Seals head down stretch on home ice
March 13, 2006 - SPHL (SPHL)
Florida Seals News Release
THIS WEEK:
TUE Mar. 14 Fayetteville @ SEALS 7:35 p.m. Silver Spurs Arena
**TWO FOR TUESDAY** Buy one ticket, get one free!
Florida skates into Tuesday night's game beginning a four game in five-night stretch. The Seals sit one point behind Fayetteville for third place in the SPHL standings. Florida also has one game in hand on the FireAntz. The Seals control their own fate for playoff seeding heading into the final week of the season. If the Seals win all four of their games this week, they will claim the third playoff seed.
Season Series: Florida leads 5-4-0 (Last Game: 2-1 SO WIN @ FAY 2/24/06)
All Time Series: Florida leads 14-6-0
THU Mar. 16 Huntsville @ SEALS 7:35 p.m. Silver Spurs Arena
**THIRSTY THURSDAY**
These two teams head into the week tied for fourth in the league. Huntsville and Florida are both looking up at Fayetteville, trying to claim the third seed for the playoffs. Third place guarantees home ice advantage for at least one round in the SPHL's run for the President's Cup.
Season Series: Florida leads 4-2-1 (Last Game: 7-4 WIN @ HUN 3/11/06)
All Time Series: Florida leads 4-2-1
FRI Mar. 17 Pee Dee @ SEALS 7:35 p.m. Silver Spurs Arena
**ST. PATRICK'S DAY BASH** Free shamrock Seals pin to first 500 fans!
**SPECIAL JERSEY AUCTION**
**BIKE NIGHT**
Head Coach Tommy Stewart always reminds his players that the game is played on the ice and not on paper. When you look at the piece paper it shows Pee Dee is far behind the Seals in the standings. Surprising to some, the Cyclones have given the Seals some of the toughest battles on the ice this season. Four of the eight head-to-head meetings have gone to overtime.
Season Series: Florida leads 6-0-2 (Last Game: 4-1 WIN @ PD 3/10/06)
All Time Series: Florida leads 6-0-2
SAT Mar. 18 Jacksonville @ SEALS 7:35 p.m. Silver Spurs Arena
**FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT** Fun, games, prizes and more!
The long road of the regular season winds down to a final game versus the Seals in-state rival Barracudas. Florida will look for revenge after Jacksonville beat the Seals in North Florida last week. Fans will be treated to a game full of gifts and prizes as the Seals organization shows their appreciation for the support given to the hockey team this season.
Season Series: Seals lead 7-3-1 (Last Game: 5-2- loss @ JAX 3/09/06)
All Time Series: Seals lead 25-13-1
LAST WEEK:
THU Mar. 9 SEALS @ Jacksonville (5-2 loss) 7:05 p.m. Veterans Memorial Arena
Jacksonville opened up their home schedule this season with a win over the Seals and Thursday night closed their home portion of the schedule with a 5-2 victory over Florida. The Seals fell behind 2-0 in the first period and never recovered.
The short rostered Barracudas looked like a playoff team early as they outworked and outplayed the playoff bound Seals. Luke Pelham scored just over four minutes into the game and Jason Simon scored with less than a minute remaining in the first period to give the Barracudas their edge.
Just 2:25 into the middle frame Patrick Doherty continued his stellar rookie season pushing the lead to three. The Seals closed the gap when Ryan Rivard put a rebound home. Rob Sich gave the Seals life when he scored 7:32 into the final period cutting the Barracuda lead to a single goal.
The Seals continued to take quality shots on Jacksonville goalie Matt Meacham, but the net minder was up to the task. Meacham played strong throughout the night stopping 46 of the 48 Seals shots fired at him.
Jacksonville took the game back when Martin Viazanica knocked the puck into the net at the 13:14 mark. Ryan Webb added a late, empty net goal to sew up the victory.
FRI Mar. 10 SEALS @ Pee Dee (4-1 WIN) 7:35 p.m. Florence Civic Center
The Seals got back to their winning ways with a 4-1 victory over the Cyclones. David Deeves had a three-point night with his first goal in 14 games to go along with two assists.
The Seals jumped out to a 2-0 first period lead. Rob Sich and Steve Zoryk lit the lamp giving the Seals the all the help Terry Denike would need.
