Manatees persevere, Cabana scores OT winner
April 6, 2004 - SPHL (SPHL)
Miami Manatees News Release
Jacksonville â Chad Cabana scored 2:01 into the OT session to give the Manatees a 3-2 win after a grueling day that saw a bus break-down and a two-hour delay in getting the first ever WHA2 playoff underway.
Coming into the game, the Manatees have not played with a full roster since the team became a road team. Several players left the team for other leagues, but were welcomed back for the WHA2 playoffs to help the Manatees as they embarked on the second part of a tumultuous season.
Defensemen Steve Howard won the championship with the SEHL Huntsville Channel Cats with a three-game sweep over Knoxville. Darcy Johnson finished the season with the Long Beach Ice Dogs, and Kevin Swider played in the finals for the Knoxville Ice Bears. Trevor Socholotuk spent some time with the Cape Fear Fire Antz.
In addition, the Manatees added forwards Garrett Dionne, Kevin Caudill, Jack Greig, and Yuri Mikhailov and goaltender Al Rooney and Matt Swanson.
So this current Manatees team represented the third incarnation of a complete roster, and it is this group on which the Manatees playoff hopes essentially lie. Heading into Jacksonville, it appeared that the turbulent season wouldn't relent as more challenges were thrown in the Manatees way.
A broken down bus outside of Jacksonville that caused the Manatees to finish the trip in cargo vans delayed the game for more than two hours, so it was with anticipation that the Manatees took to the ice for the brief warm-up.
They didn't waste time making their presence felt.
The Manatees struck first when Kevin Caudill swiped at a loose puck in front of the net that found its way under the pads of Nate Ziemski at 4:21. Caudill's goal was the first goal in the history of the WHA2 playoffs.
Play continued on with both teams testing each other with several strong scoring chances, but the Manatees struck again at 16:36 when Dan Donnette forced a turnover at center-ice and passed the puck to Chad Cabana. Entering the offensive zone, Cabana found a late-trailing Darren Cain while Donnette headed to screen Ziemski. Cain unleashed a wrist-shot from between the circles that beat the goaltender over the glove-hand.
Al Rooney made 14 saves in the first period, while Dionne and Perry earned assists on the Manatees first goal as the Manatees headed to the dressing room with a 2-0 lead.
Rooney continued to hold the Manatees at bay in the second as Jacksonville pounded him with 9 quality shots by the half-way point of the period.
Swider almost put the Manatees up by three goals with 9:00 left when he carried the puck into the Cuda zone with one defenseman back. Swider kept the puck out of the defensemen's reach and lifted a backhand on net that Ziemski had some trouble with as the puck slipped past him and rolled just wide of the net.
The Manatees had another scoring chance at 14:03 of the second when Swider dug the puck out of the Barracuda's right side corner and lifted a pass to an empty space which Liebenow filled. With the puck, Liebenow deked out Ziemski and tried to back-hand a low shot, but Ziemski got a sprawling glove on the puck to make the stop.
Ziemski again pulled the Cudas out of the fire when he stopped Caudill point-blank on a turnover at the blue-line. Swider found Caudill down low, and he got Ziemski to the ice with a deke, but his shot went over Ziemski and landed on his back just outside the goal-mouth.
The Manatees continued to apply offensive pressure with several more scoring chances, dominated the physical aspect of the game, and won most of the face-offs. The Barracudas had an opportunity to get back in the game when the Manatees got called for too many on the ice with a 1:36 left in the second.
The Cudas pelted Rooney with 4 shots on the power-play, but the Manatees aggressive game plan had them coming back the other way with a two-on-one opportunity, but Ziemski turned the play aside as the period came to an end as the score remained 2-0. Jacksonville had 16 shots in the period, while Miami had 17 shots.
The Barracudas finally got on the board with their 33rd shot on net. Mark Phenow wound up from the blue-line with a heavy shot which Rooney stopped, but the rebound bounced out in front to Jamie Miller who swept in the rebound for the score at 3:43 of the third.
That goal gave the fans some life in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum which the Barracudas fed off of. The Cudas had several scoring chances after their goal as the Manatees did their best to stave off any opportunities until Caudill committed a smart hooking penalty at 9:15 as Lyle Steenbergen deked out two players on the way to the Manatees net for a prime scoring chance.
The Barracudas struck quickly, scoring on a Klage Kaebel redirection at 9:56 to tie the game up on the power-play. The goal was scored on the 39th Barracudas shot of the game.
At 13:15, Swider took a long pass up the ice and went in on the breakaway on Ziemski, but Ziemski got his leg out to close off the post to keep the score tied at two apiece.
The playoff atmosphere started to take effect as the third period winded down. Both teams found themselves in nasty scrums several times after the whistle was blown. The pick-up in intensity was felt as Phenow hit Darren Cain with a elbow in the corner which gave the Manatees a power-play with 2:46 left in the third period.
The power-play got off to a rough start as Jacksonville was able to get down the ice on two two-on-ones but were unable to convert on those chances. Back in the Manatees offensive zone, Ziemski made some key saves to kill off the penalty as time expired in the third period.
Shots on goal through the third period saw Jacksonville with 43 shots and Miami with 36. The teams came back onto the ice to take part in the sudden-death overtime session at 11:54 pm.
Swider had a prime scoring chance at the start of the OT session when he took a pass from Socholotuk in the corner, but the puck bounced over Swider's stick as Ziemski was sprawling on the ice. The Manatees kept the puck in the Barracudas zone for the first 1:36 of the OT session.
The puck came out of the zone where the Manatees regrouped in their zone and headed back up the ice. It was with 2:01 expired in the OT when Chad Cabana finally lifted the puck over Ziemski for the game-winning OT goal to give the Manatees the 3-2 win.
Al Rooney made 41 saves on the night, while Nate Ziemski made 33 saves in the loss.
The Miami Manatees face off again with the Barracudas Wednesday night at 7:05, while the Alabama Slammers and the Macon Trax face-off in the other playoff series.
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SPHL Stories from April 6, 2004
- Manatees persevere, Cabana scores OT winner - Miami Manatees
- Slammers Announce Playoff Roster - Alabama Slammers
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