RiverBlades Cruise Into All-Star Break

January 20, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Arkansas RiverBlades News Release


The Arkansas RiverBlades went 2-0-1 last week, and remain in third place in the Southwest Division with a record of 22-13-8. The RiverBlades' 52 points rank fifth in the Southern Conference as well.

Last week...Arkansas kicked off their week with a home showdown against the Louisiana IceGators on Tuesday. Terry Marchant's two first-period goals set the tone, and Jason Bermingham added two of his own to lead the RiverBlades to a 4-3 victory over the Gators. Jason Saal made 33 saves to earn his 16th win of the season.

Then, on Friday, the RiverBlades traveled to The Hangar to take on the Pensacola Ice Pilots. Trailing 3-2 in the third, the Blades' offense exploded for 4 third-period goals to defeat Pensacola 6-4. Eric Long tallied two goals, while Buddy Smith contributed two helpers to lead the way for the Blades, who got 45 saves from Jason Saal between the pipes. Jason Bermingham and Ernie Hartlieb each added a goal and two assists in the victory.

Arkansas concluded its week with their last visit to the CajunDome this season to play the Louisiana IceGators. Mike Sandbeck scored his 7th goal of the year 7:07 into the first period, but that would be all the RiverBlades would get. Leading 1-0 late in the third, the IceGators pulled goaltender Kyle Kettles for an extra attacker, and Shawn McNeil capitalized, tying the game with just under 52 seconds remaining on the clock to send it into overtime. Then, just 1:33 into the extra frame, Bruce Richardson deflected in a shot from the point to give the IceGators the 2-1 win. Jason Saal was again solid in the cage for Arkansas, stopping 31 IceGator offerings.

Team Leaders... Buddy Smith leads the RiverBlades with 19 goals and 42 assists for 61 points. Smith, the Southern Conference's starting center in Tuesday's Compuware ECHL All-Star Game, ranks 3rd in the ECHL in scoring and 2nd in the league in assists. Jason Bermingham leads the team with 23 goals, and ranks second with 50 points. Bermingham has 10 goals and 17 points in his last 10 games, and also leads Arkansas with 12 power-play goals and 167 shots on goal. Ernie Hartlieb has 7 points in his last 5 games, and 11 in his last 10. Hartlieb has scored 6 power-play goals, one short-handed goal, and 3 game-winners, and is third on the team with 47 points. Matt Pagnutti and Eric Long leads Blades' defensemen with 34 points each. Pagnutti has a career-high 11 goals already this year, including 9 on the man advantage. Long, who ranks 5th on the team with 26 assists, has 6 power-play goals, one short-handed goal, and one game-winner. Terry Marchant is second on the team with 30 assists. Marchant has been on the attack on each side of the special teams, producing 5 power-play goals and 3 short-handed goals, while racking up 2 game-winners. Jason Saal is 6-1-3 in his last 10 games, with a 2.73 goals-against-average and a .914 save percentage.

A look ahead...The RiverBlades return to action this Thursday and Friday at Alltel Arena, hosting the Baton Rouge Kingfish in a pair of division games. Thursday is Season Ticket Redemption Night, where fans can exchange their unused season tickets for admission to the game. Then, on Friday, it's NASCAR Night, where fans can win tickets to the Daytona 500! Be sure to visit our website for all the details. All games can be heard on the CSN radio network, FM 101 The River, and on the Internet at www.RiverBlades.com.



ECHL Stories from January 20, 2003


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