New-look Seals are on a roll
Published on December 5, 2005 under SPHL (SPHL)
Florida Seals News Release
[KISSIMMEE, Fla.] - The Florida Seals enter the month of December as the hottest team in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Winners of four in a row and five of their last six, the third place Seals are as hot on the ice as they are off the ice. The recent roll has Central Florida hockey fans taking notice.
After a very strong opening night crowd of over 6,000 rowdy fans the next three weeks of the season saw lower than hoped for attendance averaging only 1,300 fans through the turnstiles. The team did not help endear the fans to return with a slow start and poor play on home ice.
"Everyone was so focused on opening night, we all seemed to forget that one game does not make a season," said David Waronker, the Seals majority owner. "The next seven games seemed that the team and staff were just going through the motions, but once everyone had the time to refocus and reenergize, the office staff and management, coaches, players and even the owners rolled up their sleeves and started to get serious about the season and where we wanted to be as an organization."
Head Coach Tommy Stewart made several roster changes to add a spark on the ice. The most significant being the additions of defenseman Casey Handrahan and forwards Rob Sich and Justin Keller.
The Seals high-powered offense started out slow. Many of the players who were counted on to lead the scoring attack were not putting the puck in the net in the first several games. All that has changed, as the entire team is now lighting the lamp on a regular basis.
David Deeves, a star forward in Macon for three seasons and a previous league MVP of the WHA2 scored his first goal of the season after going eleven straight without a tally. The Barrie, Ont. native recently became the first player to score a hat trick in a Florida Seals uniform.
Captain Steve Zoryk has been playing some of the best hockey of his career. Zoryk has become the team leader in goals scored with 12 and sits fifth in the SPHL.
Defensively, the Seals have stepped up to the competition and helped cut down the opposition's scoring chances. Art Mnatsakanov has found his "A" game and become a big force in the defensive zone.
Handrahan has been with the Seals for six games and the team's defense has seen shots lessen, goals against decrease and physical play heightened. The 6-2 blue liner is easily regarded as a top five defenseman in the SPHL.
Enforcers Ryan Rivard and Andrew Katzberg have been accepting every challenge thrown their way as they have been pummeling the opponents with hits and fists. Teams who come into the Silver Spurs Arena know they will have to go through a gauntlet of tough players if they plan to win.
"It seems all the players have finally come together and are using their skills and the team is really starting to gel," said Stewart. "People know my teams have started out slow, not that I like that, but I knew these players would come together and get on a roll like they are now."
"The scorers are scoring, the defenseman are hitting hard and clearing the net, and the goaltenders have been spectacular," said Team Consultant Kevin Simpson. "It seems that all the players started to get to know each other and feel comfortable with each other's strengths and weaknesses. Even though eleven of the players played together last season in Macon, there still are seven other players who do not know each other, and it took time for the team to play together as a unit. Now this team is gelling well and they look like the Seals team that won the hearts of Central Florida when they won the Atlantic Coast Hockey League championship three years ago."
"Everyone watched each other's back, and that is what I see in this team," said Vice President of Operations Chris LiPuma, Assistant Captain of the Orlando Seals championship team. "The players all seem to really like each other and having good chemistry and respect inside the locker room is key in any sport."
Even though the Seals are in their fourth year of operation, this team is considered an expansion organization in the SPHL, having not played since 2003-2004 as part of the WHA2. After sitting out the past season while team ownership built an ice facility in their new home in Kissimmee, this first year SPHL member team had to build a new fan base, a new front office and an entire new hockey operations department.
"Yes, we started from scratch. We had to build an entire organization from top to bottom," said Waronker. "We wanted management, staff and a hockey operations department with people who were willing to work and who understand that when adversity hits like it does any business that you bear down and fight through problems together rather than point fingers and place blame."
Waronker continued, "Basically, we wanted an organization of employees who were willing to watch each other's back. Our team motto is âWatch your back.'"
The Seals organization spent the entire off-season retooling the front office staff and preparing for the opening of the new building. Today, the team plays in the cozy 8,300 seat Silver Spurs Arena. The $650,000 ice floor was installed entirely with owners' David Waronker and Mark Goitein's support.
The ice arena has been nicknamed the "Seals Den" and is not only home to the local professional team, but it also houses the Seals Skating Academy. World and Olympic Coach Jean-Claude Detre runs the Skating Academy's figure skating while Garry Unger, 18-year iron man of the National Hockey League, runs the hockey clinics and league.
"We are here for the long term. We finally have a very deep-rooted organization, which will brand the Seals name and product for years to come. With the Skating Academy, and the Junior Seals hockey organization, we are grooming hundreds of future Seals hockey fans each day," said Unger. "That can only work well for the long term success of the Seals organization."
"David stepped up to the plate. When we needed ice, he put in the ice. When we wanted rental skates for the academy he goes out and orders 400 skates," said Detre. "When we need to advertise he takes out advertisements in the Orlando Sentinel, local radio and on local television stations. He really wants to make this work and is on the right path to success. Finally, we are starting to see the results the owners were looking for the past three years. The Skating Academy's attendance is growing daily."
The Florida Seals Ice Skating Academy is already competing at a high level. Recently the group participated in the South Atlantic Championship and came back with a silver medalist. In the next few months, the Florida Seals Ice Skating Academy will have a new figure skating club recognized by the United State Figure Skating Association. Some of the academy skaters will demonstrate their talent during intermission games. The excitement is building as the academy will be in full force for all levels come 2006.
When coming to a Seals hockey game there is more than just the product on the ice. You can't forget the Seals Girls. The thirteen gorgeous Seals Girls who wear attractive but conservative cheerleading outfits to all Seals home games and promotional events are as popular as the players with some of the fans.
In fact, the complaint at Saturday's game, when official bank partner First National Bank of Osceola gave away player trading cards, was that there were no cards of the Seals Girls. Not to worry, at a future home date in January, team sponsor USALANDSALE is giving away Seals Girl trading cards.
So what is next for the Seals? Head Coach Tommy Stewart, who spent the last two year as Macon's bench boss knows how to get his team into league championship series.
"David Waronker brought me in to be the coach that could reach the top of the mountain, and that means we must win a championship. This is my third year coaching; I have been to the finals twice and can't accept being a bridesmaid again, said Stewart. "This season we must go over the top. I understand that there are six other teams who have the same goals as we do, but I can tell you that we are going to give 200% to bring a championship to Osceola County. After all everyone has done to bring this team to Central Florida, there is no excuse for coming up short."
Tickets to all Florida Seals home games can be purchased at the Silver Spurs Arena Box Office or through Ticketmaster. Season, group and individual game tickets can also be purchased by calling 407-343-PUCK. All home games can be seen live at www.livesportsnetwork.com/sphl and all games can be heard throughout Central Florida on Sports Radio 1080/Orlando's ESPN Radio and Talk Radio 1190 WAMT.
All home games start at 7:35 pm. To reserve your season tickets or find out more about partnerships with the Seals, call the office at (407) 343-PUCK or go to www.floridaseals.com. Single game tickets for exciting Seals hockey start as low as $10 for an individual and $6 for groups. All home games can be seen live at www.livesportsnetwork.com/sphl.
SPHL Stories from December 5, 2005
- Carmichael returns to Havoc - Huntsville Havoc
- New-look Seals are on a roll - Florida Seals
- FireAntz take two of three - Fayetteville Marksmen
- Week Six in Review - Huntsville Havoc
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.
