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This week in the WHA2

February 13, 2004 - SPHL (SPHL) News Release


CELEBRATION, Fla. – The World Hockey Association 2 (WHA2) today announced the WHA2 Player of the Week is Miami Manatees forward Greg LeColst. In games last week, LeColst had five goals, including a hat trick versus Jacksonville, and one assist. The WHA2 Goaltender of the Week is Macon Trax Jamie Ronayne. In games last week Ronayne had two wins, one loss and made 104 saves on 112 shots. Kollar has a 3.15 goals against average and leads the league with a .916 save percentage.

The next WHA2 appearance at the ESPN Club for "SportsTalk Live!" will be Tuesday, February 17 at 7pm. Miami Manatees Head Coach Zac Boyer will be the featured guest. The ESPN Club is located on Disney's BoardWalk.

The WHA2 announced some schedule changes for the second half of the season. The Lakeland Loggerheads game originally scheduled for February 13 versus the Macon Trax has been changed to March 7 at 4:05pm. The Miami Manatees have rescheduled the February 14 game versus the Macon Trax to March 8 at 7:05pm. Additional schedule changes will follow in a league release soon.

Visit the www.wha2.com website photo page to view several photos from the All-Star Game. New photos will continually be added so be sure to check back often!

The Alabama Slammers returned home last week for the first two games of a three game stretch against the Macon Trax. With Macon looking to close in on the Slammers for the 4th and final playoff spot, Alabama dropped the first game to Macon by a score of 3-2. The story of the night was Trax goaltender Andy Kollar. Kollar stood tall between the pipes with 39 saves. The following night the Slammers and Trax once again battled to a 3-2 game at the Pelham Civic Complex. Unlike Friday night, the Slammers were able to come out on top. The Trax got off to a slow start as Alabama scored two goals in the first period. Local star Hugo Belanger ripped a shot past Trax goalie Kollar at the 5:32 mark of the opening period. Mike Craigen extended the lead for the home team late in the first period. Alabama came out firing on all cylinders for the start of the second period as Lawrence recorded his second point of the night beating Kollar for his 22nd goal of the season. The next 15 minutes of the second period saw a lot of hard hitting action by both teams. The Trax came on strong in the third period, spending most of the final five minutes in the Slammers zone, but could not get the puck past Slammers' goalie Jamie Ronayne. Ronayne closed the game with 30 saves for his tenth victory of the season. Both teams played a highly physical game and showed why this is the best rivalry in the WHA2. The rivalry heated up again on Thursday when the Slammers came up with four third period goals to clinch the victory over the Trax in front of a packed crowd at the Pelham Civic Complex. The Slammers came back from a two goal deficit to win 5-3. Coming up, join the Slammers as they try to "Pack the House" at the Pelham Civic Complex on Friday, February 13th. See the Slammers battle the first place Jacksonville Barracudas at 7:05pm CST. All lower level seats are just $6 dollars. It's "Sweetheart Night" with the Alabama Slammers at the Pelham Civic Complex on Saturday, February 14th. Spend Valentines Day with the Slammers as they battle the first place Jacksonville Barracudas at 7:05pm CST. Gentleman, purchase any individual game ticket and your sweetheart gets in the game for free! Slammer Tickets start as low as $12 and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations, or by calling 205-715-6000 or online at ticketmaster.com. Groups of ten or more can order their tickets through the Slammers office by calling 205-328-PUCK (7825).

The Jacksonville Barracudas went into last weekend riding high with a five-game winning streak and a 13-game home winning streak. Both came to a crashing halt when Lakeland came to town on Friday night and handed the Barracudas their first home loss since November 28th. Lakeland netminder Tyler Murray stopped Kory Baker on a third period penalty shot and Jeff Glowa's empty net goal preserved a 4-2 win. On Saturday night, the Barracudas were out for revenge and looked to make an example out of Lakeland. After numerous bone crushing hits, fights, and more big hits, the Barracudas came away with a 6-1 drubbing of the Loggerheads. Chris Hackett scored his first professional hat trick of his career. Derek Toninato scored three points while Justin Hellegards, Brett Strot, Jamie Miller and Klage Kaebel each added two points. Goaltender Randy Hevey was impressive registering his first professional assist while making 27 saves for the win. Sunday night the Barracudas ran out of steam and lost an uninspiring game to Miami 6-2 in the first on five in a row on the road. The Manatees win snapped a four-game winning streak by the ‘Cudas over Miami. Former Barracudas center Greg LeColst took it to his former team with three goals and the eventual game winner. For Jacksonville, Brett Strot scored his first of the season while Jamie Miller added two assists in the loss. The ‘Cudas continue their road swing on Thursday in Orlando. The last meeting with the Seals the Barracudas beat Orlando for the first time since December 14, 2002 at the TD Waterhouse. The Barracudas and Seals traded goals until Orlando's Joe Pecoraro scored on the power play giving the Seals the 5-4 win. On Friday and Saturday nights, the ‘Cudas are off to Alabama for a pair with the Slammers. The last meeting with the Slammers, Jamie Ronayne stood tall registering his second shutout of the season as Alabama finally beat the ‘Cudas for the first time. Jacksonville wraps up their road trip on Tuesday night in Lakeland in a grudge match against the Loggerheads. Jacksonville finally returns home on Friday, February 20th against the Orlando Seals. That will kick off the biggest home stand of the season for the ‘Cudas as eight of their next nine will be at the friendly confines of the Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Arena.