Brett Peppler came back to haunt his old team with a goal and assist on the night. The goal was Peppler's first as a member of the Florida Seals.
SAT Mar. 11 SEALS @ Huntsville (7-4 WIN) 8:35 p.m. Von Braun Center
The Florida Seals busted out of the gates building a five goal lead after two periods of play. The Huntsville Havoc stormed out of the third period gate scoring four unanswered goals, before the Seals held on for the 7-4 victory.
Rob Sich and Justin Keller each scored two goals and two assists to propel the Seals to their thirteenth road win of the year. Steve Zoryk added two goals pushing him to the team lead in that category with 33.
Things were looking smooth for the Seals as they dominated all areas of the ice through the first two periods building a 5-0 lead. Florida even chased the league's top goalie, Matt Carmichael to the bench, after the fifth goal was scored.
Things changed as soon as the puck dropped in the third period. The Havoc scored four goals in the first 10:09 of the final frame to put a scare in the Seals. Florida quickly regrouped when Justin Keller lit the lamp at 12:32 giving the Seals the breathing room they needed.
The third period also gave the fans a delight as Ryan Rivard and Jason deGuehery dropped the gloves twice. Rivard took both fights much to the chagrin of the Huntsville fans.
SEALS TIDBITS:
- Pre-order tickets through the Seals office for any March home game and you will receive the same number of free tickets for "Fan Appreciation Night" on Mar. 18.
- PLAYOFF TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE. Call the Seals office at 407-343-PUCK to find out how you can get your hands on playoff tickets for as low as $5 per game.
- Tue. Mar. 14-"TWO FOR TUESDAY"-Florida will host their final "Two For Tuesday" promotion this season. Fans can come out and get two tickets for the price of one when the Seals host Fayetteville.
- Thu. Mar. 16-"THIRSTY THURSDAY"-Cheap beer is the name of the game on this night. Fans can drink responsibly for $1 during the game.
- Thu. Mar. 16-"BIKE NIGHT"-Every fan that rides their motorcycle to the game will get a free game ticket. Contact the Seals office if you would like your bike displayed in the arena or on the ice.
- Fri. Mar. 17-"ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARTY"-The Seals O'Seals will have a yee old good time on St. Patrick's Day. Fans can catch special fun all night long and there are sure to be a few surprises along the way. In addition, Florida will hold their final specialty jersey auction. You can bid on the special St. Patrick's Day jerseys throughout the game in the main lobby.
- Fri Mar. 17-"SEALS SHAMROCK PIN NIGHT"-The Seals will give away Florida Seals Shamrock Pins to the first 500 fans through the gate.
- Sat. Mar. 18-"FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT"-The Florida Seals will honor you, the fan on the final home game of the year. The night will feature many things to show the loyal Seals fans how much we appreciate the support you have given us throughout this year and years past. The first 1,000 fans will get Coggin Cheerstix.
- WEEKEND BROADCAST SCHEDULE-Tuesday and Friday can be heard on Talk Radio 1190 WAMT. Thursday and Saturday can be heard on SportsRadio 1080 WHOO.
SEALS IN THE COMMUNITY
- The Seals will practice at the Silver Spurs Arena this week. Florida's practice starts at 10am.
TEAM NOTES:
- Florida finished the regular season 13-13-2 away from the Silver Spurs Arena. Tied for most road wins in the SPHL.
- The Seals won eight of their last nine road games.
- Florida has played in 15 overtimes/shootouts this season, most in the league.
STANDOUTS:
- ROB SICH is second among rookies with 24 goals.
- STEVE ZORYK is second in the SPHL with six game winning goals.
SEALS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
- ROB SICH-The lone Seals rookies continues to shine. The Windsor, Ont. native had another big weekend scoring four goals and dishing out two assists in three games this past weekend. The center had a big Saturday night in Huntsville scoring two goals and two assists, helping the Seals to a 7-4 over the Havoc. Currently Sich is second among rookies with 24, third in assists with 21 and also third in points with 45.
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SPHL Stories from March 13, 2006
- Cyclones designate SPHL playoff roster - Twin City Cyclones
- Seals head down stretch on home ice - Florida Seals
- Playoff bound Cyclones wrap up SPHL regular season with two road games - Twin City Cyclones
- Week 20 in Review - Huntsville Havoc
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