Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Stingrays (3/24/12)

Unfortunately, I couldn't track down a radio broadcast of the game. Sounds like it was a doozy officiating-wise.

It doesn't matter though. The Blades swept the team they could only afford to give one point to. I imagine they all curled into balls and qietly cried on the bus ride home to Charleston last night.

The Rays opened the scoring in the first the Blades didn't have any answer right away.

The Blades responded in the second by having the kind of second period they've been having all season. Four goals? Piece of cake for the Blades.

Matt Beca started things off with an unassisted goal at 3:55. Cedric McNicoll gave the Blades a lead on the power play at 4:40 (assisted by Piché and Bress). He added another because let's be honest, McNicoll isn't capable of only scoring one goal, he has to score two (assisted by Pitt and Fischer). Finally, Sebastien Piché extended his goal scoring streak to three games with a power play tally late in the period (assisted by McNicoll and Fischer).

The Stingrays netted another in the third, but I'm pretty sure that was just because John Muse felt bad for them. Who wouldn't? Your leading scorer is arrested for stealing a cab and you just dropped two spots in the standings? It's all kind of sad.

Anyway, Blades win it 4-2.

Three stars:
3. Fischer
2. Piché
1. McNicoll

No thoughts for you guys. Let's all just bask in the warm glow of the Blades incredible turn around.

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Stingrays (3/24/12)

After struggling for a better part of the season, the Everblades find themselves in an enviable position. They found their groove at the best possible time. Just a month ago there was the threat of missing the playoffs. Not something the perpetually playoff bound Blades organization is used to. Now, the Blades find themselves in the middle of the playoff pack. Quite the turnaround.

After a close game Wednesday it seemed Friday's game was going to be a close one. It was, at least for the scoreless first period.

Then, the second period happened. Trevor Bruess opened up the scoring on the power play to make it 1-0 (assists to Fischer and Beca). About three minutes later, Brayden Irwin notched another power play tally to make it 2-0 (assists to Qick and Roy).  Shortly after that, Scott Pitt notched the Blades only even strength goal of the night on a rush from the faceoff (assists to MacLean and Murray) to make it 3-0. South Carolina was able to get one past Blades goalie John Muse to ruin his sht-out. Luckily, the Stingrays hadn't learned the lesson of staying out of the box and gave the Blades another power play. Obviously, the Blades converted. It was just one of those nights. Cedric McNicoll made it 4-1 with a pretty shot right over Stingrays goalie Billy Sauer's shoulder (assists to Beca and Fischer). Two minutes later the Stingrays continued to shoot themselves in the foot and Sebastien Piché scored his second goal in as many games to make it 5-1 (assists to Beca and Fischer). That score remained at the end of the period. The Blades had gone a perfect 4 for 4 on the power play.

Aside from a second goal from South Carolina (which really should have been disallowed in my opinion), the third was as quiet as the third. Brayden Irwin dropped the gloves with a Stingray, but it wasn't really what I'd call a fight. The period ended with the Blades up 5-2.

Three stars:
3. Irwin
2. Fischer
1. Beca

Barring a miracle, no pictures until Monday.

Some thoughts:
- The game sheets in the last month or two are really proof that scoring is coming from the entire team and that's a nice thing to see.
- If I remember attendance statistics correctly, the Blades hit 150,000 fans for this season last night. 5,857 is not too far off of full capacity. Good seats for playoffs are going to be hard to come by.
- Thanks to Wheeling losing, the Blades are suddenly fifth in the conference. Crazy.
- The Stingrays have been trying to get to Muse. They've been clipping and running him every chance they get. His reaction is to make anyone who comes near his crease pay. Awesome.
- I vote David Fischer and Matt Beca be on every power play so they can set up all the plays. We'll have a perfect power play record!

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Stingrays (3/21/12)

It was no secret that the Everblades have a tough series on their hands. The Stingrays sit just above them in the standings. They had to show up and play their best. Aside from an unfortunate bounce and the usual horribly unbalanced ECHL officiating, the game went pretty well.



The Blades started the game strong. Two goals in the first four minutes of the period. The first, from Scott Pitt (assisted by Donald and Irwin), and the second, from Matt Marquardt (assisted by McNicoll and Galiardi), gave the Blades a quick lead.

