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This Week in the WHA2

January 16, 2004 - SPHL (SPHL) News Release


CELEBRATION, Fla. – The World Hockey Association 2 (WHA2) today announced the WHA2 Player of the Week is Alabama Slammers forward Ryan Prentice. Prentice had three goals and one assist in Alabama's 4 - 1 victory over Orlando. Prentice was recently named to the WHA2 All-Star Team. The WHA2 Goaltender of the Week is Orlando Seals Mike Correia. Correia had a shut out in Orlando's 6 - 0 victory over Lakeland. Correia has a 2.35 goals against average, a .930 save percentage and has had two shut-outs in the five games he has played. This is also the second time he has received Goaltender of the Week honors.

Be there for the WHA2's Inaugural All-Star Game on January 27 in Jacksonville at the brand-new, state-of-the-art Veterans Memorial Arena when the best of the league take on the Barracudas. Contact the Barracudas office at 904.367.1423 for ticket information. Great ticket packages are available!

The WHA2 and the ESPN Club have partnered up for Tuesday night "SportsTalk Live!" Every Tuesday at 7pm (with the exception of January 27), a member of the WHA2 will be the featured guest at the ESPN Club on Disney's BoardWalk. Orlando Seals All-Star Starters Mark White and Brad Federenko will be the guests on January 20.

The WHA2 announced that WHA2 teams enjoyed their best attendance weekend to date last weekend. Nearly 22,000 fans went through the turnstiles for nine games in five WHA2 cities.

The WHA2 also announced the launch of the "Ready 2 Read" program in conjunction with Sleeping Bear Press. Each of the WHA2 teams' players will visit schools to read with the students. The players and children will be reading from the book "Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet" published by Sleeping Bear Press.

The Alabama Slammers kicked off another four games in four nights as they hosted the first place Jacksonville Barracudas on Thursday night. The Slammers departed for a three game road trip beginning in Miami on Friday, Orlando on Saturday, and finishing in Macon on Sunday with an afternoon contest against the Trax.

All games can be heard on www.irn.fm. The Slammers had a hectic week last week playing four games in four days. The week started with a 4-1 road victory over the second place Orlando Seals. The Slammers returned home on Friday night and recorded their 4th victory in a row with a 4-2 win over Miami. Saturday the Manatees bounced back to defeat the Slammers by a score of 7-3. On Sunday, the Slammers competed hard but came up short in a 4-3 loss in Macon vs. the Trax. Slammer Tickets start as low as $12 and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations, or by calling 715-6000 or online at ticketmaster.com. Groups of ten or more can order their tickets through the Slammers office by calling 328-PUCK (7825).

With 15 of their first 25 games on the road and in the books, the first place Jacksonville Barracudas (18-6-1, 37 points) hit the road again for three more as they traveled to Alabama on Thursday night and games in Macon on Friday and Saturday nights. The Barracudas lost for the first time to Alabama 2-0 snapping a four-game winning streak over the Slammers. Slammers center Hugo Belanger scored both goals for Alabama. The Barracudas now head to Macon for two of three with the Trax. Jacksonville is 6-0 against Macon this season and leads the overall series 10-7. The ‘Cudas won the last meeting with the Trax 5-2 as John and Jay McCabe torched Macon for seven points between them (2g-5a). Upcoming promotions for the Barracudas include: Family Night, Nascar Night, Clarke Howard Cheap Seats Night, Faith Night, Bobblehead Night, Buy One Get One Free Night, and more. Call the Barracudas office at 904-367-1-ICE for more details.

