Florence Pride Weekly

March 8, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz News Release


LAST WEEK: Florence went 2-1-0 in three home games last week, opening the week with a loss to Columbus, before rebounding with back-to-back convincing wins over Greensboro and Charlotte. The Pride are 24-29-7 for 55 points and in seventh place in the Southern Division. With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Pride trail the final playoff spot in the division by 12 points.

Thursday, March 4 v. Columbus Cottonmouths 5 PRIDE 4

A pair of goals by Matt Reid, one midway through the first period and another early in the second, staked the Pride to a 2-0 lead. The Cottonmouths came back, scoring three goals before the end of the second period to take a 3-2 lead. Riku Rahikainen tied it for Florence just 1:29 into the final period, but Columbus' Brad Voth got the goal right back 13 seconds later. The Cottonmouths went up 5-3 at 9:41 on a Mitch Fritz tally. Josh Piro pulled the Pride back within one at 13:00, but that would be as close as Florence would get.

Friday, March 5 v. Greensboro PRIDE 4 Generals 2

The Pride ended their team-record four-game home losing streak with a big win over Greensboro. Goals by Craig Brunel and Kyle Kidney helped the Pride to a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. The Generals' Mike Bayrack knotted the game up at 6:09 of the second with his 32nd tally of the season. But, the Pride would go ahead for good with just 1:05 left in the middle period on Riku Rahikainen's second goal in as many games. A Josh Piro tally at 4:39 of the second gave the Pride some insurance, and set the final.

Sunday, March 7 v. Charlotte PRIDE 6 Checkers 1

After a scoreless first period, it did not take the Pride long to establish a big lead in the second. Goals by Mark McRae at 48 seconds and Josh Piro at 1:22 had the Pride off and running. Allan Sirois made it 3-0 at 11:06 of the period, and then Florence added three more in the third as Sirois, Shaun Sutter and Craig Brunel all found the back of the net. A Dusty Jamieson goal with 2:55 to go spoiled Sebastien Laplante's shutout bid. Laplante made 32 saves for his 11th win of the season.

THIS WEEKS' GAMES

Tuesday, March 9 v. Greenville 7:00 p.m. Coverage on WDAR Sunny 105.5 at 6:40

Florence and Greenville wrap up their season series at the BI-LO Center. The Pride are 4-0-0 against the Grrrowl this season, and 29-14-4 all-time. The Grrrowl are 10-44-5 for 25 points and in eighth place in the Southern Division. Greenville has dropped nine straight games, and its 23 home losses is tied with Baton Rouge (2002-03) and Arkansas (1999-00) for the most home losses in ECHL history.

Friday, March 12 v. South Carolina 7:30 p.m. Lion's Den

The Pride and Stingrays renew their rivalry for the final time this season at the Lion's Den. There is one more meeting in North Charleston on March 23. Florence is 2-2-1 against South Carolina this season, and has won the last two meetings. The Stingrays are returning from a west-coast trip that saw them go 5-1-0. They are in third place in the Southern Division with a 34-21-3 record for 71 points.

PROMOTIONS: Girl Scout Night at the Lion's Den. The Pride are offering discounted tickets for all area Girl Scouts and their families. For more information, or to order tickets, call the Pride office at (843) 669-7825

Saturday, March 13 @ Augusta 7:30 p.m. Coverage on WDAR Sunny 105.5 at 7:10

The Pride and Lynx meet for the fifth of six times Saturday night. Florence is 3-1-0 against Augusta this season, and 30-10-3 all-time. The Lynx are in sixth place of the Central Division with a record of 24-27-7 for 55 points.

Sunday, March 14 v. Louisiana 2:30 p.m. Lion's Den

Florence and Louisiana meet for the second time this season. The IceGators won the previous meeting, 3-1, at the Cajundome on February 8. This game will be the eighth and final game of Louisiana's eight game, 10-day road trip. So far on the trip, the IceGators are 2-1-0, running their overall record to 41-16-2 for 84 points. They are in first place of the Central Division, eight points ahead of Mississippi.

PROMOTIONS: The final Sunday Kids' Day of the season at the Lion's Den. Tickets for kids 12 and under are available for just $2.50, and kids' meals are available for an additional $2.50.

PRIDE IN THE COMMUNITY

Wednesday, March 10

Players will be at the Lake City Library at 3:30 p.m. to read to children and sign autographs.

PRIDE NOTES

- Sunday was an historic day for the Pride organization. Not only did goaltender Matt Underhill make his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks, becoming just the second Pride player to advance to the NHL, but Allan Sirois reached two personal milestones in Florence's 6-1 win over Charlotte. His first goal of the afternoon was the 200th of his ECHL career, while his second goal of the game was his 149th in a Pride sweater, setting a new team record for most career goals. The previous record of 148 was held by Dany Bousquet.

- Josh Piro continued his hot streak last week. Piro had three goals and two assists in the Pride's three games last week, giving him four goals and two assists in five games with Florence. He has already matched his point total from 38 games with Johnstown (2g 4a). Piro has at least one point in four of the five games he has played with the Pride.

- Over the last four games, the Pride have killed off 16 of 17 (94.1%) opposition power-play chances. For the season, the Pride are killing penalties at an 82.3% clip, tied with Toledo for 16th in the league.

- In the last three games, the Pride have scored 14 goals. In the six previous games, Florence had scored a total of just 10 goals.

- Sebastien Laplante has started 14 consecutive games in goal for the Pride, posting a 7-6-1 record. Ø Of the Pride's final 12 games, only five are against divisional opponents.

PRIDE LEADERS

Goals Goldie 30
Assists Sirois 33
Points Goldie 50
+/- Piro +2
Penalty Minutes Brunel 143
Shots Goldie 203
Power Play Goals Goldie 14
Shorthanded Goals Goldie 3
Game-Winning Goals Goldie 5

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 are Friday, March 12 against the South Carolina Stingrays and Sunday, March 14 against the Louisiana IceGators.

SEASON-TICKET RENEWALS

The Pride are now accepting season-ticket renewals for the 2004-2005 season. Season-ticket holders can return their completed applications to the Pride office from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, or mail the applications to the Pride office at 3300 West Radio Drive; Florence, SC 29501. The Pride will also have a table set up on the concourse during all remaining home games for season-ticket holders to return their applications, or to ask any questions.

COLORTYME MVP VOTING

Fans can now vote for the Pride's Most Valuable Player, sponsored by Colortyme Rent-to-Own. At each Pride home game, fans can visit the MVP display at the Customer Service Table, and vote for the player that they believe is most deserving of the MVP Award. At the end of the season, the player with the most votes, as well as one lucky fan, will both win a 52-inch RCA color television, courtesy of Colortyme, located at 938 South Irby Street, right beside Pizza Chef.

JERSEY AUCTION

The Pride's annual jersey auction is now underway. Fans can bid on the jersey of their favorite Pride player now through the end of the Pride's home game against the Augusta Lynx on March 27. Bid sheets are available at the Customer Service Table during home games and at the Pride office from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Bids can also be e-mailed to jbabik@florencepride.com. The minimum bid is $125 per jersey.



ECHL Stories from March 8, 2004


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