Florida Everblades
Encyclopedia
The Florida Everblades are an ECHL
ice hockey
team playing in the Southeast Division. The team is based in Estero, Florida
and plays at Germain Arena
(Formerly Teco Arena ). The team has existed since 1998. The Everblades are affiliated with the Charlotte Checkers
and the Norfolk Admirals
of the American Hockey League
(AHL), and with the Carolina Hurricanes
and the Tampa Bay Lightning
of the National Hockey League
(NHL). The Everblades have not missed the playoffs in any of their thirteen seasons and have made two appearances in the Kelly Cup Finals. The franchise has finished first in the league in attendance 5 times, and never lower than fourth. Prior to the building of the Germain Arena, the arena site was an empty cow pasture on what is now Everblades Parkway near Interstate 75
in Estero. Current GM Craig Brush was said to be reading a free copy of a National Geographic magazine that featured articles on the Florida Everglades, when he envisioned the idea to bring a minor-league hockey team to Southwest Florida. The team's name derives from the former Kentucky Thoroughblades
AHL franchise.
The Everblades' logo features a gator-head design fused in the form of an ice skate. The logo was designed by the Barnstorm Creative Group, a Vancouver graphic design company contacted by Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, who came up with the idea of choosing the Everblades colors as blue and green, in tribute to the Hartford Whalers
team that Karmanos moved to Raleigh, North Carolina
. The Everblades' inaugural home opener featured a pre-game ceremony in which a large alligator
was brought onto the ice to pay tribute to the team's name and logo, as well as Florida's vast population of reptile
species.
of the Western Conference and to the Trenton Titans
of the National Conference in 2005.
. In the ECHL in 2000, there was no overtime period, with play going directly to a shootout. Therefore all losses in a shootout are designated as ties.
With the Everblades hosting the Greenville Grrrowl
on April 22, 2005 for the first game of the American Conference Semifinals, the Everblades and Grrrowl would engage in a third-period line brawl that would see both teams combine for 197 minutes in penalties.
The brawl stemmed from previous incidents throughout the game. Prior to the brawl, then-Everblades forward Greg Hornby checked Greenville's Vladimir Gusev hard into the boards behind the net. Gusev would leave the game injured, and as a result, the pace of the game as well as checking, would pick up.
With the Blades up 4-1 with under six minutes to play in the third period, then-Greenville pest
Krys Barch
would screen the net during a Greenville shooting attempt. Everblades defenceman
Tim O'Connell checked Barch from behind numerous times, hoping to clear him from in front of the net. Barch, having been fed up with being pressured, turned around hoping to sucker-punch O'Connell. Instead, O'Connell quickly skated away from the crease before Barch turned around, and Barch would end up punching Everblades goalie Tyler Mackay. O'Connell jumped on top of Barch, resulting in a dog pile.
All players on the ice dropped the gloves for a wild line brawl that would see Florida goalie Tyler Mackay and others getting ejected for fighting.
After all the mayhem, Craig Kowalski
would take Mackay's place as netminder. Shortly thereafter, the Everblades' Simon Tremblay would scrap with Greenville's Adam Nightingale to end the fiasco. The Everblades would go onto win the game, 4-1, and sweep the series, three games to none.
Ironically, game 2 featured no fights as the Everblades won an overtime thriller by a score of 3-2.
Jon McNabb of the Everblades would score on a breakaway goal to defeat the Royals in front of a record crowd of 7,080 fans at Germain Arena.
Individual Streaks
Both players' numbers were retired during a pre-game ceremony on October 19, 2007, as the Everblades hosted the Mississippi Sea Wolves
, in what would be the Sea Wolves' first official regular season game after being placed on a two-year hiatus due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
. Banners made with their jersey numbers were hung to the rafters of the Germain Arena.
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team playing in the Southeast Division. The team is based in Estero, Florida
Estero, Florida
Estero is a census-designated place in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 18,176. It is the home of Germain Arena, which hosts the home games for the Florida Everblades ECHL hockey team and the Florida Firecats af2 arena football team...
and plays at Germain Arena
Germain Arena
Germain Arena is a 7,128-seat multi-purpose arena in Estero, Florida, United States.The arena was first named Everblades Arena in 1998 after the hockey team that played there. TECO Energy was the first company to obtain the naming rights to the building, changing the name to TECO Arena. In 2004,...
