
RiverBlades On A Roll
January 27, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Arkansas RiverBlades News Release
The Arkansas RiverBlades went 2-0 last week, and are now tied for second place in the Southwest Division with a record of 24-13-8. The RiverBlades' 56 points rank third in the Southern Conference as well.
Last week...Arkansas kicked off their week with the first of two straight home match-ups with the Baton Rouge Kingfish on Thursday. Jason Bermingham scored two goals, while Buddy Smith tallied a goal and two assists to lead the Blades to a 3-0 victory over the Fish. Jimi St. John made 22 saves to earn his first career shutout.
The next night, the Blades again hosted the Kingfish on "NASCAR Night" at the Alltel Arena. Ernie Hartlieb scored two goals and two assists, and Damon Whitten added a goal and three assists as the Blades trounced the Kingfish 7-3 before a crowd of nearly 6,000 at the Alltel. Buddy Smith added a goal and two assists for the Blades, who also got two goals from Mike Sandbeck and a goal and an assist from Terry Marchant. Jason Saal made 35 saves to earn his 18th victory of the season.
Team Leaders... With his two assists Friday, Buddy Smith set a new team record for assists in a season with 46, breaking the old record of 44, set by Mark Cadotte in 2000-2001. Smith's next assault on the RiverBlades' record book will be for most points in a season. The current record of 81 was also set by Mark Cadotte in 2000-2001. With 67 points, Smith leads the ECHL in scoring, and is just 14 points from the mark. Jason Bermingham leads the team with 25 goals, and ranks second with 53 points. Bermingham has 10 goals and 17 points in the month of January, and also leads Arkansas with 12 power-play goals and 171 shots on goal. Ernie Hartlieb has 10 points in his last 5 games. Hartlieb has scored 6 power-play goals, one short-handed goal, and 3 game-winners, and is tied for second on the team with 53 points. Matt Pagnutti leads all Blades' defensemen with 36 points. Pagnutti has a career-high 11 goals already this year, including 9 on the man advantage. Captain Eric Long ranks 5th on the team with 27 assists. Long, who has 6 power-play goals, one short-handed goal, and one game-winner, also leads the Blades with a +15 rating. Terry Marchant is third on the team with 31 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 3-0-1 in his last 5 games, with a 2.98 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage.
A look ahead...The RiverBlades return to action this weekend at the Alltel Arena, hosting the Jackson Bandits in a pair of division games on Friday and Sunday. Faceoff Friday is set for 7:05 p.m., and Sunday, the puck drops at 6:05 p.m. 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 27, 2003
- Jackal Bites - Elmira Jackals
- Steelheads edge Condors 3-2 - Bakersfield Condors
- Bombers Face Off Against Cystic Fibrosis - Dayton Bombers
- Northern Conference Champion Hardware Now Named in Honor of Bud Gingher - Dayton Bombers
- St. Pierre Sighting at Carl's Jr. - Bakersfield Condors
- Bakersfield 6-0-1 and within one point of second place - Bakersfield Condors
- Recycling Night Friday, Oakland Raiderettes Saturday - Bakersfield Condors
- Coast Lines - Northwest Division - ECHL
- Coast Lines - Northeast Division - ECHL
- Coast Lines - Southwest Division - ECHL
- Coast Lines - Southeast Division - ECHL
- Nailers Sign Jacques Lariviere - Wheeling Nailers
- Andre Payette Re-Assigned To The Storm - Toledo Walleye
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- Rivermen Red Hot at Home - ECHL
- Kalamazoo Wings Week in Review - Kalamazoo Wings
- Scoring Frenzy Earns Brown League Honor - Kalamazoo Wings
- Storm Tracks - Toledo Walleye
- Lawson Snags Fourth Goaltender of the Week Award - Fort Wayne Komets
- Lynx Weekly Update - Augusta Lynx
- Falcons Sweep Aces - Fresno Falcons
- History Made Twice - Alaska Aces
- Zulianello Wins ECHL Honors - Augusta Lynx
- Radio show resumes tonight with special guest All-Star forward Judd Medak - Greenville Grrrowl
- Men O' War Move into Tie for Third in Northwest - Burlington
- Augusta's Zulianello Named ECHL Goalie of the Week - ECHL
- Trenton's Edinger Named InGlasCo ECHL Player of the Week - ECHL
- Generals Intelligence Report - Greensboro Generals
- Gulls Split Series In Bako - San Diego Gulls
- Rays Getting Healthy, Go 1-0 - South Carolina Stingrays
- Hartlieb Called Up To AHL - Arkansas RiverBlades
- Steelheads Exact Revenge on Condors, 3-2 - Idaho Steelheads
- Titans Hit The Road For Three Contests - Trenton Devils
- Komets Take Three Wins, Six Points - Fort Wayne Komets
- Bombers Kick off Five-Game Homestand with Three-Game Weekend - Dayton Bombers
- Express Weekly - Roanoke Express
- Florida Captures 3 of 4 Points This Week - Florida Everblades
- Win, Lose and Shootout - Bullies Get Taste of it All - Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
- Mississippi Falls in Only Contest Last Week - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- RiverBlades On A Roll - Arkansas RiverBlades
- Nailers Week in Review - Wheeling Nailers
- Kingfish Weekly - Baton Rouge Kingfish
- IceGators push lead in Southwest to four - Louisiana IceGators
- Royals Split on the Road - Reading Royals
- Pride Weekly - Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz
- Inferno Weekly - Columbia Inferno
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.
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