 

Unfortunately, a few minutes later the Stingrays made a rush down the ice. A pass made right in front of the net bounced off Brayden Irwin's skate and right into the goal to make it 2-1. About four minutes later, Blades goalie John Muse made a pad save that served up a juicy rebound and a Stingrays forward had no trouble scoring the goal. There was no further scoring in the period. When the buzzer sounded, the teams left the ice to a 2-2 score.

The Blades opened up the second by scoring an early goal yet again. That goal, Sebastien Piche first goal of the season (assisted by Landry and Beca), gave the Blades a 3-2 lead. The Stingrays answered back four minutes later and made it a tie game yet again. That score remained when the period ended.



Throughout most of the third, both teams traded chances with neither coming out on top. Then almost 13 minutes into the period, Rylan Galiardi gave the blades their third lead of the game (assisted by Donald). Things were a bit tense toward the end of the third when back to back penalties on th eBlades led to a pretty extended period of 5 on 3. Thanks to some of the best hustle I've seen, the Blades were able to kill both penalties. The fans gave them a huge round of applause and a standing ovation. Shortly after that, the final buzzer sounded and the Blades had won 4-2. They now are tied with the Stingrays for 6th and one point behind the Nailers for 5th.

The game sheet is here.

The game photos:



The three stars:
3.Galiardi
2. O'Brien
1. Donald.

Some thoughts:
- I don't think I can rave enough about that last penalty kill. It was a thing of beauty.
- Allow me to play armchair coach for a minute: Why not, when you have an extended 5 on 3 and you're down by only one goal would you not pull your goalie for an extra attacker. Is your power play so terrible they could defend when they have six players to the opposing teams 3?
- It's not like the Stingray players couldn't handle protecting an open net. Mathieu Roy was absolutely robbed of an empty net goal thanks to one of the Rays' hustle.
- Seriously guys, that penalty kill. Sigh.

A quick note, it looks like the usual end of the season attendance spike has finally happened (if you're just showing up to games now you suck by the way). If, like me, you haven't been smart enough to secure season tickets, you might want to pay ticket master a little extra to secure the seats you like. I show up before gates open and the good seats are becoming harder to come by.

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Stingrays (2/15/12)

I'm not going to lie and say the Blades played a spectacular game. They didn't. It was a decidedly sub par performance to be honest. A lucky bounce or two and finally showing up to play in the closing minutes did pay off in the end though.

The Stingrays opened up the scoring in the first thanks to a horrible turnover on the power play. Scott Pitt evened it up with 15 seconds left in the period.



The only goal of the second was scored while the Blades best penalty killer, Matheiu Roy, sat in the box for an incredibly weak interference call.There was a moment that the ECHL might get involved in. A bit late in the second former Everblade Tyler Shelast and David Fischer had a huge collision near the bluline. Both players were pretty dazed, but a replay began to be shown on the video board, but was quickly cut off. Why? Because it looked pretty evident that Shelast had, at the very least, aimed very high on Fischer. From my vantage point, the replay made it look like he had his arms up on purpose and made contact with Fischer's head.

The third saw the Stingrays take a 3-1 lead with (this pains me to admit) a beautiful tic-tac-toe play. thankfully, the Blades must have realized they were playing an actual hockey game and finally decided to show up. Cedric McNicoll scored two goals in the last five minutes of the game made it 3-3.  His second goal, scored on the power play with Pat Nagle pulled to give them a 6 on 4, forced OT.

The Blades kept up the strong play in overtime. They held the Stingrays to zero shots on goal and managed to earn the extra point with a lovely goal from David Fischer to take the extra point.

The game summary is here.

The game photos:



Some thoughts:
- It was pretty obvious that the players were completely relieved to walk away with that win.
 - That being said, they really can't continue to slack of for two and a half periods and hope to accomplish anything.
- It's a sad day when the hits of the game are the same guy. Of course Rutherford was the only one who played a full 60. Actually, he's the only player that plays a full 60 consistently.
- The guys are very lucky the League doesn't track turnovers. No one would be called up if that was an a available stat.
- In case you missed it, here's a lovely story from the Puck daddy Blog on Curtis Marouelli making up rules as usual. Anyone surprised? I'm not.

YouTube Tuesday

I'd like to take you back in time for this YouTube Tuesday.

