Inferno Weekly

February 2, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Columbia Inferno News Release


THE WEEK AHEAD

Thursday, February 5th vs. Greenville Grrrowl 7:30pm Carolina Coliseum

The Inferno is 2-1-0 against the Greenville this season and 14-5-1 all-time. This is the fourth meeting between these two teams. Greenville is in last place in the Southern Division with 17 points (7-32-3).

Friday, February 6th vs. Florida Everblades 7:30pm Carolina Coliseum

Columbia is 2-1-0 this season and 10-8-1 all-time against Florida. The Everblades are in second place in the Southern Division with 55 points (23-15-9). This is the fourth meeting between Columbia and Florida this season.

Saturday, February 7th @ Augusta Lynx 7:30pm Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center

This is the fifth meeting for the Checkers and Inferno. Columbia is 3-1-0 against the Lynx this season and 11-7-3 all-time. Augusta is in sixth place in the Central Division with 38 points (17-22-4).

LAST WEEK

Thursday, January 29th Inferno 4 COLUMBUS 5 (Shootout)

The Columbia Inferno dropped in a sudden death shootout to the Columbus Cottonmouths 5-4. Tim Smith scored his first goal of the game at 7:53 of the first period with help from Eric Labelle and Greg Amadio. Columbus answered back at 8:59 with a goal by Christian Larrivee to tie the game. Robin Carruthers scored his 23rd goal of the season at 12:35 with a wrist shot from Paul Cabana and Barrie Moore. Columbus answered back for the second time of the night at 12:56 with a goal by Kenton Smith to tie the game at two a piece. Columbus went up by one with a goal by Colin Pepperall at 18:50 to end the first period with a score of 3-2.

The Cottonmouths went up 4-2 at 7:55 of the second period as Dan Tudin scored on an even strength goal. Smith scored his second goal of the night at 18:33 to bring the Inferno within one goal. Alex Burrows and Carruthers had the assist. Barrie Moore scored on the power play at 2:02 of the third period with Corey Hessler and Smith on the setup to tie the game. After a scoreless overtime period, the Cottonmouths skated away with the shootout win.

Friday, January 30th INFERNO 3 Gwinnett 2

Dennis Vial scored the game-winning goal at 9:58 of the third period as the Inferno stop the Gwinnett Gladiators 3-2 in front of 6,003 fans at the Carolina Coliseum. Gwinnett scored the first two goals of the game at 3:18 and 16:29 of the first period. Columbia came out tough in the second period as Barrie Moore scored his 18th goal of the season at 5:47 with a top shelf shot as Derek Eastman and Tim Smith had the assists. Sean Owens tied the game at 12:51 as he took the puck right down the slot and scored his 4th goal of the season with a wrist shot. Greg Amadio and Matt Ulwelling earned the assists. Josh Blackburn stopped 34 of 36 shots to earn his 18 win of the season.

Saturday, January 31st Inferno 2 CHARLOTTE 3

The Charlotte Checkers came out strong as they applied the pressure in the first minute of the game that led to a penalty shot. Josh Blackburn denied Blaz Emersic shot as the Inferno faced their first ever penalty shot in franchise history. Charlotte netted the lone goal of the first period at 11:26 as Kengo Ito scored on a 3-on-2. The Checkers out shot the Inferno 11-6 in the first. Corey Hessler and Chad Wilchynski were each assessed a game misconduct at 3:27 of the second period. The Inferno went on a 4-minute power play due to a cut above Hessler's eye but couldn't get anything started. Charlotte scored at 6:15 on a wrap around goal by Mike Wirll to go up 2-0. The Inferno ended the second period on a power play but could not capitalize. The Columbia Inferno scored two unanswered goals in the third period. Tim Smith scored at 6:48 with a slap shot through the 5-hole of goaltender Meyer. Dennis Vial and Barrie Moore set him up for the first goal for the Inferno. Greg Amadio passed the puck to Matt Ulwelling as he tied the score at 10:05 with a slap shot that goaltender Meyers never saw. Charlotte scored at 11:49 as the puck took a bad bounce off the dasherboard and behind Blackburn for the winning goal.

Overall Record: 27-14-5
Position: 1st Place (59 points)
Weekly Record: 1-1-1 Southern Division

INFERNO NUMBERS

Record: 27-14-5
Home: 13-7-3
Road: 14-7-2
Goals: 23 – Robin Carruthers
Assists: 38 – Tim Smith
Leading Scorer: 56 – Tim Smith
Power Play: 19.5% (8th in ECHL)
Power Play Goals: 6 - Robin Carruthers
Penalty Kill: 82.2% (20th in ECHL)
Short Handed Goals: 3 – Robin Carruthers
Game Winning Goals: 5 – Barrie Moore
Plus/Minus: +20 – Barrie Moore
Goaltending: Josh Blackburn, 33 games, 18-7-3, 2.74 GAA, .913 SPCT

INFERNO HIGHLIGHTS

Tim Smith is ranked fourth in points among ECHL leading scorers with 56 (18g-38a)...Paul Cabana is ranked fourth among ECHL rookies with 40 points (19g-21a) and is ranked 2nd in goals scored and first in shots with 177...Greg Amadio is tied for first among rookies in minor penalties with 38 and is second in total penalty minutes with 126. Greg also has one assist in each of his last three games...Jesse Schultz leads rookies in shooting percentage with a .214 (12 goals on 56 shots)...Derek Eastman is in the top 10 ranked scoring defenseman in the ECHL with 34 points (7g-27a)...Columbia is ranked first in scoring with 3.93 goals per game...Barrie Moore has six points (2g-4a) in his last four games.

TRANSACTIONS

1/31/04 Add JESSE SCHULTZ (D) activated off IR 1/31/04 Delete ERIC LABELLE (RW) placed on 7-day IR

COACH'S SHOW

The Scott White Coach's show is back on the air on ESPN 1230am from 7pm - 8pm. It will be held live at Calloway's Bar and Grill located at 2410 Augusta Road in West Columbia every Monday night until the end of the season. Come by or listen in to find out the latest on Inferno Hockey.

NOMINATED PLAYER OF THE MONTH

ROBIN CARRUTHERS – 15 games, 10 goals, 10 assists, +15, 1 game-winning goal, 2 power play goals and 1 shorthanded goal

NOMINATED ROOKIE OF THE MONTH

PAUL CABANA – 15 games, 7 goals, 9 assists, +7, 1 power play goal



ECHL Stories from February 2, 2004


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