ECHL Florida Everblades

Florida Everblades Weekly

Published on January 3, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades finished out last week's action with a perfect 3-0-0 record. The ‘Blades enter this week's action with a record of 18-12-1 (37 pts., T-1st South Division) and are tied for first in the American Conference standings.

THIS WEEK (All Times Eastern)

Tuesday, January 4 at Columbia Inferno 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades and Inferno meet for the first of six times this season, and for the first of three times at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, SC. Last year the Everblades finished with a 1-3-1 record vs. Columbia, including going 0-3-0 in Columbia. The Inferno enters this week's action with a record of 15-8-3 (33 pts., 4th East Division) and have won eight of their last 10 games. The Everblades hold an all-time record of 9-9-3 vs. Columbia.

Thursday, January 6 at Pee Dee Pride 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The ‘Blades and the Pride meet up for the fifth and final time this season, and for the third time at the Florence County Civic Center. The Everblades lead the season series with a 3-1-0 record. Florida split a pair of games at Germain Arena to begin the season series on Nov. 19 & 20. Pee Dee won the first meeting 2-0, and the ‘Blades bounced back with a 5-2 win in game two of the season series. The ‘Blades swept a weekend series between the teams in Pee Dee on Dec. 4 & 5, winning 5-1 & 4-2. The Pride enters this week's action with a record of 17-10-2 (36 pts., T-1st East Division). Florida holds an all-time record of 25-19-5 vs. Pee Dee, and are 9-11-3 all-time in Florence, SC.

Friday, January 7 at South Carolina Stingrays 7:05 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Everblades and the Stingrays face-off against each other for the fourth of five times this season on Friday at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, SC. The ‘Blades are 1-2-0 vs. South Carolina this season. Florida won the first meeting of the year between the two clubs 3-1 in South Carolina on Dec. 3. The Stingrays won a pair of games at Germain Arena on Dec. 10 & 11 by scores of 2-1 & 3-0. The Stingrays enter this week's action with a record of 12-14-3 (27 pts., 5th East Division) and are winless in their last five games (0-2-3). Florida holds an all-time record of 26-14-7 vs. South Carolina, and are 13-7-2 all-time in Charleston.

Saturday, January 8 at Charlotte Checkers 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The ‘Blades wrap up their four-game road trip with their first visit to Charlotte, NC to take on the Checkers. The meeting is this third of four between the two teams, and the first of two at Cricket Arena. Florida leads the season series 2-0-0 sweeping a weekend series from the Checkers on Dec. 31 & Jan. 1 by scores of 4-3 & 3-0. The Checkers enter this week's action with a record of 17-13-2 (36 pts., T-1st East Division). Florida holds an all-time record of 13-5-0 vs. Charlotte, and are 6-4-1 all-time in Charlotte.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Tuesday, December 28 at Pensacola 3-1 W

The Everblades picked up a 3-1 win over the Pensacola Ice Pilots on Tuesday at the Pensacola Civic Center. The win was Florida's sixth straight on the road, and gave the ‘Blades a 2-2-1 record vs. Pensacola this season. Brent McDonald, Keith Anderson and Kris Vernarsky all scored in a 5:12 span midway through the first period, and ‘Blades goaltender Rob Zepp turned away 49 of 50 Pensacola shots to earn the win. The shots against were the most the Everblades faced in a game this season. The win for Zepp brought his record to 3-1-0 in his last four games, and his overall record to 6-7-0. Florida special teams: PP 0-for-6, PK: 5-for-5.

Friday, December 31 vs. Charlotte 4-3 W

The Everblades battled from behind to earned a hard-fought 4-3 win over the Checkers on Friday night at Germain Arena. Florida had opened up a 2-0 lead four minutes into the second period on goals by Brad Church and Kris Vernarsky, however the Checkers reeled off three straight goals to take a 3-2 lead by the six minute mark of the third period. The ‘Blades battled back to tie the game midway through the period on Brent McDonald's even-strength tally, and collected the eventual game-winning goal from Shane Hnidy with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the game. ‘Blades goalie Craig Kowalski picked up the win by turning away 35 of 38 Charlotte shots, which brought his record to 8-1-1 in his last 11 games. Florida special teams: PP: 1-for-3, PK: 6-for-6. The win brought Florida's record to 1-0-0 vs. Charlotte this season.