Picture it, 2000. The new millennium has just started. The whole world didn't end due to that whole Y2K thing. Bill Clinton is president. Oops!... I Did it Again is on heavy rotation.Can it really get any better?

Oh yes it can...



That would be 2000-01 Everblades goalie Bujar Amidovski. He doesn't hold any Everblades  records, but it's OK. Goalie fights really do make up for almost anything.

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Stingrays (11/4/11)

Well, it was bound to happen at some point. Looks like the train is back on the tracks.

Of course, the question is can the Blades actually get the train moving?

Since that remains to be seen, we'll have to be content with a solid win over an offensive powerhouse.

The only goal of the game came in the latter half of the first. Ryan McGinnis netted one with an assist from D.J: Rutherford. The Blades dominated the first peppering the Rays goalie with 12 shots. They also continued to limit the Rays offense  to only 7 shots.

They continued the same throughout the second and into the third. Although they had some fantastic chances they just couldn't get anything in. It didn't matter though, John Muse did his best impression of a brick wall and denied everything. In the end, the Blades came away with a well deserved win. They weren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a good win when it was badly needed.

Some thoughts:
- The Blades were 0 for 4 on the power play. Not good, but not the end of the world.
- It feels like a lot of goals are coming from our defense. I need to sit down and look to be sure. A goals a goal, but that's not really something I want to see continue, and the defensive breakdowns have been killing us.
- Remember me mentioning Muse having an opportunity to step up? He did. First professional shut-out and some spectacular, game changing, saves. If he keeps it up, he can carry the team.
- The shot blocking almost makes up for all the turnovers and breakdowns. Almost.

The Blades play their last game of the 9 game (seriously ECHL, what bullshit) roadtrip tonight in Greenville. This should be a very telling game. Either they keep it up or they take a couple of steps back.

Don't uncross your finger just yet people.

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Stingrays (11/2/11)

Well, it looks like the ship still hasn't righted itself. The Blades lost yet another game last night. That makes it four losses in a  row. Somehow, they're not last in the league, but good lord. Something has to give or improve.

The game was the usual chippy affair that always comes against South division opponents. Giving up a goal one minute into the period didn't help. Leigh Salters mixed it up around six and a half minutes into the period, and one of the Stingrays tried to fight Luc Tardif (that's the best way I can describe whatever that was).

The Stingrays maintained their 1-0 lead until about five minutes into the game when Salters basically insured he'll be know as "the only dude actually trying" to Blades fans. Assists on that goal went to Tardif and D'Amour. Unfortunately, a few minutes later, Dominic D'Amour was called for a boarding major, two minutes into the five minute penalty kill, Matt Beca was called for hooking. Somehow, the black cloud that's been hovering over the Everblades dissipated long enough to kill off around three minutes of 5 on 3. Luckily for the Stingrays, the black cloud reappeared in the closing minutes of the period allowing them to make it 2-1. A few minutes after that goal, the Rays decided to go after Dominic D'Amour. While he was on the bench. Oh yeah, you read that right. Somehow, the Blades ended up with more penalties. I guess you have no right to defend a fellow player when an opposing player goes after one of your guys. Maybe it's a new rule? I don't know.

Either way, that penalty carried over to the third, and what do you know, the Stingrays were able to convert. Fabulous. That goal made it 3-1 and another goal in the closing minutes of the period made it 4-1.

The game notes are here.

Right now it feels like the guys take one step forward and then ten steps back. At the very least, the defense breakdowns need to stop. I've lost count of how many goals have been scored this way. We've been lucky to have pretty reliable goalies who are used to how defense is played in the ECHL.

Pat Nagle is not one of those goalies. He's a rookie goalie with no professional experience until this point. Add the fact that he's not getting dedicated time (actually, I'm betting none at all) from a goalie coach and you're looking at trouble. I'm pretty sure any confidence he has is hanging on by sheer force of will. Until he gets his confidence up, or we can be sure John Muse will be around enough to give him time, the defense has to be better than they need to be.

Of course, that's assuming Muse can step up and be our top goalie ow that he's been sent back.

Who knows if that's going to happen.

