Seals head into playoffs
Published on March 20, 2006 under SPHL (SPHL)
Florida Seals News Release
The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) playoffs begin this week. The Seals played strong down the stretch, winners of their last six games and 13 of their last 15. Florida's hot run down the stretch earned them third place in the SPHL standings, giving them home ice advantage in the first round.
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.
Season Series: Florida leads 6-4-0 (Last Game: 3-1 WIN @ FLA 3/14/06)
All Time Series: Florida leads 15-6-0
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:
- 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.
- WEEKEND BROADCAST SCHEDULE-Friday and Tuesday games can be heard on SportsRadio 1080 WHOO or www.espnflorida.com and seen at www.livesportsnetwork.com. Saturday tune into Talk Radio 1190 WAMT or www.wamt1190.com when the Seals travel to Fayetteville.
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 finished the regular season as the hottest team in the league winning six in a row and 13 of their last 15 contests.
Florida has played in 15 overtimes/shootouts this season, most in the league.
Defensively the Seals topped the league allowing on 3.11 goals against per game.
STANDOUTS:
ROB SICH finished the season with 56 points and 29 goals, tops among all SPHL rookies.
DAVID DEEVES finished 10th in the SPHL with 66 points.
ANDREW KATZBERG finished second in the league with 33 majors.
TERRY DENIKE led all goalies with 28 wins.
SEALS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
The Seals "Second Line"-JUSTIN KELLER, CRAIG MILLER, and ROB SICH continue to be the most prolific line in the SPHL over the past month.
KELLER scored two goals and registered six assists this week. MILLER started the week scoring two goals in the Seals win versus Fayetteville Tuesday. On Friday, Miller 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).
SICH continued to show the league why he is the top rookie. Saturday the Windsor, Ont. native finished the regular season scoring three goals, picking up three assists and amassed a +6 rating against Jacksonville. In the four game week Sich finished with five goals and six assists.
RECORD TO DATE: 32-17-7 (71 points) Finished 3rd place in SPHL regular season
THIS WEEK: FRI Mar. 24 Fayetteville @ SEALS 7:35 p.m. Silver Spurs Arena
SAT Mar. 25 SEALS @ Fayetteville 7:35 p.m. Crown Center
TUE Mar. 28 Fayetteville @ SEALS 7:35 p.m. Silver Spurs Arena
SPHL Stories from March 20, 2006
- Pee Dee Cyclones and Florence Civic Center Agree to Lease Extension - Twin City Cyclones
- Seals head into playoffs - Florida Seals
- 2006-2007 Ticket Prices Announced - Jacksonville Barracudas
- FireAntz playoff schedule set - Fayetteville Marksmen
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