The Lakeland Loggerheads announced today the departure of two players. Defenseman Jim Quilty was sent to the Miami Manatees in the completion of the deal that originally sent Stephane Desjardins to the Loggerheads prior to the start of this season. Center Jeremy Vokes' decision to leave Lakeland came on a more personal level. Vokes decided to move closer to his family and take care of his wife, Tricia and 14-month old daughter, Isabella. The Orlando Seals exacted a bit of revenge against the Lakeland Loggerheads last night beating them by a score of 4-1 at TD Waterhouse Center. In their previous meeting, the underdog Loggerheads came into the Seals building and took two points with a 2-1 victory. Thursday night was another story however. The Seals threw 54 shots at the Loggerheads and goaltender Tyler Murray. B.J. Stephens led the attack for Orlando with a pair of goals and an assist. Lakeland ruined the shutout bid when team Captain, Rob Schweyer scored late in the third period assisted by the Milliea cousins, David and Owen. Lakeland heads south this weekend to take on the Miami Manatees for games on Saturday and Sunday.

Will the Macon Trax ever solve the Barracudas? There is only one team the Trax has not yet beaten in the WHA2 and it's the Barracudas. At the half way point of the head-to-head meeting Jacksonville has taken all 12 of the possible points this season. The Trax have managed only one point in the six previous games. Bring a book to the Friday game against Jacksonville and help the Boys and Girls Clubs of Macon on "Literacy Night." For the second straight night the top team in the league, the Barracudas will visit Macon. Saturday night will be "Military Night" in Macon. All military personnel can watch some great hockey action for only $5! Just bring your military ID to the Trax office to get your tickets. After the game the Trax will auction off special game worn military jerseys. As a special treat a professional auctioneer will run the jersey auction. Another Sunday means another date with the Slammers. In what has become the best rivalry in the WHA2, the Slammers start the week only five points ahead of the Trax. When all is said and done this could be a huge mid-season game between the two toughest teams in the league. Last weekend the Trax broke their two-game losing streak against Alabama and hope to rise to a two game winning streak of their own.

The Miami Manatees announced a schedule change in February. The Manatees game against the Macon Trax on Sunday, February 15th has been moved ahead one day to Valentine's Day, Saturday, February 14th. In addition, the Manatees announced that all Sunday games have been moved forward two hours to begin at 5:05pm. Manatees Head Coach Zac Boyer today announced the acquisition of defensemen Bobby Clouston and Steve Howard from the Macon Trax for future considerations. In addition, defenseman Jim Quilty was acquired from Lakeland as a "future consideration" from a trade in the off-season. The Manatees are home for three games in three nights this weekend. They take on the Slammers on Friday, and then face the Loggerheads on Saturday and Sunday.

The Orlando Seals continued a four-game home stand this week when they hosted the Lakeland Loggerheads on "Thirsty Thursday" and welcome the Alabama Slammers to town on Saturday. The game starts at 7:35pm. The Seals will be racing around the ice on Saturday when they feature NASCAR night. During the game the Seals will wear special NASCAR jerseys, and fans will have the chance to bid on the jerseys in a silent auction during the game. Following the game, the winning bidders will receive the jerseys directly from the player on the ice. The Seals had a hectic week, playing four games in three and a half days. The week started with a 4-1 setback against Alabama. The Seals responded with their largest win of the season, in a 6-0 win at Lakeland on Friday. Saturday the Seals topped first place Jacksonville 4-1. On Sunday, the weary Seals gave a spirited effort, but came up short in a 2-1 loss to Lakeland.

Center Seamus Galligan had a strong offensive week for the Seals. He picked up two goals and three assists for five points in the four games. The Seals have announced their Faith Night game against Lakeland on January 30th will start at 7:05 p.m. instead of 7:35 p.m. following the game, the band "Brother's Keeper" will be performing in concert. All Seals games are available via the internet at www.IRN.FM. Home games are also available with streaming video through www.IRN.FM. And fans in the arena where the Seals play don't have to worry about technical interference as they can bring a radio and tune into the Seals broadcast at 96.7 FM.

The WHA2 has six member teams for the 2003 – 2004 season: the Alabama Slammers, Jacksonville Barracudas, Lakeland Loggerheads, Macon Trax, Miami Manatees, and Orlando Seals. Every game will be broadcast on www.irn.fm with video broadcast of select games available throughout the season.

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