Ugh. I don't want to think about this anymore. This calls for the one thing that can make you forget about crappy stuff. Yes. This calls for the Holy Hand Grenade (why yes, that was a reference to the one of the funniest movies ever, you're welcome) of Cuteness:


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Pray to whatever being you believe in, maybe sacrifice something to the hockey gods, and go through all your good luck routines guys. Every little bit certainly won't hurt for the games on Friday and Saturday.

Me, I'm going to buy a big bottle of cheap wine. Everything is better with cheap wine.

Friday Links: Everblades Edition!

Hockey season is officially here! It took long enough, eh?

- Woody over at the Blades' Blog has a nice round-up of everything you need to know for this season. He gets major points for linking to my very favorite Everblades fan blogger. What great taste that guy has! Huh. Where did that stuff on my nose come from?

- Your Wikipedia hockey page for today- "Florida Everblades!"

- This penny hockey game is too cool. Good thing my Birthday isn't too far away cough, cough.

- Looks like Tyler Helfrich is on Twitter. I think this picture is a must by the way.



- Apparently Robby Dee is as well, but he has his tweets protected so I'll leave him alone. You can check out my list of current and former players here.

- Gotta say, I'm not a fan of the Stingrays military jerseys. I'm going to hope they look better in person.

- In the process of moving over the summer I discovered that I have a ton of Everblades stuff. Well, maybe not a ton, but it does fill a box. So here's the deal. I'm going to give my junk to you and pretend it's a really fun prize. Time for the first contest to win my Blades junk stuff: About all I'll be donning to celebrate opening night is my jersey and a cute nail polish. You guys might be planning on going all out. Like body paint and wigs all out. If you do, send me a picture. The winner gets this really awesome (stretching things, right?) 09 Kelly Cup rally towel (the hunky model is not included). I'll post the picture on the blog for everyone to see too.

- That reminds me, the ECHL is hosting a neat contest over on their Facebook page. They're going to select a fan photo of the day and feature it. You just have to post it on their wall. Obviously, we need to let the rest of the league know which team has the best fans. Get on it guys!
 - I can't make the alumni game tomorrow. I'd love if someone could send me pictures.
- It's good to see that this kitty is an Everblades fans too.


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Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Stingrays (4/2/11)

It seems fitting that as up and down as this season has been, the Blades playoff outlook would all depend on their performance in the very last game of the regular season.

The game seemed to pick up right where it left off on Friday. Both teams put on tons of pressure and the play was very back and forth. Matt Beca notched his 22 goal of the season to make it 1-0 around the eight minute mark. That was the lone goal of the first period.

Beca's goal was actually the only goal until the Stingrays were able to beat Mike Zacharias on the power play thanks to an Alex Hutchings slashing penalty. His penalty, 45 seconds into the third period was the first penalty of the game. You read that right. Two periods of penalty free hockey. It was a mini miracle.

That goal made tied it up, and with neither team able to score in the remaining minutes of the period, it went to OT.

The Blades did have a lucky break in the period, a full minute of 4 on 3 play was handed to them. Unfortunately, like much of the lattter half of the season, the Blades just could not convert. That ment it was time for a shoot-out.

The Blades shot first:
- Imbeault- No goal
- Cucci- No goal
- Snetsinger- No goal
- Campbell- No goal
- Beca- No goal
- O'Brien- Goal
- Pitt- No goal
- Ricci- Goal

The Stingrays win means they get the pleasure of taking on Wheeling. We on the other hand will be facing Kalamazoo.

Some thoughts:

- The Blades played a good game. Hopefully they keep it up throughout the playoffs.

- Fun fact: Bobby Raymond played every game of the season. Insane. What a beast.

- Remeber how I said I didn't like Zacharias anymore? 32 saves on 33 shots. I forgive him.

- I can't make any jokes about Imbeault. He led the team in shots and was a +1.

First game of the playoffs is Tuesday. Buy your tickets now. This is the time of the season when the fairweather fans finally decide to show up for a game. Paying Ticketmaster fees is worth it to avoid getting stuck in the standing room only area.

They really should save the best seats for people who remeber Tristan Cameron-Harper and Kevin Deeth.

YouTube Tuesday

This week's series with the Stingrays is a big one. Though the Blades clinched a playoff spot, they still have a chance to gain a better position in the playoffs. If they want any advantage in the upcoming playoff they have to show-up and play with some heart. Get pumped guys.