The Lakeland Loggerheads announced three schedule changes that will affect home dates for the month of February. The home game on Fri., Feb. 13th vs. Macon has been changed to Sun., Mar. 7th at 4:05pm. The home game on Fri., Mar. 7th vs. Miami has been changed to Sat., Feb. 21st. The home game on Sat., Mar. 27th vs. Jacksonville has been changed to Tue., Feb. 17th. For the remainder of the season, all Sunday home games will now start at 4:05pm. This will affect the games on Feb. 29th, March 7th, March 21st, March 28th and April 4th. The changes were necessary due to scheduling conflicts with previously planned events at The Lakeland Center. Tuesday, Feb. 17th vs. Jacksonville will be "Senior Citizens Night" and a special "2 For Tuesday" event. The first 200 seniors will receive a chance to win several great prizes such as concert tickets for the Ink Spots, Sofa Kings, Melissa Manchester/Paul Williams, or Dance the Night Away. Other prizes include gift certificates from Total Rehab, Chiropractic Center of Lakeland and golf passes compliments of the Club at Eaglebrooke. It will also be 2 for Tuesday as fans will be able to "Buy two tickets and get two FREE". The Loggerheads will be holding a special "Country Night" on Friday, February 20th at 7:05pm vs. the Miami Manatees sponsored by WPCV 97.5 FM. 97 Country will be raffling off a pair of tickets to see Shania Twain at the St. Pete Times Forum, CDs and other WPCV prizes. There will also be prizes for the best dressed cowboy and cowgirl, stick horse races during intermission, and a "Rope the Mascot" contest.

The Macon Trax took on the Lakeland Loggerheads on Tuesday, Feb. 3 and continued their domination of the Loggerheads as they came from behind in the third period to pull out the 5-4 victory. The hero of the night was Craig Miller. Miller scored the game-tying goal on the power play at the 12:58 mark of the third period. Miller also scored the game-winning goal with just over one minute left in regulation. The win gave the Trax their sixth victory in seven games versus the turtles. The start of a three game set in Pelham kicked off on Feb. 6 with a good old fashioned goalie battle. Alabama goalie Jamie Ronayne and Trax goalie Andy Kollar entered the game third and fourth respectively in WHA2 goals against average. Kollar stood a tad taller as he made 39 saves en route to the 3-2 victory. Ronayne made 35 saves for the Slammers in the losing effort. The Trax came out flat on the following night. A win would have tied Macon for the fourth and final playoff spot in the WHA2. Instead, they fell behind early and never came back for a 3-2 loss. The big three game series with the Slammers hit the final game on Thursday in Alabama where the Trax again went down in defeat. Alabama rallied with four third period goals to defeat the Trax 5-3. The Trax had some schedule shifting for games this weekend. The game in Lakeland versus the Loggerheads originally scheduled for Feb. 13 has been rescheduled for Sunday, March 7. The game versus the Manatees in Miami originally scheduled for Feb. 14 has been rescheduled for March 8. The Trax will enjoy a nice break from game action until Feb. 20 when they head to Jacksonville to tangle with the Barracudas. Macon's next home game is Feb. 29.

The Miami Manatees today announced that the game scheduled for Valentines Day, February 14th against the Macon Trax has been rescheduled to March 8th at 7:30 pm. For fans that purchased tickets and are unable to make the March 8th game, refunds are available by calling the Miami Manatees office at 305-536-7825 x105. The Manatees next home game will be on February 28th at 7:05pm against the Alabama Slammers. The Miami Manatees extended their WHA2 best home record to 15-1-1 by defeating the Orlando Seals in a shoot-out session at the Miami Arena on Feb. 6. The Manatees prevailed over the Seals 4-3. On Sunday, February 8, Greg LeColst scored his third hat-trick as a Manatee helping defeat his former team, the first place Jacksonville Barracudas, 6-2. If Tom Kotsopoulos had his choice, he would play the Orlando Seals every game. Kotsopoulos emerged the hero of the game against the Seals on Feb. 10 when he scored the game-winning goal at 1:14 of overtime for a 4-3 victory. Kotsopoulos also scored the deciding goal in the shoot-out against the Seals on Feb. 6.

The Orlando Seals will have three home games this week. On Tuesday, the Seals hosted the Miami Manatees and battled to a 4-3 overtime loss. The Jacksonville Barracudas came to town on Thursday and although the Seals were without both David Goverde and Mike Correia in net, the Seals managed to pull out a thrilling 5-4 win over the best team in the WHA2. The Seals will take on the Lakeland Loggerheads on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. The Seals had only one game last week, and picked up a point in the standings, with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Miami Manatees in Miami. The Seals had goals from B.J. Stephens, Jason Elders and Brad Federenko. Miami scored with just 1:06 left in regulation time. The Seals had good chances to win the game in overtime, hitting two goal posts, but the Manatees dodged those bullets. The Seals were unable to score on any of their three shootout attempts while Miami scored on its second shot and won the game. Tuesday's rematch against Miami featured the top two goal scorers in WHA2. Oak Hewer of Miami leads the league in goals with 26 goals in 36 games. B. J. Stephens of the Seals has 24 goals in 34 games. Both Hewer and Stephens picked up a goal apiece in Tuesday's game. Do You Believe...In movies? The Seals will be on hand at Cinemark Theater at Festival Bay (5150 International Drive) on Friday night for the movie Miracle, which chronicles the United States 1980 Olympic gold medal ice hockey victory. The Seals will be on hand signing autographs in the theater lobby starting at 6:30 p.m. They will sign autographs for one hour, and then fans are invited to join the team for the 7:45pm showing of Miracle. Seals tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket information is available by calling the Seals at (407) 447-PUCK (7825).

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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