Saturday, January 1 vs. Charlotte 3-0 W

The Everblades earned their third straight win with their second shutout of the season on Saturday night at Germain Arena over the Charlotte Checkers. ‘Blades net-minder Rob Zepp stopped all 23 shots he faced to earn his first shutout of the season, while Brandon Coalter, Tim O'Connell and Ryan Brindley provided the offense for the Everblades. The win for Zepp was his fourth in his last five games, and brought his overall record to 7-7-0. Florida special teams: PP: 1-for-2, PK: 2-for-2. The win brought Florida's record to

2-0-0 vs. Charlotte this season.

EVERBLADES ITINERARY:

Monday, Jan. 3: Practice @ Carolina Coliseum

Tuesday, Jan. 4: GAME vs. Columbia, 7:30 p.m. @ Carolina Coliseum

Wednesday, Jan. 5: Practice @ Florence Civic Center

Thursday, Jan. 6: GAME, vs. Pee Dee, 7:00 p.m. @ Florence Civic Center

Friday, Jan. 7: GAME vs. South Carolina, 7:05 p.m. @ N. Charleston Coliseum

Saturday, Jan 8: GAME vs. Charlotte, 7:00 p.m. @ Cricket Arena

Sunday, Jan. 9: OFF DAY

2004-05 EVERBLADES REGULAR SEASON NUMBERS

Quick Stats

Overall Record 18-12-1

Home Record 10-7-1

Road Record 8-5-0

Overtime Record 1-1

Shootout Record 2-0

Power Play 14-127 (28th)

Penalty Kill 86-112 (28th)

Leading Scorers

Matt Hendricks 15-16-31

Damain Surma 13-14-27

Brad Church 11-13-24

Brent McDonald 9-7-16

Matt Pagnutti 3-13-16

Steve Saviano 1-15-16

Leading Goaltenders

Rob Zepp 2.60 GAA, 7-7-0

Craig Kowalski 2.67 GAA, 11-5-1

Plus/Minus Leaders

Brad Church +21

Damain Surma +16

Tim O'Connell +13

Matt Hendricks +11

Weekly Award Nominee's: This week's ECHL Player of the Week nominee is forward Kris Vernarski who notched four points in three games this past week. This week's ECHL Goaltender of the Week nominee is Rob Zepp who was 2-0-0 with a goals against average of 0.50 with one shutout, and saved 72 of 73 shots faced.

Who's Hot: Everblades forward Steve Saviano has picked up a point in seven of the last eight games (0g, 9a)...rookie forward Matt Hendricks has a point in five of the last seven games (4g, 4a)...Brad Church has a point in eight of the last 14 games (7g, 10a)... Damian Surma has points in five of the last seven games (3g, 6a)...Craig Kowalski is 8-1-1 in his last 11 games and Rob Zepp is

4-1-0 in his last five games.

League Leaders: Matt Hendricks enters this week's action ranked tied for fifth in the ECHL in scoring with his 31 points. He is also tied for second in scoring among all ECHL rookies. Hendricks' 15 goals ranks first among ECHL rookies, while his 16 assists is fourth among first-year players...Brad Church & Damian Surma are the among the top five in the ECHL in plus/minus. Church leads the league with a plus-21 while Surma ranks tied for fourth with a plus-16...Matt Pagnutti finds himself tied for 10th in scoring among ECHL defenseman with 16 points...Rob Zepp is tied for 20th among ECHL goaltenders with his 2.60 GAA.

Special Teams: Entering this week, here's a look at the Everblades special teams: Power Play: Overall: 28th (14-for-127), 11.0%; Home: 25th, 11.3%; Road: 28th, 10.6%. Penalty Kill: Overall: 28th (86-for-112), 76.8%; HHome: 26th, 76.6%; Road: 28th, 77.1%.

Internet Only Broadcasts: Two of the four games on this road trip will be broadcast via the internet only. Tuesday night's game vs. Columbia and Saturday night's game vs. Charlotte will both be available only through the internet because of schedule conflicts. Fans can visit www.floridaeverblades.com to pick up the internet feed.

Ticket Information: The Germain Arena Box Office is open from 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Monday through Friday and 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM on Saturday. Individual Tickets can be purchased at the Germain Arena Box Office or at any TicketMaster location. To order tickets by phone, call (239) 334-3309. For Season Tickets, Flex Packs, or Group Tickets call the Everblades Ticket Office at (239) 948-7825.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics

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