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Stingrays (3/5/11)

Saying the Blades have not been playing very well lately wouldw be an understatement. Managing only 1 point in three games with a team their battling for playoff position with is obviously not a good thing. With the end of the season closing in its time for the Blades to wake up and start playing like they were in the early half of the season.

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There really wasn't anything too exciting in the first two periods. Tim Spencer dropped the gloves yet again. Posts were hit. The Blades played terrible in the first and most of the second. At some point they woke up (thank god) and started to apply pressure. Of course, their luck has matched their play of late, and they just couldn't get a bounce their way. The score remained 0-0 through two periods.

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The third looked a great deal like the first two through most of the period. Then, Bobby Raymond decided it was time for the Blades to win a game. He slipped one past Shane Owen with a little over two minutes left on the clock to make it 1-0. The Rays were left with no option but to pull Owen for the extra attacker. Unfortunately for them, one of their players misplayed the puck, allowing Mike McKenzie to net an unassisted empty netter to make it 2-0 at the 19:25 mark of the period. Obviously, the Stingrays could not score two goals in the last few seconds. The Blades won 2-0, they trailed SOG 22-28.

The three stars: McKenzie, Goepfert, Raymond.

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Some thoughts:
- That was Bobby Goepferts second shut-out of the season.

- Guess who led in shots? David Fischer. The forwards really need to start doing their jobs.

- How human has Imbeault been looking without Lemieux?

- Beca is quickly becoming one of my favorites. He's one of the few forwards that seems to work hard every single shift.

- It sounded like Drew Larman was playing out of his mind. Too bad he didn't get any goals. Sounds like he deserved one.

-Odd that the Blades win a game right after an article appears over on the Blades blog questioning their committment. Can we get a win streak going like we did after Brush called them all out in the beginning of the season.

Live Blog: Everblades vs. Stingrays

The Blades have a big series on their hands. After only managing one point in their two game series with the Stingrays the Blades have no options when it comes to their play tonight.

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The first period was nothing special. Both teams looked quite sluggish. Tim Spencer tried to breath a little life into the team by mixing it up with one of the Stingrays, but it didn't really inspire anything. The teams traded chances for most of the period. The Blades had a close call when the Rays managed to slip one past goalie Bobby Goepfert, but it was waived off for being played with a high stick. Things were looking like the period would end with the teams tied 0-0, but the Rays scored with 29 seconds left in the period to take the 1-0 lead. The Blades had a good chance after that, but nothing resulted, and the period ended with them down 1-0.

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Well... the second period sucked. There really is no other way to describe it. The Blades allowed the Stingrays to totally dictate the play. The only thing that kept them in the period was some solid work from Goepfert. Of course, a second waived goal for the Stingrays also helped. Somehow, the score at the end of the period was still 1-0. The Blades are really going to have to wake-up if they want those two points.

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The third period really didn't get any better. The Stingrays kept up the pressure and the Blades continued to allow them to dictate the play. They did manage to net one with Goepfert pulled. Unfortunately, the goal, a rebound stuffed in by Elgin Reid, crossed the line with only 51 seconds on the clock. Shortly after that the Stingrays got possesion while the net was empty again. It was easily dished into the goal to make it 3-1.

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Some thoughts:
- What a terrible effort from the Blades. They didn't even deserve the one goal they got.

- It's great to have a fantastic goalie, and we do have one, but the team in front of him has to actually show up if they want to win.

- Beating Shane Owen 101: Shoot at his pads, have someone by the net collelt the inevitable juicy rebound and score. Simple.

- I'm glad we didn't sign him. It would be Mike Morrison all over again.

- The Blades better start showing up if they want to accomplish something this season

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Stingrays (2/26/11)

(Bare bones re-cap, sorry people)

If there was a worse time to lose your two leading scorers, captain, and both your goalies, it would probably be when you take on the team your fighting with for a playoff spot. Unfortunately, that's just where the Blades find themselves in their weekend series with the Stingrays.

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The first period was played very tight. Both teams were determined to come out on top. A goal from Matt Beca that beat former Blade goalie Shane Owen at 17:36 was the only tally in the period. Thanks to some great saves from recently signed goalie Adam Avromenko the Blades led at the end of the period 1-0.

