Kingfish Weekly

December 16, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Baton Rouge Kingfish News Release


Kingfish Leaders: Bryan Richardson continues to lead the Kingfish in scoring as he has picked up 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points. Kingfish defensemen Trevor Demmans and Steve Cheredaryk are both in the top 20 among defensemen in scoring in the ECHL. Demmans has tallied 3 goals and 17 assists for 20 points, while Cheredaryk has picked up 6 goals and 13 assists for 19 points. Jeff Blair's 3.08 goals against average and .899 save percentage are best among Kingfish goaltenders.

On a Roll: Kingfish center man Bryan Richardson holds the ECHL's longest goal scoring streak this season as he tallied a goal in seven consecutive Kingfish games. The streak ended on Saturday night in the Kingfish's 4-1 loss against Mississippi. A great individual effort pushed the streak to seven as he split the defense on Friday night against Arkansas and beat Jason Saal over the shoulder for the Kingfish's third goal in a 5-3 loss.

Movin' on up: Bryan Richardson is just six goals shy of the 100-goal plateau as a Kingfish. He entered the season just 20 goals shy of the century mark and has tallied 14 markers on the season. He is just 9 goals shy of the Kingfish's team record of 103 goals, a mark held by Kingfish Head Coach Cam Brown. In Wednesday's win over the IceGators, Richardson moved into sole possession of fourth place on the franchise career list as he surpassed Stephan Charbonneau (91) with goals 92 & 93. Cam Brown holds the franchise record with 139 goals.

Can we just play the third? Since the Kingfish ended their 11 game winless streak back on November 24th, the Kingfish have outscored their opponent 20-7 in the third period. Even more ironic, during that stretch, the Kingfish have been out shot by a 95-71 margin. The third period has been the Kingfish's best period all season long, outscoring their opponents 48-21 in the final stanza.

Do we have to play the first period? Despite the Kingfish's spectacular numbers in the third period, the opening stanza makes up for them. In the first period alone, the Kingfish have been outscored by a combined 43-19 in the first period. Baton Rouge has been outscored 21-5 in the first period since breaking their 11 game winless streak despite out shooting their opponent by a 110-76 margin.

Scoring First: In 29 games this season, the Kingfish have only scored first five times and are 3-2-0 when picking up the first goal of the season. Baton Rouge has won both of its last two games when scoring first; Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Louisiana IceGators and November 24th's 3-1 win over Mississippi.

On a Roll: Kingfish forward Joe Guenther continues to pick up points for the Kingfish. Since being waived by Toledo and acquired by the Kingfish on November 23rd, Guenther has tallied 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points in 10 games with the Kingfish. Bryan Richardson (8g, 8a) is the only player to put up better numbers than Guenther in the Kingfish's last 10 games.

On the Power Play: Kingfish center man Bryan Richardson continues to pick up power play goals. He notched his seventh power play goal in Wednesday's 6-5 victory over Louisiana and added his eighth on Friday against Arkansas. With 8 power play goals this season, Richardson is on pace (19) to break the Kingfish single season record of 13 held by Mike Rucinski set during the 2000-01 season. With five power play goals this season, Clark Jones is on pace to pick up 12.4 this year, which would place him in second for most goals on the man advantage in a single season.

Last Week's Games: 1-3-0, 2 points

December 11th, Kingfish 6, vs. Louisiana 5

A game not decided till late in the third period as Steve Cheredaryk beat Frederic Cloutier on a shot from the point with about three minutes left in the third period. Marquis Mathieu gave the Kingfish a 1-0 lead before Bobby Brown tied it at one just 8 seconds later. The Kingfish answered in a mere 45 seconds as Bryan Richardson punched one past Cloutier. Louisiana tied it at two before the end of the period on a power play goal by Nathan Rempel. The Kingfish opened a two-goal lead early in the second period on goals by Joe Guenther and Bryan Richardson. Louisiana cut the lead back to one on a power play goal by Kevin Mitchell, but Ryan Trsek regained the two-goal lead less than a minute later. The IceGators tied the contest up at five before the end of the second on goals by Nathan Rempel and Dennis Shiryaev. Cheredaryk picked up the game winner in the third as Jeff Blair made 43 saves for the Kingfish in the win.

December 13th, vs. Arkansas 5, Kingfish 3

Arkansas stormed out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period as Ernie Hartlieb gave the RiverBlades the 1-0 lead, Gary Toor extended the lead to 2-0 and Mike Cirillo put in the last one of the period. Arkansas added another two in the second period for the 5-0 lead after two periods. Cirillo added his second of the game and Mike Renzi tallied one for Arkansas in the second. The Kingfish made things interesting in the third as they picked up three goals in the final stanza to cut the lead to two. Jason Norrie got the first goal for the Kingfish, Forrest Gore cut the lead to three and Bryan Richardson tallied the final goal of the game for the Kingfish in the 5-3 loss.

