Seals head into playoffs hottest team in SPHL
March 21, 2006 - SPHL (SPHL)
Florida Seals News Release
[KISSIMMEE, Fla.]-The Florida Seals will enter the post season as the third seed in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) playoffs. The Seals finished the regular season winning six in a row and 13 of their last 15.
The playoffs open up Friday night at the Silver Spurs Arena against the FireAntz at 7:35 pm. Saturday the teams will meet in Fayetteville for Game 2 at 7:35 pm. If a deciding game three is needed it will be back at the Silver Spurs Arena on Tuesday, Mar. 28 at 7:35 pm.
The Seals magic number to win their second President's Cup is seven. If the Seals claim victory in the three game series against Fayetteville, they will advance to another best-of-three game series against either Columbus or Huntsville. Once again, if the Seals win their second series they will advance to a best-of-five game final series versus Knoxville or Pee Dee.
"We are certainly hitting our stride at the right time," said Head Coach Tommy Stewart. "Going into the playoffs playing well is more important than where you finish in the standings."
Both teams bring great goaltending into the series. The Seals are led by Terry Denike who finished the regular season with 28 wins, tops in the league. The Burlington, Ont. native also sported a 2.97 goals against average (GAA) and .910 save percentage, third and fourth best respectively in the SPHL.
Across the way the FireAntz will be led by last year's rookie of the year Chad Collins. Collins did not play enough minutes this season to qualify for league honors but finished with a 2.05 GAA and .941 save percentage.
Offensively the Seals will look for rookie Rob Sich to continue his ways. Sich lead all SPHL rookies with 29 goals and 56 points. Along with his line mates Justin Keller and Craig Miller, the three scored nearly half the Florida goals down the stretch.
George Nistas and Dean Jackson who each netted 32 goals led the FireAntz offense. Jackson added 44 assists to finish with 76 points, leading Fayetteville during the regular season.
"They are a tough team to play," said Player/Assistant Coach John Gurskis. "We have had battles against them this year. Goalies have come up big and I expect this series to be very low scoring."
Florida wrapped up a successful inaugural season at the Silver Spurs Arena. The Seals welcomed close to 6,000 fans back in October on opening night. As the season went on old fans continued to put the word out about the Seals return to the ice in Central Florida.
By the time home game 28 came around, there were many new Seals fans sitting inside the Silver Spurs Arena.
"My family and the entire ownership group are very thankful to the fans that have stayed with us since the Orlando Seals days," said Seals Majority Owner David Waronker. "They were very instrumental in the success the Seals had this year and the organization is extremely excited to see so many new dedicated fans along for the ride."
Florida welcomed an average of over 2,000 fans per night inside the Silver Spurs Arena. Towards the end of the season, when the Seals gained more Saturday night dates, crowds were consistently over 3,000 each night.
The Seals gave fans many exciting home games this season. Overall the Seals finished 19-4-5 on home ice and collected a season high seven game-winning streak from late November through the middle of December. Currently, the Seals are riding a six game winning streak on home ice as they head into the SPHL playoffs.
If the Seals want to win the President's Cup they will also have to play well on the road. Fortunately, Florida was also one of the best road teams throughout the regular season. The Seals finished tied with most road wins at 13, including an SPHL record six games in a row at the end of their long February road trip.
Off the ice the Seals were active throughout the Central Florida community. Many of the players, staff, Ice Girls and Sealsvester visited schools, Scouting events, hospitals and many other civic organizations.
The Florida Seals front office staff was proud to present Justin Keller the team "Humanitarian of the Year." Keller was always one of the first Seals players to volunteer his time in the community and always loved working with the different Seals charities.
The Sunshine Foundation and the Florida Seals were very excited to work together this year putting smiles on many kids' faces. Anyone who visited the Dream Village this past year was treated to an exciting Florida Seals hockey game.
The Sunshine Foundation's Dream Village sits across 22 acres of scrub oaks, tall pines, and palmettos in Loughman, Florida, a small town 15 miles west of the central Florida attractions. The village is a permanent oasis for families to escape hospitals and needles, if only for a short time. Since our first family arrived in February 1989, over 4,533 special children have enjoyed Sunshine's Dream Village.
Another charity the Seals worked with was Community Vision. When the Seals scored on home ice, First National Bank of Osceola donated $10 each time. Overall, First National Bank of Osceola and the Seals raised $1,250.
Community Vision has worked to bring people and resources together to achieve the community's vision since 1995. To succeed in its mission, Community Vision strives to identify the role of every individual and organization in achieving the vision. Dialogue is facilitated related to key issues; positive projects, programs and collaborative activities are generated. The public and leadership are now uniquely engaged in moving together toward shared community goals and objectives accomplished, for the most part, through the implementation of citizen-crafted strategic action plans.
"It is always rewarding to be able to go out in the community to promote the Seals and also work with the great charities in this region," said Seals Director of Community Relations David Miller.
In the coming weeks the SPHL will announce their regular season player awards. The Seals handed out their organizational awards after beating Jacksonville 10-4 this past Saturday night to close out the regular season.
The players chose Terry Denike as their Most Valuable Player. It is hard to argue that choice with Denike leading all goalies in wins and was always among the leaders in goals against average, save percentage, minutes played and shutouts.
The fans choice would be hard to argue as well. Sich was selected as their Most Valuable Player. The rookie continued to shine as the year went on and Seals fans are hoping the SPHL names him the league Rookie of the Year. In addition to the fans MVP, Sich also led the Seals in the plus/minus category with a +29 rating. He was the lone Seal to collect two trophies.
Seals captain Steve Zoryk was chosen by the fans as the best forward. Zoryk led the Seals with 33 goals and was second in scoring with 63 points. The Ottawa, Ont. native was also one of the many leaders the Seals had in the locker room.
Defensively the Seals were a cohesive unit. As Denike led the way in net, the Seals defensive corps helped keep opponents away from the front of the net. Florida led the way only giving up 3.11 goals per game and holding opponents to only 33 shots per game, second lowest on the SPHL.
Throughout the year the SPHL recognized many Seals players as the Sher-wood Player of the Week. To end the regular season Craig Miller was given the honor. Miller started the week scoring two goals in the Seals win versus Fayetteville Tuesday. On Friday, the winger had a career night Friday scoring four goals and adding an assist against Pee Dee. In the four games the Fredericton, New Brunswick native scored 11 points (7G, 4A).
Remember fans to get those tickets for the playoffs that start this Friday against Fayetteville. The Seals won four of the five head-to-head meetings this year at the Silver Spurs Arena. The puck drops at 7:35 pm and the first 1,000 fans will receive Coggin Cheerstix.
All Seals games home and road will be broadcast on Sports Radio 1080 (www.espnflorida.com) or Talk Radio 1190 WAMT (www.wamt1190.com). In addition, if you are unable to make it to the Silver Spurs Arena, the Seals will web cast all their home games at www.livesportsnetwork/sphl for a small fee.
To reserve your playoff tickets with the Seals, call the office at (407) 343-PUCK or go to the Seals website at www.floridaseals.com. Ticket packages start as low as $20 for the most exciting time of year. Season ticket holders are reminded that unused regular season tickets may not be redeemed for playoff games.
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SPHL Stories from March 21, 2006
- Carmichael named to first team - Huntsville Havoc
- All-SPHL Teams Announced - SPHL
- Seals head into playoffs hottest team in SPHL - Florida Seals
- Miller named SPHL Sher-wood Hockey Player of the Week - SPHL
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.
