One More

Published on January 8, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL)
Baton Rouge Kingfish News Release


Kingfish center man Bryan Richardson needs just one goal to reach the 100- goal plateau in his career as a Baton Rouge Kingfish. Richardson tallied goals 97 and 98 in Friday's 4-3 win over Pensacola and put goal 99 past Brian Eklund just 59 seconds into Sunday's 4-3 win over the Ice Pilots.

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 4 goals shy of that mark and is on a pace to score 34 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.

Lending a Helping Hand: Arriving in Baton Rouge on Tuesday morning after driving all night from Charlotte, goaltender Niklas Sundberg stonewalled the Louisiana IceGators for 59 minutes before the game was sent into overtime in the final minute. On Friday, he recorded a 4-3 victory over the Ice Pilots and picked up his second win in a Kingfish jersey on Sunday against Pensacola, again by a 4-3 score. Sundberg improves to 10-6-1 on the season after coming over from Charlotte with an 8-6-0 record.

Just in Time: The Kingfish have added a bunch of new faces in the past couple of days to help a banged up line-up. Mike Oliveira and Niklas Sundberg joined the Kingfish in time for Tuesday's game at Louisiana. Mike Perna arrived for Friday's game against Pensacola while Dan Sullivan joined the Kingfish in Pensacola in time for Sunday's game against the Ice Pilots. Oliveira has tallied three assists since his arrival, Perna has picked up a game-winning goal and two assists and Dan Sullivan scored the game winner against the Ice Pilots in Sunday's game. Niklas Sundberg is 2-0-1 in three starts with the Kingfish.

On the Penalty Kill: Two months ago, the Kingfish were ranked 25th in the ECHL on the penalty kill, successfully killing off 74.6% of opponents power plays. The Kingfish continue to improve their penalty kill and have jumped from 25th place to 12th in the ECHL. The Kingfish have successfully killed off 82.4% of opponents' power plays this season. Pensacola went 0-8 on the man advantage in the Kingfish's 4-3 win on Sunday Night.

Marquis "power play" Mathieu: The veteran forward tallied three goals this weekend, two on the power play. He tallied both goals in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Ice Pilots on the power play. Mathieu and Mike Perna, who tallied one power play goal, are the only Kingfish to tally power play goals in the Kingfish's four games this past week.

Still banged up: The Kingfish played the past week with out the services of Steve Cheredaryk and Forrest Gore, both on the 30-day injured reserve list. Brian Leitza is still on the 7-day IR list. Sean Peach, Garnet Jacobson and Ryan Trsek have also missed the past four games due to various bumps and bruises.

Last Week's Games: 2-1-1, 5 points

December 31st, Louisiana 3, Kingfish 2, (SOL)

The Kingfish took the IceGators to the first intermission scoreless. Jason Norrie gave the Kingfish a 1-0 lead at the 8:01 mark of the second period. With 5:29 remaining in the third period, Joe Guenther gave the Kingfish a 2-0 lead. The IceGators pulled Frederic Cloutier with a little over a minute remaining in the third period. Cal Benazic put a puck off the post and past goaltender Niklas Sundberg to cut the lead to one. Less than 30 seconds later, Benazic tied the game up at two as he lit the lamp, again from the point, this time he used a screen in front of Sundberg to beat the net minder. The Kingfish had a couple of opportunities in overtime but couldn't solve Kettles. Louisiana picked up the win in the shootout.

January 3rd, Kingfish 4, Pensacola 3

The Kingfish added another body and used Mike Perna's third period goal en-route to a 4-3 win over the Pensacola Ice Pilots. Scott Hewson gave the Ice Pilots a 1-0 lead at the 11:44 mark of the first period, the only scoring in the opening stanza. The Kingfish roared back in the second period as Marquis Mathieu got things going at the 4:28 mark of the period. Thirty-five seconds later, Bryan Richardson gave the Kingfish a 2-1 lead. Richardson extended the Baton Rouge lead to 3-1 with his 18th goal of the season at the 13:08 mark of the second. Pensacola answered early in the third period as Greg Pankewicz cut the Kingfish lead to one, just 1:40 into the third period. Chris Minard tied the game up at three, midway through the final period. Mike Perna's power play goal with five minutes left in the contest proved to be the winner. Niklas Sundberg recorded the win as he made 19 saves in the contest.

January 4th, Louisiana 5, Kingfish 0

The IceGators dominated from start to finish as Kyle Kettles shutout the Kingfish, 5-0 for his first shutout of the season. Derek Boogaard put a puck off a post and past Jeff Blair at the 4:48 mark of the first giving the IceGators the 1-0 lead. Kenny Corupe gave the IceGators the 2-0 lead with 1:12 remaining in the first, a lead they took to the first intermission. Four minutes left in the second, Bobby Brown extended the Louisiana lead to three, and Kenny Corupe's second of the night with less than a minute left in the middle stanza gave the IceGators a 4-0 lead. In the third, Nathan Rempel added the IceGator's fifth and final goal of the game. Jeff Blair made 32 saves in the losing effort.

January 5th, Kingfish 4, Pensacola 3

The Kingfish rebounded after Saturday night's loss with a 4-3 victory over the Ice Pilots in Pensacola. Bryan Richardson gave the Kingfish the 1-0 lead, 59 seconds in the first period on the Kingfish's first shot of the game. Marquis Mathieu scored on the Kingfish's second shot of the game on the power play at the 11:02 mark of the first period. Pensacola tied the game in the second as Louis Dumont beat Niklas Sundberg 1:10 into the second period. Scott Hewson tipped the Ice Pilots second goal past Sundberg at the 13:25 mark of the second period. Marquis Mathieu tallied his second of the game on the power play at the 1:37 mark of the third to give the Kingfish the 3-2 lead. Josh Harrold tied the game up at three as he came in from the point and punched a centering pass behind Sundberg at the 6:25 mark. Newcomer Dan Sullivan scored the game winner as he took a Mike Oliveira centering pass and fired a shot past Brian Eklund at the 14:11 mark of the third period. Niklas Sundberg made 40 saves in the win for the Kingfish.

This Week's Games:

Friday, January 10, 2003, vs. Toledo, 7:05 p.m. (104.5, WZRB)

Toledo beat the Kingfish in a shootout 3-2 before the holiday break and the last game of the Kingfish's northern swing against the Northwest Division. Kingfish are 9-33-3 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 besides this season's contest on December 22nd, 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.

Monday: day off

Tuesday: day off

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

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

Friday: Game vs. Toledo, 7:05 face off (pre game skate approx 10 a.m.)

Saturday: tentative day off

Sunday: tentative day off

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.

Around Town: Join a handful of Kingfish players at the Albertson's on Government St. this Thursday, January 9th. The Kingfish will be signing autographs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

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ECHL Stories from January 8, 2003


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