Kingfish Weekly

Published on January 27, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL)
Baton Rouge Kingfish News Release


For the Record: Richardson is closing in on the Kingfish record for most goals scored in a Baton Rouge uniform. Kingfish coach Cam Brown holds the current record for most goals as a Kingfish with 103 goals. Richardson is 3 goals shy of that mark and is on a pace to score 33 goals this season. If Richardson keeps to that pace, he would set a new Kingfish single season mark for goals eclipsing a record he shares with Jon Sturgis (99/00) and Luke Curtin (99/00) with 32 goals in a season.

All Star Game: Joe Guenther represented the Kingfish in the 2003 ECHL Compuware All Star game on Tuesday in Estero, Florida at the TECO Arena, the home of the Florida Everblades. Joe Guenther did not register a point in the game with the Southern All-Stars while he was a –1 during the contest.

Shorthanded: The Kingfish continue to play shorthanded this season as they played with a short bench this weekend. Forrest Gore and Steve Cheredaryk are both on the 30-day IR, while Ryan Trsek and Brian Leitza remain on the 7-day IR. Mike Perna, Clark Jones and Marquis Mathieu all missed this past weekend's games due to various bumps and bruises. Through 46 games this season, the Kingfish have lost 117-man games due to injuries.

Breaking the Drought: Kingfish rookie forward Joe Guenther broke an eight game goal-scoring drought in Friday's 7-3 loss in Arkansas. Before Friday's tally, Guenther had not picked up a goal since the Kingfish's 3-2 shootout loss at Louisiana on December 31st.

No Goals: The Kingfish were shutout for the first time this season on the road as the RiverBlades blanked the ‘Fish 3-0 on Thursday. It was the fourth time this season that the Kingfish were held off the scoreboard. The Kingfish record for being shutout in a season is 7 times, as they were blanked that many times in the 1996-97 season, their first year in the Capital City.

Last Week's Games: 0-2-0, 0 pts.

January 23rd, Arkansas 3, Kingfish 0

Arkansas hung on to a 3-0 first period lead to shutout the Kingfish. Buddy Smith got things going at the 2:05 mark of the first period to give the RiverBlades the 1-0 lead. Smith set up Jason Bermingham for the other two Arkansas tallied in the period. Bermingham's first came at the 15:54 mark of the period, his second at the 18:16 mark of the period to give Arkansas the 3-0 lead at the end of one period. Jimi St. John made 22 saves in the win for his first shutout of the season. Niklas Sundberg made 28 saves in the losing effort for the Kingfish.

January 24th, Arkansas 7, Kingfish 3

Four goals late in the second period did in the Kingfish. Arkansas took a 1-0 lead at the 15:09 mark of the first on a goal by Mike Sandbeck. Buddy Smith extended the lead to two goals at the 16:22 mark of the period. The Kingfish answered as Garnet Jacobson punched home a rebound 19 seconds later to cut the lead to one at the first intermission. Jason Norrie tied the game at two, 47 seconds into the second period but Kingfish could get no closer as Arkansas rattled off the next four goals to take a 6-2 lead to the second intermission. Ernie Hartlieb opened the scoring at the 10:01 mark of the period, then Damon Whitten on the power play at the 13:43 mark, followed by Mike Sandbeck at the 18:22 mark of the second period to give the RiverBlades the 5-2 lead. Hartlieb closed out the scoring in the second stanza, 16 seconds after Sandbeck's goal to give Arkansas the four- goal cushion going into the second intermission. Terry Marchant's goal at the 11:31 mark of the third gave Arkansas the 7-2 lead. Joe Guenther cut the lead back to four with 1:26 in the third as the Kingfish fell 7-3. Jeff Blair made 26 saves in the losing effort.

This Week's Games:

Wednesday, January 29, 2003, vs. Jackson, 7:05 p.m. (104.5, WZRB)

Kingfish battle the Bandits for the 9th time this season. Kingfish won first two meetings against the Bandits this season, but haven't picked up a point against Jackson since November 16th. The Bandits shutout the Kingfish 3-0 in the last meeting between these two teams.

Friday, January 31, 2003, @ Pensacola, 7:05 p.m. (104.5, WZRB)

Ice Pilots lead the season series 6-3-0 including the last meeting, a 4-3 victory on January 19th. Eight of nine meetings this season have been decided by one goal.

Saturday, February 1, 2003, @ Pensacola, 7:05 p.m. (sportsjuice.com)

Second of back-to-back contests with the Ice Pilots. The last five contests between the Kingfish and the Ice Pilots have ended in a 4-3 score with the Kingfish coming out on top in three of them.

Sunday, February 2, 2003, @ Louisiana, 4:05p.m. (104.5, WZRB)

Fourth meeting this season with the IceGators in Lafayette. The Kingfish are 2-3-2 this season against the IceGators. Louisiana has won the last three meetings, two in overtime. IceGators have outscored the Kingfish in seven games by a 26-19 margin.

This Week's Practice Schedule:

All practices are open to the public unless otherwise specified, Please call to verify practice times.

Monday: day off

Tuesday: 10 a.m. to 12 noon skate @ Centroplex

Wednesday: Game vs. Jackson, 7:05 face off (pre game skate approx. 10 a.m.) Thursday: 10 a.m. to 12 noon skate @ Centroplex

Friday: Game @ Pensacola, 7:05 face off (Bus leaves approx. 3:30 p.m.)

Saturday: Game @ Pensacola, 7:05 face off (pre-game skate in Pensacola)

Sunday: Game @ Louisiana, 4:05 face off (Bus leaves approx. 1:30 p.m.)

Get ‘em while they are hot: Join Kingfish mascot Huey this Friday, January 31st from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. for the grand opening of the new Krispy Kreme Donuts on Siegen Lane.

Get Your Group On: Call the Kingfish office at 225-336-GOAL to find out about special rates and benefits for groups and birthday parties at a Kingfish game. Check out all the fun an excitement at the ‘Fish Tank' this season.

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ECHL Stories from January 27, 2003


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