Snakes open season at home Friday

Published on October 23, 2006 under SPHL (SPHL)
Columbus Cottonmouths News Release


COLUMBUS, Ga. - The Columbus Cottonmouths begin their third season in the SPHL this week with their home and season opener Friday night at 7:30 PM EDT at the Snake Pit. The new-look Pee Dee Cyclones will visit the Columbus Civic Center, a vastly different team than the one that was thumped by the Snakes 11-5 in the regular season finale last season. On Saturday, the Cottonmouths will take to the road to play the Fayetteville FireAntz. Like Pee Dee, the FireAntz have made several off-season changes as well, the most notable being behind the bench, where former ECHL head coach John Marks will be the bench boss for Fayetteville this season. In the Snakes' last visit to Fayetteville in their final regular season game on the road last season, the two teams combined for a total of 262 penalty minutes, good for the most PIM in any Cottonmouths game last season.

Both Friday's and Saturday's game, as well as all games during the upcoming season, will be aired on ESPN Sports Radio 1580 AM, "The Zone," with Mike Vee handling all the play-by-play action. The games will also be aired on the Internet with both a live audio and video stream. Details of the Internet stream are pending; a link to the webcast will be available on the Cottonmouths' website at http://www.cottonmouths.com.

The Cottonmouths return a total of twelve players from last season, including both goaltenders, Chad Rycroft and Ryan Senft; defensemen Mat Ponto and Brock Johnson; and forwards Ryan Haggarty, Lorne Misita, Tim Green (who led the SPHL in goals last season), Orrin Hergott, Tylor Keller (who tied for the SPHL lead in assists last season), Daryl Moor (who will also spend some time on the blue line this season), Ryan Rutz, and team captain Craig Stahl.

UPCOMING GAMES AND PROMOTIONS

Friday, October 27 - Pee Dee at Columbus, 7:30 PM EDT (Last Season vs. PD: 6-1-1)

Promotions: *TIC Federal Credit Union Magnetic Schedule Giveaway - first 2,000 fans will receive a Cottonmouths 2006-07 magnetic schedule compliments of TIC Federal Credit Union; *Book Drive for Literacy - Clean out those bookshelves! Bring a new or used book to donate to the Luna and Baker Head Start programs.

The Cottonmouths begin the 2006-07 campaign on Friday night at the Snake Pit with a game against the Pee Dee Cyclones. The only thing that seems the same about the Cyclones from last season is the team name and head coach, as Mark Richards returns for his second season behind the Pee Dee bench. The roster has undergone a total facelift as the Cyclones look to avenge a sixth place regular season finish and a first-round playoff ouster at the hands of Knoxville. Edan Welch, who led the team and finished tied for second in the SPHL in goals with 37 last season, has returned for his second season in a Cyclones sweater. He is flanked by several new faces, most notably forward Allan Sirois, the all-time leading scorer in the history of the former Pee Dee Pride in the ECHL, and defenseman Corey Hessler, who has been named an All-Star in both the ECHL (2003) and UHL (2006). Between the pipes, Guy St. Vincent is the projected starter for the Cyclones, as he comes to Pee Dee after a stint with Memphis in the CHL last season.

Saturday, October 28 - Columbus at Fayetteville, 7:35 PM EDT (Last Season vs. FAY: 4-3-0)

The Cottonmouths play their first game on the road Saturday night in Fayetteville, N.C. against the hometown FireAntz. Unlike Pee Dee, the FireAntz have several returning players, the most notable being goaltender Chad Collins, who took the SPHL Rookie of the Year and Goaltender of the Year honors in 2004-05 and leads all SPHL netminders with six career shutouts in the league. Behind the bench, John Marks begins his first season for the FireAntz. Marks, who was the only head coach in the history of the ECHL Greenville Grrrowl for all eight seasons of their existence (the Grrrowl ceased operations after last season), comes to Fayetteville and the SPHL with an impressive background. No one has coached more ECHL games than Marks, whose 918 games coached in the ECHL is 36 more than second-place John Brophy, who now coaches Richmond in the SPHL. Marks is also the only head coach in ECHL history to win a championship with two different teams, performing the feat with Charlotte in 1996 (former Cottonmouth Mick Kempffer was a member of that team) and Greenville in 2002 (former Cottonmouth Colin Pepperall played for the Grrrowl that season).

THREE STARS OF THE WEEK

Coming next week!

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