Florence Pride Weekly

November 3, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz News Release


LAST WEEK: The Pride went 2-1-0 last week, losing at South Carolina before opening a six-game home stand with wins over Augusta and Trenton. Florence is 3-3-1 for seven points, and is in fifth place in the Southern Division, four points behind division-leader Columbia.

Tuesday, October 28 @ South Carolina Stingrays 3 PRIDE 0

South Carolina scored two goals late in the first period on their way to a 3-0 win at the North Charleston Coliseum. Sebastien Laplante made his Pride debut between the pipes, and was strong, turning aside 26 Stingray shots.

Friday, October 31 v. Augusta PRIDE 4 Lynx 2

Florence picked up its first home win of the season, downing Augusta 4-2. The Pride raced out to a 4-0 lead midway though the second period on goals by Ryan Knox, Mark McRae, Shaun Sutter and Malcolm MacMillan. The Lynx added two power-play goals to set the final.

Saturday, November 1 v. Trenton PRIDE 4 Titans 3

The Pride and Titans traded goals through two periods, with Marty Johnston, Matt Zultek and Dan Riva lighting the lamp for Trenton and Mike Souza (PP), Kyle Kidney (SH) and Jeff Szwez tallying for Florence. With the game tied 3-3 midway through the third period, Mark McRae scored a power-play goal to give the Pride their second-straight victory. Sebastien Laplante once again turned in a great effort in goal, stopping 34 Trenton shots.

THIS WEEKS' GAMES Friday, November 7 v. Gwinnett 7:30 p.m. Lion's Den

The Pride and the Gwinnett Gladiators meet for the first-time ever on Friday night. This is the Gladiators' first-ever season in Gwinnett, after moving from Mobile following the 2001-02 season. Florence was 10-9-3 all-time against Mobile. The Gladiators enter the week winners of three games in a row, and are 5-1-1 on the year. Their 11 points are good for first place in the Central Division.

Saturday, November 8 v. Greenville 7:30 p.m. Lion's Den

The Pride play game four of their six-game home stand, taking on the Grrrowl in the first of five meetings this season. Greenville won its first game of the season Saturday night against Augusta, and comes into the week 1-4-0 for two points, and is in last place of the Southern Division. Florence is 25-14-4 all-time against Greenville.

PROMOTIONS: It's Guaranteed Win Night at the Lion's Den. If the Pride lose, all fans will be able to purchase $1.00 tickets for the Pride's home game against Roanoke on November 13. If the Pride, all fans will receive a coupon from Hardee's.

PRIDE IN THE COMMUNITY

Tuesday, November 4

Several players will be attending Carver Elementary School's Family Night from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at the school, located at 515 N. Cashua Drive in Florence.

Monday, November 10

The Pride, Outback Steakhouse and Honda of South Carolina are teaming up for a golf tournament, with all of the proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area. The tournament is at Governor's Run Golf Club in Lamar, with lunch served at 11:15, and a shotgun start at 12:30. Foursomes are filling up fast. To reserve your spot, call the Pride at (843) 669-7825, or the Boys & Girls Club at (843) 662-1142. Hole sponsorships are also available.

PRIDE NOTES

- Rookie defenseman Mark McRae has made the most of his three goals this season. Two of the three have come on the power play, and both of those have been the game-winning goal in that game. Florence is 3-0-0 when McRae scores a goal this season, and is 0-3-1 when he does not tally.

- Florence has not gotten off to a good start against divisional opponents this season. The Pride are 0-3-1 in games against Southern Division foes, while they are 3-0-0 against non-division teams.

- The Pride power play showed some signs of life over the weekend. After starting the season 2-for-23 (8.7%) on the man advantage in the first five games, the Pride went 3-for-12 (25.0%) in their two wins over the weekend.

- Sebastien Laplante had an impressive first week between the pipes for the Pride. He played all three games last week, posting a 2-1-0 record, to go along with a 2.67 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.

- Malcolm MacMillan is tied for the team lead in goals with three, but his shooting percentage is far and away the best on the club. MacMillan's three goals have come on just seven shots, giving him a shooting percentage of 60 percent.

PRIDE LEADERS

Goals McRae/MacMillan/Sutter 3
Assists Corbeil 6
Points Corbeil 8 +/- McRae/Knox +5
Penalty Minutes MacMillan 25
Shots McRae 20
Power Play Goals Sutter/McRae 2
Shorthanded Goals Kidney 1

PRIDE ON THE AIR

All Pride away games can be heard on WDAR Sunny 105.5 FM and on-line at www.florencepride.com with the Voice of the Pride, Joe Babik. Each broadcast begins 20 minutes prior to faceoff with the Palmetto Chiropractic Pre-Game Show.

PRIDE TICKETS

Tickets for all Pride home games can be purchased at the Florence Civic Center Box Office (10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday; through the second period on game nights), all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at (843) 679-9333 or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.



ECHL Stories from November 3, 2003


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