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The Stingrays came out swinging in the second. A misplayed puck allowed the Rays to tie it up 1-1 a little over two minutes into the period. About nine minutes later they took the 2-1 lead. The Blades could not get anything going and were kept of the board as a result. At the end of the period the score remained 2-1.

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In almost the reverse of the second period the Blades scored about two minutes in. The goal, from Ian McDonald, tied things up 2-2. The teams traded chances for most of the period. Unfortunately, the Stingrays were able to rip one past Avromenko at the 17:56 mark to take the 3-2 lead. Though they tried, the Blades just couldn't answer back before the final buzzer sounded. They trailed SOG 18-39.

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Some thoughts:
- At this point the power play can only be described as impotent. We can't go 0 for 5 in a must win game.
- Thank god the penalty kill is chugging along. Otherwise we'd be paying for all the incredibly stupid penalties.
- I will continue to argue that we need to sign (or keep) a goalie on an ECHL contract.
- Why not Avronmenko? He stopped 36 of 39 shots. That's not too shabby when you compare it to Owen's 16 saves on 18 shots.
- That reminds me... how about we try shooting more? Seems to work for other teams.

Re-Cap: Everblades vs. Stingrays (1/14/11)

The Everblades rolled into South Carolina on a six game losing streak. The Stingrays, on the other hand, have been riding high on a six game win streak. The question is, will both teams get to seven, or will they both start over from scratch?

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Both teams came out strong in the first period. Both teams traded chances, but in the end, the Everblades were able to score first when Matt Becca stuffed a dirty goal past the Stingrays goalie at the 12:43 mark. The Stingrays responded four minutes later when an odd deflection shot past goalie Bobby Goepfert. Neither team was able to get ahead, and the period ended with both teams tied 1-1. The Blades led the SOG 11-8.

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Once again, both teams came out strong to start the period, but it all started to turn around when the Everblades found themselves on the power play.A simple deflection off of Mathieu Roy's skate gave the Everblades their first power play goal in a long time and the lead. Exactly a minute later Drew Larman was able to give the Blades a more comfortable lead as well as earn his first of the year on a nifty little deflection that was originally credited to Mike Egener. The Blades weren't done though, at the 12:16 mark, Mike Egener decided to get the goal he lost back by ripping one in on the power play. Tony Mosey, one of the recent Everblades signings, got his first professional goal on an unassisted tally three minutes later to give the Blades the most comfortable lead they've seen in a while.When the 2nd period ended the Blades left the ice with a comfortable 5-1 margin on the Stingrays, they trailed the SOG 11-13.

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After a strong showing from the Blades it was obvious the Stingrays were going to try to make one of their own. Unfortunately, they chose to do this by playing rough. This of course led to them taking three penalties in a span of about eight minutes. When it was obvious they weren't coming back they decided to take rough to a whole new level of goon. Their players attempted to involve Evgeny Timkin who made the wise, and very disciplined, decision to say niet to their funny business. When that didn't work, they used a stop by Goepfert as an excuse to create a scrum. The highlight? The Stingray who chose to punch Ed Snetsinger, one of the least aggressive Everblades, in the back of the head. The Everblades weren't able to make them pay on any of their power play chances, and Gopefert remained strong to keep the score unchanged. The final was 5-1, and the Blades once again trailed SOG 5-11. They broke the Stingrays 6 game winning streak, and ended their own 6 game losing streak.

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Some Thoughts:
- Who said DON"T PANIC? I'm going to go gloat now.
- Tony Mosey got his first professional point, and his first professional goal!
- Might be premature to call this, but it sounds like he and Drew Larman have a little chemistry.
- Kevin Fukala did not play, he and Mike Egener were both fined for the little fight after the game yesterday.
- Great to see the Blades break the losing streak, that was going on way too long.

The Blades return to Gwinnett for a game tomorrow. Hopefully, they keep up the solid play that won them the game.

ECHL Announces All-Decade Team

The ECHL announced the players for the All-Decade team, and some former Everblades actually made the list! Defensemen Darrell Hay (00-01), Peter Metcalf (08-10), and goalie Marc Magliarditi (00-01), all made the list. If your interested in the full list you can find it here, that link will also explain the qualifications for making the list.