December 14th, vs. Mississippi 4, Kingfish 1

The Kingfish again spotted their opponent a 3-0 lead before getting on the scoreboard. A little over a minute into the game, Jim Baxter gave the Sea Wolves the 1-0 lead. Three minutes later, Jeff Hutchins gave the Sea Wolves a two-goal lead. Mississippi took the 3-0 lead before the close of the first period on a goal by Dave Paradise at the midway mark of the period. Marquis Mathieu scored the Kingfish's lone goal with less than a minute to play in the second period. Mississippi put a stop to any Kingfish rally as Paradise tallied his second of the game in the third period on the power play with a little over 10 minutes left to play.

December 15th, @ Arkansas 3, Kingfish 1

For the third straight game, and second against Arkansas, the Kingfish gave up a 3-0 lead before tallying a goal. Arkansas led 2-0 after the first period on goals by Mike Renzi and Damon Whitten. Matt Pagnutti gave the RiverBlades the three goal advantage early in the second period as he blasted a power play goal past Jeff Blair from the high slot. Early in the third, Jason Norrie deflected a Joe Guenther shot back behind Jason Saal for Baton Rouge's only goal of the game. Baton Rouge's 21 shots in the contest are the fewest by the Kingfish so far this season.

This Week's Games:

Wednesday, December 18, 2002, @ Cincinnati, 6:05 p.m. (WZRB, 104.5)

Second game of seven game northern swing. Kingfish have not faced the Cyclones since their relocation from Miami. The Last time these two teams met, Cincinnati, as the Miami Matadors, beat the Kingfish on December 9, 1998 2-1 in Miami. The Kingfish beat Miami earlier in that season at the Fish Tank, a 4-2 win for the Kingfish on November 14, 1998. The last time the Kingfish won on the road against the Cincinnati team was when they were playing as the Louisville RiverFrogs, a 10-2 bashing on December 14, 1996 in Louisville. The Kingfish are 6-4-1 all time against the Cyclones.

Friday, December 20, 2002, @ Peoria, 7:00 p.m. (WZRB, 104.5)

First of three meetings with the Rivermen this season. The Kingfish are 1-2-0 all time against the Rivermen. Kingfish last won in Peoria on October 30, 1996, a 3-2 win for the Kingfish. Peoria won the last meeting with the Kingfish, a 6-2 win on February 16, 2000 at the Fish Tank. Peoria's last win at home against the Kingfish was a 7-5 win on November 9, 1999.

Saturday, December 21, 2002, @ Peoria, 7:00 p.m. (WZRB, 104.5)

Second meeting with the Rivermen in as many days. Fourth game of northern road trip. Kingfish are 0-1-1 against non-divisional opponents this season. Kingfish did not face a northern division opponent last season.

Sunday, December 22, 2002, @ Toledo, 2:00 p.m. (WZRB, 104.5)

Last game for the Kingfish before the Holiday break and the fifth of the seven game northern swing. Kingfish are 9-33-2 all time against the Storm. The Kingfish have not beaten the Storm since moving from Erie after the 1995-96 season. Kingfish last beat the Storm in Toledo on February 27, 1993, a 7-5 win for the Kingfish (as the Erie Panthers). The Storm won the only meeting against the Kingfish since Baton Rouge's relocation from Erie, a 5-3 Toledo win on November 1, 1996.

This Week's Practice Schedule:

All practices are open to the public unless otherwise specified, Please call to verify practice times. (Kingfish do not skate in Baton Rouge this week)

Monday: day off

Tuesday: noon skate @ Cincinnati

Wednesday: Game @ Cincinnati, 6:05 face off (pre game skate approx 11 a.m.)

Thursday: noon skate @ Peoria

Friday: Game @ Peoria, 7:00 face off (pre game skate approx 11 a.m.)

Saturday: Game @ Peoria, 7:00 face off (pre game skate approx 11 a.m.)

Sunday: Game @ Toledo, 2:00 p.m.

Stocking Stuffers: Get ready for the Holidays with a 12-pack of Kingfish Freedom vouchers. Get 12 vouchers good for any Kingfish regular season home game for the price of 11 tickets and save. Freedom Voucher packages start as low as $121. Call the Kingfish office at 225-336-GOAL for more information.



ECHL Stories from December 16, 2002


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central