Renegades Get Revenge On Seals
November 16, 2006 - SPHL (SPHL)
Florida Seals News Release
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Two weeks ago, the then undefeated Richmond Renegades came to Central Florida and left with their first loss of the season.
Returning to the scene of the defeat, the Renegades led by the one goal, three assist effort of Scott Corbett and solid goaltending by Doug Groenestege defeated the Florida Seals 4-3 Thursday night at the Silver Spurs Arena.
"We played a lot harder tonight," Richmond Coach John Brophy said. "They (Florida) pretty near stole it in the second period but they didn't. We buckled down. I'm really proud of the guys the way they played the third period."
Unlike the first meeting between the two teams, the scoring began in the first period. Richmond's penalty killers turned defense into offense as Duane Whitehead and Scott Corbett broke out two-on-one with Whitehead depositing the puck between the legs of Seals' goalie Matt Balser 2:51 into the contest.
Florida answered back just under four minutes later. Ryan Fultz, one of two new additions to the lineup, took a pass from Chad Haacke and walked across the front of the net, waiting until he cleared the pads of Renegades net minder Doug Groenestege to fire the puck home.
The Seals' special teams woes then showed themselves once again. In the span of 2:26, Richmond's third ranked power play struck twice and Corbett was involved in both. First, he fired a shot that David Mitchell tipped and Balser couldn't quite get all of and it went in. Then he made a perfect pass from the side of the net to a streaking Brett Cross who beat Balser cleanly. The Renegades finished off their domination of the period by killing off a 5-on-3 Seals man advantage that lasted 1:31, allowing just one shot on net.
"We knew we needed to come back after the last time we were here and get on them right away," Corbett said. "We were fortunate enough to have a good first period and that carried us the rest of the way."
Richmond stretched their cushion to 4-1 early in the second. Corbett, standing in the slot, took a pass and whistled a shot that caught iron and settled into the net. Florida then caught fire. Just past the midway point of the period, Haacke sent Phil Gianfrancesco in alone on Groenestege. Gianfrancesco picked the low glove side corner and beat the Richmond goalie to make it 4-2.
The crowd was now awake and they were fully into it when Cross and Florida's Cedric Bernier reacquainted themselves with a rousing center ice brawl. The fight ratcheted the intensity up several notches and the home team picked up their play. It paid off when Fultz scored his second of the night on a power play late in the stanza, bringing the Seals within 4-3 at the intermission.
"It just goes to show you what we did in the second period. With a little energy and a little bit of jam we're a pretty good hockey team," Seals Coach Tommy Stewart said. "We've got to start doing other things. Other players, if they're not scoring, have got to help the team win by winning battles and doing other things."
Try as the might, Florida couldn't dent the Richmond defense in the third period, getting only six shots on Groenestege. For the game, Groenestege stopped 23 shots while his counterpart Balser made 38 saves in the game.
The two teams will face off again on Friday night at the Silver Spurs Arena on "Guaranteed Fight Night". Face off is 7:35 P.M.
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SPHL Stories from November 16, 2006
- Havoc downs Cyclones - Huntsville Havoc
- Renegades Get Revenge On Seals - Florida Seals
- Angelidis named Player of the Week - SPHL
- Cottonmouths Net Deal with Carmike and Best Buy - Columbus Cottonmouths
- Renegades announce "2-3-4 and More Night" - Richmond Renegades
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