Florence Pride Weekly

February 9, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz News Release


LAST WEEK: Florence was 1-3-0 last week losing at Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana and winning at Texas. The Pride have one game remaining on their five-game road trip. Florence is 17-23-6 for 40 points and remains in seventh place in the Southern Division.

Tuesday, February 3 @ Mississippi Sea Wolves 3 PRIDE 2

Jeff Hutchins scored two goals and Steffon Walby added three assists as the Pride opened their five-game road trip with a 3-2 loss in Biloxi. Hutchins started the scoring just 2:05 into the first period, beating Matt Underhill on a wrap-around. A pair of goals by Kyle Kidney, one in the first and another in second, gave the Pride a 2-1 lead. Mississippi tied it on a Sergei Kutnetsov tip in late in the second, and then got the game-winner from Hutchins midway through the third.

Friday, February 6 @ Texas Wildcatters 5 PRIDE 3

Trailing 2-0 after one period, the Pride pulled within one on a Wes Goldie power-play goal just 28 seconds into the second period. But, the Wildcatters scored three unanswered goals to take a 5-1 lead with 13:30 to play in regulation. Goals by Jeff Szwez and Matt Reid a little over two minutes apart brought Florence within two with six minutes to go, but they would get no closer.

Saturday, February 7 @ Texas PRIDE 4 Wildcatters 3

Bobby Russell notched one goal and two assists, and Wes Goldie added a pair of goals, as the Pride ended their two-game losing streak. Florence led 2-1 heading into the third, only to see Texas tie the game on Rae Metz' second goal of the night at the 4:55 mark. Goldie's second tally of the night three minutes later reestablished the Pride lead. But, with just over four minutes remaining, Texas tied it again, as John Snowden's dump in from his own zone took a bad bounce, and beat Matt Underhill to make it a 3-3 game. With 1:59 to go in regulation, Kyle Kidney scored on a rebound in front to give the Pride the win.

Sunday, February 8 @ Louisiana IceGators 3 PRIDE 1

After a scoreless first period, Jeff Szwez gave the Pride the lead just 1:25 into the second period, stuffing a quick shot past IceGator netminder Derek Gustafson. After that, it was all Louisiana. The IceGators scored a pair of goals over the final four minutes of the second period, and added an empty-net goal with under 30 seconds remaining to record the victory.

THIS WEEKS' GAMES

Tuesday, February 10 @ Columbus 7:30 p.m. Coverage on WDAR Sunny 105.5 at 7:10

The Pride and Cottonmouths meet for the fourth time this season. Florence is 0-3-0 against Columbus this season, and 0-1-0 at the Columbus Civic Center. The Cottonmouths have gone 21-4-2 in their last 27 games, and are in fourth place of the Central Division with a record of 26-19-4 for 56 points.

Friday, February 13 v. Roanoke 7:30 p.m. Lion's Den

The Pride return home to take on the Express for the fifth and final time this season. Florence is 1-1-2 against Roanoke this season, and 0-0-2 at home as the Express have won both games in Florence in shootouts. Entering this week, Roanoke is 0-3-1 in its last four games, and has slipped to sixth place in the Southern Division with a 22-21-5 record for 47 points.

PROMOTIONS: All beer at the Lion's Den will be discounted to $2 for this game. Also, anyone who purchases a ticket to see the movie Miracle at Swamp Fox Cinemas can purchase a Pride ticket for just $4.

Saturday, February 14 @ Columbus 7:30 p.m. Coverage on WDAR Sunny 105.5 at 7:10

The Pride and Cottonmouths meet for the fifth time this season, and for the second time in six days.

Sunday, February 15 @ Greenville 3:00 p.m. Coverage on WDAR Sunny 105.5 at 2:40

The Pride and Grrrowl get together for the fourth of five times this season on Sunday afternoon. Florence is 3-0-0 against Greenville, and is 1-0-0 at the BI-LO Center, taking home a 3-2 win on November 15. Greenville is 1-8-1 in its last 10 games, and enters the week in eighth place in the Southern Division with a mark of 7-34-4 for 18 points.

PRIDE IN THE COMMUNITY

Friday, February 6

Defenseman Ryan Knox and Paws will be at Swamp Fox Cinemas for the premiere of the Disney movie Miracle. Everyone who purchases a ticket for the movie will receive a voucher for $3 off of a ticket for the Pride home games on February 13, 21 and 27.

Monday, March 1

The Pride and Colortyme Rent-to-Own will hold a golf tournament to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The tournament will be held at The Traces Golf Club, with a shotgun start of 11:30 a.m. The cost to enter is $55 per individual for $200 for a foursome, which also includes lunch. For more information, or to register, call Bob or Nan Kogler at (843) 662-8855 or (843) 250-1316

PRIDE NOTES

- Prior to going 0-for-2 on the power play in Sunday's loss to Louisiana, Florence had scored at least one power-play goal in six straight games.

- The Pride have scored the first goal in each of their last two games, marking the first time since December 19 and 20 at Florida that they have scored the game's first goal in consecutive games.

- Wes Goldie and Kyle Kidney both saw their five-game scoring streaks end on Sunday. Kidney had 5 goals and 4 assists during his streak, while Goldie had 4 goals and 2 assists. Goldie has moved into fourth in the ECHL in goals with 26.

- In their last four games, the Pride have given up 137 shots, an average of 34.25 shots per contest. Overall on the season, the Pride rank 15th in the ECHL, allowing 31.46 shots per contest.

- Scott Balan made a successful return to the line-up this week after spending the past six weeks with Norfolk. He notched a pair of assists in Saturday's win over Texas, and also assisted on the Pride's lone goal Sunday in Louisiana.

- The Pride return home on Friday after wrapping up their five-game road trip, but it will be a short stay. Florence will head on the road for four consecutive games, starting Saturday in Columbus. The team will be back home on Saturday, February 21, hosting the Florida Everblades.

PRIDE LEADERS

Goals Goldie 26
Assists Sirois 28
Points Goldie 37
+/- Baker +3
Penalty Minutes Brunel 111
Shots Goldie 139
Power Play Goals Goldie 11
Shorthanded Goals Goldie 3
Game-Winning Goals Goldie 4

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. The Pride also have group tickets available for all remaining home games. For more information, contact Director of Ticket Operations Neil Broome at (843) 669-7825.

YARD SIGNS

The Pride would like to thank all of their fans who have been placing their yard signs on game days. If you do not have a yard sign, they are available at the Pride office from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Pride's next home games is Friday, February 13 against the Roanoke Express..



ECHL Stories from February 9, 2004


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