Manatees massacre Seals, 9-4, move into second place

February 26, 2004 - SPHL (SPHL)
Miami Manatees News Release


Orlando, Fla – The Miami Manatees extended their winning streak to three games against the Orlando Seals as they finished off the Seals on their home-ice 9-4 in front of a dejected 2120 fans.

Miami jumped out early in the game when Oak Hewer scored his 28th goal of the season. Taking a pass in the slot from Kevin Swider, Hewer cut back across the slot to the left of goaltender Sean Varriale. Hewer waited for Varriale to go down and roofed the shot at 7:14.

The Seals answered right back when Jason Elders scored ten seconds into the Seals first power-play at 7:42. Greg LeColst pulled the Manatees back up when he one-timed a centering pass from Zdnek Vanc past Varriale.

Simon Duplessis tied the game up when he pounced on a rebound that went over the shoulder of Sean Weaver, who moments earlier turned aside several Seals two-on-one opportunities and prime scoring chances.

Tom Kotsopoulos finished the next two Manatee goals in the first period. The first goal at 13:00 was on a give-and-go with Darcy Johnson and Kotsopoulos's shot from the right circle chased Varriale out of the nets. Kotsopoulos's second goal was the result of beating a Seals defenseman to a loose puck and firing an off-angle shot that eluded backup goaltender Shad Higginbotham at 18:43. The teams went to the dressing room with the Manatees up 4-3.

The Manatees struck first in the second period when Higginbotham sprawled on the ice after making a save, but the puck bounced off his chest to Darren Cain. Cain's shot bounced over for the goal at 4:40.

After the Manatees went up by two goals, the game began to get chippy with several fights and physical play. Jim Quilty earned a game misconduct and was ejected from the game when he hit Jamie Muswagon with a high elbow along the neutral-ice boards.

The adage is that your best penalty-killer is the goaltender, and Sean Weaver proved that to be the case on the 5-3 Seals power-play. After B.J. Stephens snuck a low-shot past Weaver just 20 seconds into the two-man advantage, Weaver shut the Seals fifth-ranked power-play down by stopping six quality scoring chances.

With Weaver helping kill the penalty with strong goaltending, the Manatees began to pressure the Seals up high. Swider intercepted a pass and proceeded into the Seals zone on a two-on-one with Hewer. Swider drew the defensemen to him and threaded a pass between the circles for Hewer. Hewer deked out Higginbotham and beat him to the left side with a low shot from the right of the crease for his second goal of the game.

The third period belonged to the Manatees as they worked at putting away the Seals for good. Steve Howard hit Dan Donnette with a pass as he entered the Seals zone, and Donnette fought off the defenseman as he went to the low-slot. Donnette unleashed an off-balance shot that went up and over Higginbotham.

LeColst scored his second goal of the game, extending his goal-scoring streak to five games. Howard's assist on the goal gives him eight points from the blue-line in three games, and Swider extended his point streak to nine points in five games. Hewer ended the night as well with four points.

Swider finished the scoring for the Manatees at 15:10 when he caught a rebound high in the air, dropped it at his feet and shot it in for the goal to end the game with the Manatees emerging victorious 9-4.

Sean Weaver made 33 saves on 37 shots for his13th win of the season. With the win, the Manatees take over sole possession of second place in the WHA2, and will face off at home against the Alabama Slammers this Saturday at 7:05.

The Miami Manatees face off against the Alabama Slammers, Jacksonville Barracudas, Lakeland Loggerheads, Macon Trax, and Orlando Seals in the WHA2's inaugural season. All games are broadcast on www.irn.fm.

Individual and Group Tickets for the Miami Manatees are now on sale. For further information, please contact the Manatees at (305) 536-PUCK (7825) or visit www.miamimanatees.com.



SPHL Stories from February 26, 2004


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