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RiverBlades Finish Third In Southwest

March 31, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Arkansas RiverBlades News Release


The Arkansas RiverBlades concluded the 2002-2003 regular season last week, going 3-2 to finish with a record of 37-24-11, 85 points, third in the Southwest Division.

Last week...The RiverBlades began their week with back-to-back home games against the Columbus Cottonmouths on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday, Buddy Smith, Dean Stork, and Damon Whitten all found the net as the RiverBlades defeated the Cottonmouths 3-2. Scott Fankhouser made 22 saves to earn the victory between the pipes for the Blades.

The following night, Jason Bermingham tied a team record with four goals, and set a new team record with 38 on the season, but the Blades fell to Columbus 7-4. Buddy Smith and Matt Pagnutti each added three assists in the loss for Arkansas.

Next, the Blades traveled to Jackson to take on the Bandits on Friday, in a battle for third place. Jackson scored four straight goals, and the RiverBlades could not recover, losing 4-1. Mike Cirillo scored the lone goal for Arkansas as Jackson moved ahead of the Blades for the third place.

The following night, the RiverBlades hosted Louisiana in the final regular season home game at the Alltel Arena. In a playoff preview, Buddy Smith scored his 29th goal of the season, and Matt Pagnutti scored in the 11th round of the shootout to give the Blades the huge 2-1 win. It was the longest shootout in team history, a record the Blades broke three times this year. Scott Fankhouser was solid in the cage for Arkansas, stopping 39 of 40 IceGator offerings.

The Blades then completed the 2002-2003 schedule Sunday in Baton Rouge, the last game in Kingfish history. Matt Pagnutti scored just 29 seconds into the game, and Buddy Smith lit the lamp for his 30th goal of the season, as the Blades held on for the 2-1 victory. The Blades win, coupled with the Jackson loss, clinched third place for Arkansas, and set up a best-of-five showdown with the Louisiana IceGators in the first round of the 2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Team Leaders... Buddy Smith became the first RiverBlades player ever to eclipse the 100-point plateau. For the season, Smith finished with 30 goals and 74 assists for 104 points, the only player in the ECHL this year to score in triple-digits. Jason Bermingham set a new team record with 38 goals, breaking the old record of 37, set by Mark Cadotte in 2000-2001. Bermingham also finished tied for second in the ECHL with 18 power-play goals, and finished with 100 penalty minutes. Terry Marchant completed his most successful season as a pro, racking up 21 goals and 47 assists for 68 points. Marchant finished second on the team in assists, and set a new team record with 5 short-handed goals. Matt Pagnutti earned second-team All-ECHL honors on the blue line this year, compiling a career-best 15 goals and 43 assists for 58 points. Pagnutti finished third among ECHL defensemen in scoring, and finished tied for first among D-men with 12 power-play goals. Goaltender Scott Fankhouser was the only goaltender this season to earn Goalie of the Week Honors with two different teams this year. He finished the regular season with a record of 11-5-2 in an Arkansas uniform, with a 2.65 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage.

2003 Kelly Cup Playoffs Preview...The RiverBlades earned their highest seed ever in the Kelly Cup Playoffs at No. 3. Arkansas will face the Louisiana IceGators in a first-round, best-of-five series. In the regular season, the RiverBlades were 7-2-3 against Louisiana, including the 2-1 shootout victory last Saturday. 6 out of the 12 regular-season match-ups were decided in overtime or a shootout, and each team has won three of those games. Buddy Smith leads the Blades' charge with 22 points against the IceGators, while Shawn McNeil has a team-high 14 points against the RiverBlades. Goaltender Scott Fankhouser is 2-0 in 2 games against Louisiana, with a 1.44 goals-against-average and a .960 save percentage.

Games 1 and 2 will be played Wednesday and Thursday in Lafayette, and Game 3 will be played Saturday at the Alltel Arena. Game 4, if necessary, would be played Sunday at the Alltel, and Game 5, if necessary, would be played next Wednesday, April 9th, back in Lafayette. 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 March 31, 2003


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