Ice Flyers on Longest Winning Streak in 7 Years
January 11, 2012 - SPHL (SPHL)
Pensacola Ice Flyers News Release
As November drew to an end, the Pensacola Ice Flyers sat with a 4-5-2 that saw them near the basement of the SPHL. Just over a month later, there is new life in and around the center of Ice Flyer nation, and the city of Pensacola is buzzing. The players, the coaching staff, the office staff, the medical personnel, the volunteers and the fans young and old have witnessed their team of blue and gold pull in win after win.
The Ice Flyers are currently on a 6-game winning streak, including their last victory that came in overtime over the then first-placed Knoxville Ice Bears in front of nearly 4000 people at the Pensacola Civic Center. The night before the nail-biting win against Knoxville, the team travelled to Huntsville and won convincingly 5-1, giving them a 5-game winning streak. That victory marked the longest winning streak since the establishment of the Ice Flyers in 2009. Their 2010-2011 season saw two different 4-game winning streaks and a couple 3-game streaks, but never a 5-game, and the 2009-2010 only saw two-gamers.
With the streak at 6 wins, and looking back to the Pensacola Ice Pilot days, one would have to track back to a 7-game win streak that was accomplished between March 11, 2005 and March 26, 2005 by the Ice Pilots to see a longer win streak in recent years. The Ice Flyers have won 10 of their last 11 games. If it was not for a frustrating loss at home on December 27th against the Louisiana IceGators, the Ice Flyers would be close to the Ice Pilots' franchise record of 12 straight wins between January 22, 2005 and February 18, 2005.
This past Saturday's match up against the Ice Bears featured the two hottest teams in the league. Since the start of December, the Ice Flyers have a record of 11-3. Their overall record is 15-8-2 and are currently sitting in 4th place, 4 points behind Columbus with 4 games in hand on the Cottonmouths. Pensacola has outscored their opponents 52-36 throughout this stretch. At the start of the 2011-2012 season, they were losing games by 1 or 2 goals, and now they winning games by that same narrow margin together with some lopsided victories.
Where are these goals coming from that have been turning what once were losses into 2 points? The answer is simple: everywhere. The Ice Flyers are scoring by committee. Where most teams have two or three players scoring the greater percentage of their points, the Ice Flyers count on every player that hits the ice in an Ice Flyer jersey to contribute. In the 5-1 win on Friday and the 5-4 OT win on Saturday, they had 9 different goal scorers. Pensacola also has a newfound commitment to playing a full 60 minutes and stronger defensively with solid play from their blue liners and goaltenders.
The Ice Flyers still have a lot of hockey left to play in the 2011-2012 season. But with their recent success, they are gaining confidence and momentum, and are trending in the right direction for their push into the second half of their season.
Pensacola looks to extend their win streak this weekend on the road when they head back to Huntsville on Friday night at 7:30 PM CST and then go over to the first-placed Augusta RiverHawks on Saturday at 6:35 PM CST. Fans can watch the games at New York Nick's on two 50" HDTVs.
For further information on the Ice Flyers and upcoming games and events, please visit www.PensacolaIceFlyers.com or call 850-466-3111.
SPHL Stories from January 11, 2012
- Ice Flyers on Longest Winning Streak in 7 Years - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- RiverHawks Edge Cottonmouths in Overtime - Augusta RiverHawks
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