Some lovely quotes from the ECHL's list on the three former Blades:

"Darrell Hay scored 224 points (50g-174a) in 387 games during the decade with Florida, Columbia and Idaho. He was a part of Idaho’s Kelly Cup championship teams in 2004 and 2007 and was named All-ECHL First Team in 2007-08. Hay was named to the starting line-up for the 2007 ECHL All-Star Game and was selected to serve as an alternate captain at the 2008 ECHL All-Star Game."

"Peter Metcalf led all ECHL defensemen during the decade with 245 assists and 297 points and was tied for fifth with 52 goals. Metcalf was named ECHL Defenseman of the Year in 2007-08 and was the Plus Performer of the Year in 2005-06. He was named All-ECHL First Team in 2006-07 and 2007-08 and All-ECHL Second Team in 2005-06 and 2008-09. Metcalf won two Kelly Cup championships during the decade, winning with Atlantic City in 2003 and Alaska in 2006."

"Marc Magliarditi was 150-77-22 in 258 appearances during the decade with Florida, Louisiana, Richmond and Las Vegas. He was named All-ECHL Second Team in 2005-06 when he went a career-best 34-11-5 in 51 games with Las Vegas. Magliarditi is first in ECHL history with 25 shutouts, second with 217 wins and tied for 12th with a 2.55 goals-against average."

Sadly, standout like Reggie Berg and Tom Buckly didn't make the list. Neither did one of the most beloved players to ever don an Everblades jersey, Ernie Hartlieb. It is pretty exciting that the Everblades tied for second most players, and blew our divisional rivals out of the water. Gwinette and South Carolina didn't have a single player named to the list."

All in all, I'm proud of the guys that made the list. Although I still want Peter Metcalf to come back, and I really wish they had switched sides during the Alumni game so I could post awesome photos of Maglarditi from that game, but oh well. You can't win them all.

Re-Cap: Blades vs. Stingrays (11/7/10)

The Blades took on the Stingrays for the final game of their three game series in an early afternoon game in South Carolina.

So far, the Blades have split the series with a team that is, as of yesterday, the worst team in the conference and the second worst in the ECHL. Needless to say, winning is not really an option.

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The first period was flat yet again, both teams had opportunities, but neither could convert. The period ended 0-0.


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The Stingrays came storming back with a goal 18 seconds into the period. Another goal less than a minute later dug the Blades hole just a little bit deeper. The Everblades continued the uninspired play for the rest of the period. End of the period 2-0.

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The beginning of the third period saw more flat play from the Everblades. The Stingrays made it 3-0 around the 12:00 mark.

Then something happened.

A scant 2 minutes later, Matt Pistilli got one past the Stingrays goalie to make the score 3-1. Alex Imbeault added another goal four minutes later to make it 3-2. Shortly after that, a shoving match between the benches led to a Hutchings and a Stingray player heading to the penalty box for mutual roughing penalties. Mere seconds after that a Stingrays player was called for high-sticking.

Poss called a time-out, and when it was over Bobby Goepfert stayed on the bench.

Poss pulled him for the extra attacker on a power play.

Lucky for Poss the wild gamble actually paid off. The newest Everblade, Nick Tarnasky, was able to score with 1.8 seconds remaining on the clock! That tied the game up 3-3, and obviously no one was able to score in the remaining time. The game was headed to overtime!

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After scoring three goals in about 5 minutes it was pretty obvious the Everblades had finally woken up and decided to play some hockey. It was also obvious that the Stingrays had lost the dominance they had for most of the game.

The Stingrays proved this when one of their players was called for boarding 45 seconds into the third period. He tried to argue, but sending a guy headfirst into the boards right in front of the Ref isn't easily explained off.

The Everblades put on major pressure, and it all paid off when Mitch Fadden's slapper found the back of the net. The Everblades have struggled the last few games to convert on the power play. Thankfully, when they needed it the most, they actually succeeded.

The final score was 4-3, you can see the score sheet here.

Cue the celebratory cuteness:


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It was a hard-won game, and after playing three road games in a row the guys really deserved that win. They will now come home for a short break before heading on the road late next week for a series with Greenville.

Re-Cap: Blades vs. Stingrays (11/6/10)

The Everblades didn't have the best night against the Stingrays Friday, allowing them to storm back in an impressive come from behind victory (score sheet here ). Obviously, you never want to give up any lead, but letting the second worst team in the conference catch you slacking is about as embarrassing as it gets.

