ECHL Florida Everblades

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January 14, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades completed this past week with a 1-2-0 record. The Everblades enter this week's action with a record of 20-13-3 (43 pts., 3rd, South Division.)

UPCOMING GAMES (All times Eastern)

Tuesday, January 15 vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots

Game Time: 7:30 p.m.

The Everblades return home for a brief one-game contest vs. Pensacola on Tuesday night. The game is the sixth of 11 between the South Division rivals and the fourth of five at Germain Arena. The Everblades lead the season series with a 3-1-1 record, and won the most recent meeting 4-3 on December 30 at Pensacola. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 48-14-10 vs. Penacola and are 26-7-6 all-time at home vs. the Ice Pilots. Pensacola enters this week's action with a record of 8-25-4 (20 pts, 9th , South Division).

Friday & Sunday, January 18 & 20 at Mississippi Sea Wolves

Game Times: 8:05 p.m. (Fri.) & 6:05 p.m. (Sun.)

The Everblades take to the road to re-visit Mississippi on Friday and Sunday of this upcoming week. The Everblades visited Mississippi two weeks ago and picked up a shootout win and suffered a regulation loss. The games will be the fifth and sixth of nine between the two clubs this season and final two at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Everblades lead the season series 3-1-0 but suffered a 5-2 loss in the most recent meeting on January 1. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 19-16-1 vs. Mississippi and are 7-4-0 all-time on the road vs. the Sea Wolves. Mississippi enters this week with a record of 14-20-3 (31 pts., 8th, South Division).

Saturday, January 19 at Pensacola Ice Pilots

Game Time: 8:05 p.m.

The Everblades visit Pensacola for the third time this season on Saturday night. The last time the teams met at the Pensacola Civic Center the Everblades earned a tie with a 6-5 loss in overtime on Dec. 29 and then picked up a 4-3 win on December 30. Pensacola enters this week's action with a home record of 4-14-2.

LAST WEEK'S GAMES

Thursday, January 10 at Augusta Lynx 7-1 Loss

The Everblades suffered their worst loss of the season on Thursday night at Augusta. The Lynx held a 1-0 lead entering the second period, but added three goals in each of the final two periods. Florida's lone goal came midway through the third period off the stick of Brad Herauf. In goal Justin Peters suffered the loss allowing the seven goals on 38 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 0-for-5; PK 8-for-11.

Friday, January 11 at Augusta Lynx 6-1 Win

The Everblades matched their largest margin victory on Friday night in Augusta with a 6-1 win. Derek Damon registered a first period hat-trick and Kirk MacDonald, Brad Brown and Brad Herauf tallied the other goals for the Everblades en-route to grabbing a 6-0 lead early in the third period. In goal David Shantz had his shutout bid end with 15 seconds remaining in regulation, but still earned the win by stopping 36 of 37 shots. Florida Special Teams: PP: 3-for-6; PK: 6-for-7 .

Saturday, January 12 at Columbia Inferno 4-3 Loss

The Everblades ended their road trip with a 4-3 loss at Columbia on Saturday afternoon. Columbia jumped out to a 2-0 lead seven minutes into the game before Kirk MacDonald got the Everblades on the board. The Inferno added two more second period goals to open a 4-1 lead before MacDonald and David Cornacchia tallied third period goals to but the lead to one, but that was as close as the Everblades would get. Goaltender Justin Peters suffered the loss allowing four goals on 13 shots over the first 37:36 seconds before being ejected from the game with a fighting major and a game misconduct. David Shantz finished out the game by stopping all 11 shots he faced. Florida Special Teams: PP: 1-for-6; PK: 10-for-11.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

Monday, January 14 Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Tuesday, January 15 Pre-Game Skate, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

GAME vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots, 7:30 p.m. @ Germain Arena

Wednesday, January 16 Practice, 10:00 a.m. @ Germain Arena

Thursday, January 17 Travel Day to Mississippi

Friday, January 18 GAME vs. Mississippi Sea Wolves, 8:05 p.m. @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum

Saturday, January 19 GAME vs. Pensacola Ice Pilots, 8:05 p.m. @ Pensacola Civic Center

Sunday, January 20 GAME vs. Mississippi Sea Wolves, 6:05 p.m. @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum

2007-08 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERSQuick Stats

Overall Record 20-13-3

Home Record 12-3-2

Road Record 8-10-1

Overtime Record 1-3

Shootout Record 2-0

Power Play 37-199 (11th)

Penalty Kill 196-226 (3rd)

Leading Scorers

Mathieu Melanson 19-15-34

Derek Damon 14-20-34

Ernie Hartlieb 11-21-32

David Cornacchia 6-20-26

Brad Zancanaro 7-13-20

Leading Goaltenders

David Shantz 1.70 GAA, 2-0-0

Kevin Nastiuk 2.53 GAA, 1-1-0

Tyler Plante 2.81 GAA, 4-5-1

Justin Peters 2.91 GAA, 13-7-2

Plus/Minus Leaders

Ernie Hartlieb +14

Derek Damon +9

Mathieu Melanson +9

David Cornacchia +8

Player of the Week Nominee: This week's Everblades Goaltender of the Week nominee is David Shantz who was 1-0-0 with a 0.74 GAA and a .979 save percentage in the two games he appeared in.

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: 37-for-199 (18.6%) 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 17-for-103 (16.5%) which ranks 15th. Penalty Kill: 196-for-226 (86.7%) which ranks the Everblades 3rd in the ECHL. At home the 'Blades are 90-for-100 (90.0%) which is 1st in the league and on the road the Everblades have killed off 106 of 126 (84.1%) chances against them which ranks 9th.

Milestone Reached: Everblades defenseman Steve Czech played in his 100th career game on January 12 at Columbia. The third-year blue-liner has played all 100 games in an Everblades uniform and has registered 23 points (4g, 13a) in that span, since wrapping up a four-year college career at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Approaching Milestones: Here's a look at upcoming milestones for Everblades players: F Ernie Hartlieb is eight goals shy of hitting 100 for his career...D Brad Brown is 27 games away from hitting the 600 mark in his 12-year career...F Derek Damon is four games away from skating in his 100th career game.

Who's Hot!: Here's a look at who's hot for the Blades entering this week: F Derek Damon has picked up points in 11 of his last 14 games (13g, 15a) and in six of the last eight games (5g, 10a) since returning from Albany...F Ernie Hartlieb has points in nine of the last 14 games (2g, 10a)...D David Cornacchia has five points in the last two games and has notched a point in six of the last nine games (3g, 7a)...F Kirk MacDonald has a point in seven of the last eight games (7g, 5a)...F Brad Herauf has points in six of the last nine games (3g, 5a)...F Preston Callander has picked up at least one point in four of the last six games (4g, 8a).

Everblades Coach's Show: The Everblades coach's show "Blades Talk!" returns on Tuesday, January 22 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. 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 14, 2008


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