RiverBlades Post Unbeaten Week

February 24, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Arkansas RiverBlades News Release

Last week...The RiverBlades kicked off their week with a road contest Tuesday in Baton Rouge against the Kingfish.  Matt Pagnutti tallied two assists, and 5 different RiverBlades found the net as Arkansas prevailed 5-4, snapping their 5-game losing streak.  Buddy Smith added a goal and an assist, and goaltender Scott Fankhouser made 27 saves to earn his first victory as a member of the RiverBlades.

Arkansas then returned home for a weekend bout with the Jackson Bandits on Friday.  Mike Sandbeck scored the only goal of the game as the RiverBlades outlasted the Bandits 1-0.  The goal., set up by fellow crash-liners Damon Whitten and Dean Stock, was Sandbeck's 12th of the season.  Scott Fankhouser was again solid between the pipes for the RiverBlades, stopping all 22 Jackson offerings and earning his first career ECHL shutout.  The shutout, the Blades 4th of the year and first since January 23rd, set a new team record for most shutouts in a season.

Sunday, the RiverBlades hosted the Kingfish in Baton Rouge's last visit to the Alltel this season.  Buddy Smith racked up three assists, and Eric Long added a goal and an assist, but the Blades fell 4-3 in a shootout.  Scott Fankhouser made 30 saves, and stopped 4 of 6 in the shootout, but got the tough loss.  Terry Marchant set a new career high with his 18th goal of the season.  Buddy Smith's three points gives him 81 on the season, tying Mark Cadotte's team record for most points in a season, set back in the 2000-2001 campaign.  

Team Leaders...Buddy Smith leads the ECHL with a team-record 58 assists, and ranks second with 81 points.  Smith has also tied the team record for points in a season, and trails Reading's Brian McCullough by one point for the league-lead.  Jason Bermingham leads the team with 29 goals and a team-record 14 power-play goals.  Bermingham has set a new professional-best with 60 points, surpassing the 59 he racked up last season.  Terry Marchant has set new career-highs with 18 goals and 37 assists Pagnutti has a career-high 13 goals and ranks third among ECHL defensemen with 45 points.  Pagnutti is also tied for second among blue-liners with 11 power-play tallies.  Captain Eric Long leads the team with a +10 rating, and is tied for fifth among D-men with 41 points.  Mike Sandbeck has also set new career marks this year with 12 goals and 22 points.  Damon Whitten has 8 points in his last 10 games, and has 27 on the year, just 5 shy of the 32 he tallied as a rookie last year with Greenville.

Ernie in the AHL...Ernie Hartlieb continues to shine with the AHL's Worcester IceCats, scoring 3 goals and 4 points in 5 games, helping Worcester go 3-1-1 in its last 5 games.  Hartlieb has scored two power-play tallies and totaled 6 penalty minutes during that span.  He scored the first of two insurance goals leading Worcester to a 3-0 win over the Manchester Monarchs Saturday.  Worcester now stands at 24-23-10-3, 61 points, and the Cats currently hold the 8th and final playoff spot in the AHL's Eastern Conference.

A look ahead...The RiverBlades travel to Baton Rouge Wednesday before returning home for a contest with the Pensacola Ice Pilots on Thursday.  It will be the last RiverBlades home game until March 14th. The Blades wrap up the week with a Saturday night showdown with the division leading Mississippi Sea Wolves in Biloxi. All games can be heard on the CSN radio network, FM 101 The River, and on the Internet at www.riverblades.com.

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