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The first period was relatively a relatively flat affair with both teams trading lukewarm chances.Aside from a short 4 on 3 there wasn't anything really exciting. The period ended with both teams even at 0-0.

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The flat play changed in the second period. Both teams actually showed some signs of life. A goal from Mathieu Roy (assisted by Kennedy and Paquet) around the 6 minute mark gave the Blades the lead. Later, Alex Hutchings gave the Blades a more comfortable lead with a power play goal (in the last second of the penalty) in the later minutes of the period. The teams left the ice with Florida up 2-0.

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Obviously, the Stingrays spent most of the second intermission being yelled at. They never really stopped pressuring the Blades, and it paid off for them in the opening minutes when they score 54 seconds into the period to make it 2-1. By some grace of the hockey gods the Everblades were able to hold the Stingrays off as they applied major pressure. The solid play from the players and Jaroslav Janus playing out of his mind didn't hurt of course. In the end, the Blades managed to hold the Stingrays off. The final score was 2-1 and the SOG were 40-19. The final score sheet can be found here.

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Some quick thoughts:

- Jaroslav Janus had a really rough start but seems to have found his groove. He stopped 39 of 40 shots tonight and sounded really solid.

- Mitch Fadden now has a 6 game assist streak.

- The loss means the Stingrays are now in last place in the conference.

The Everblades will take on the Stingrays in a final game tomorrow at 4:00. They then will travel back to town for a short break before heading back on the road for a three game series with Greenville.

YouTube Tuesday: ECHL Goalie Fights!

I'm guessing the Everblades are going to make a signing announcement sometime today or tomorrow. That's been their pattern lately. Until then, enjoy some ECHL goalie fights.

I recommend turning your sound down now, some of these videos are extremely loud.

First up, from the 07-08 season is David Shantz (stats) taking on Dan Turple of the Gwinnett Gladiators:



Now, Dan Turple (still a Gladiator) taking on Jonathan Boutin of the South Carolina Stingrays:



And a pretty good find from either the 06-07 or 07-08 season, Cedrick Desjardins (just acquired by our new affiliate the Lightning) of the Cincinnati Cyclones takes on Joel Martin of the Elmira Jackals:



And one final one, although technically not an ECHL fight, was too good not to include. I love how all the players stop the minute they realize there's a goalie fight. This video is from the days of the Elmira Jackals UHL days. Tyson Gajda of the Jackals takes on Shawn Conshafter of the Roanoke Valley Vipers:



One of the last things on my hockey bucket list is to see a goalie fight. I've seen a hat trick in person (Bucky's this season), I've seen Sidney Crosby score (in overtime!), and I've seen my Penguins lift the Stanley Cup a few times. All that's left is a Kelly Cup for my local boys and a goalie fight. Is that too much to ask?

News and a Goodbye

I have no idea why I forgot to mention this earlier, but Milan Gajic will not be retuning to the Everblades next year. He has signed with the Victoria Salmon Kings.

Last season was rough on him. He was injured very early on, and it took a long time for him to heal. When he finally did come back he put up some spectacular numbers. If you take a  look at his stats it not hard to imagine that without the injury, last season could have been one of the best of his professional career.



As I have said many times before, it's sad to see any of the players leave. To see such a solid forward, and such a nice person leave is almost painful. I don't blame him for choosing to play in Victoria, he's spent three seasons playing for them, but I'm still sad.

In some less depressing (for me at least) news The Florida Panthers have signed an affiliation agreement with the Kelly Cup Champion Cincinnati Cyclones. It also appears the Cyclones chose not to announce they're no longer affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens. They instead chose to change their website to omit the Habs and include the Panthers. I guess they thought no one would notice?

The South Carolina Stingrays also announced they have extended their affiliation with the Washington Capitals for another season.

I'm really expecting the announcement of a new signing tomorrow. The last time I was in Venice they announced the affiliation with the Lightning. I'm sure the announcement tomorrow will be a good one.

Pictures, Pictures, and Pictures

Here's some pictures from Friday night's game against the Stingays. The pictures look a bit odd because I was sitting behind the net. Enjoy!