns on Tuesday, January 8 from 7 - 8 p.m. at Don Haney's Smokehouse in Ft. Myers! Fans are encouraged to join Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming and the voice of the Everblades Kevin Reiter live in person at the Don Haney's Smokehouse located on Daniels Rd. in Ft. Myers. This week's special guest will be Everblades forward Kirk MacDonald. The show can also be heard live on SportsRadio 770 ESPN from 7 - 8 p.m. or can be heard via the internet by visiting the Everblades website at www.floridaeverblades.com.

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 January 7, 2008


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