(Formerly Teco Arena ). The team has existed since 1998. The Everblades are affiliated with the Charlotte Checkers
Charlotte Checkers (2010–)
The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the American Hockey League , and are the AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League...
and the Norfolk Admirals
Norfolk Admirals
The Norfolk Admirals are a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Admirals play in Norfolk, Virginia, at the Norfolk Scope.-History:...
of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
(AHL), and with the Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...
and the Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL). The Everblades have not missed the playoffs in any of their thirteen seasons and have made two appearances in the Kelly Cup Finals. The franchise has finished first in the league in attendance 5 times, and never lower than fourth. Prior to the building of the Germain Arena, the arena site was an empty cow pasture on what is now Everblades Parkway near Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
in Estero. Current GM Craig Brush was said to be reading a free copy of a National Geographic magazine that featured articles on the Florida Everglades, when he envisioned the idea to bring a minor-league hockey team to Southwest Florida. The team's name derives from the former Kentucky Thoroughblades
Kentucky Thoroughblades
The Kentucky Thoroughblades were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, who existed from 1996 to 2001. The Thoroughblades were based in Lexington, Kentucky, playing home games at Rupp Arena...
AHL franchise.
The Everblades' logo features a gator-head design fused in the form of an ice skate. The logo was designed by the Barnstorm Creative Group, a Vancouver graphic design company contacted by Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, who came up with the idea of choosing the Everblades colors as blue and green, in tribute to the Hartford Whalers
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
team that Karmanos moved to Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
. The Everblades' inaugural home opener featured a pre-game ceremony in which a large alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
was brought onto the ice to pay tribute to the team's name and logo, as well as Florida's vast population of reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
species.
Current roster
| Title | STAFF MEMBER |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Greg Poss |
| Assistant Coach | Brad Tapper Brad Tapper Brad Tapper is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League for the Atlanta Thrashers over parts of three seasons.-Playing career:... |
| Athletic Trainer | Dustin Flynn |
| Equipment Manager | Jason Berger Jason Berger Jason Berger , was a Boston landscape painter, connected to Boston Expressionism . He painted from nature, en plein air, and used favorite motifs in abstract paintings, referred to as "studio paintings". He, also, enjoyed woodcuts which were predominatly printed in black and white... |
E.A. Gingher Memorial Trophy
The Everblades have won the E.A. Gingher Memorial Trophy in both 2004 and 2005. In 2004, the trophy was given to the champion of the Eastern Conference and to the American Conference champion in 2005. In both years, the Everblades lost to the winners of the Bruce Taylor Trophy. In 2004 the loss was to the Idaho SteelheadsIdaho Steelheads
The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho. The team began playing in 1997 and has been a member of the ECHL since 2003....
of the Western Conference and to the Trenton Titans
Trenton Titans
The Trenton Titans are a professional minor league ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the Atlantic Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Titans play their home games at the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, New Jersey. Established in 1999, the...
of the National Conference in 2005.
Brabham Cup
In the 1999–2000 season, the Everblades won the Brabham Cup. This trophy is given to the team that has the best position in the standings for the entire league. The Everblades took the trophy with 108 points (53-15-2), but fell in the first round to the Augusta LynxAugusta Lynx
The Augusta Lynx were a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Augusta, Georgia. The Lynx played their home games at the James Brown Arena...
. In the ECHL in 2000, there was no overtime period, with play going directly to a shootout. Therefore all losses in a shootout are designated as ties.
2005 Playoff brawl
One famous event that stands out among Blades' fans was during the 2005 ECHL playoffs.With the Everblades hosting the Greenville Grrrowl
Greenville Grrrowl
The Greenville Grrrowl were an ECHL hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They played their home games at the BI-LO Center. In the 2001-02 season, they won the Kelly Cup....
on April 22, 2005 for the first game of the American Conference Semifinals, the Everblades and Grrrowl would engage in a third-period line brawl that would see both teams combine for 197 minutes in penalties.
The brawl stemmed from previous incidents throughout the game. Prior to the brawl, then-Everblades forward Greg Hornby checked Greenville's Vladimir Gusev hard into the boards behind the net. Gusev would leave the game injured, and as a result, the pace of the game as well as checking, would pick up.
With the Blades up 4-1 with under six minutes to play in the third period, then-Greenville pest
Pest (hockey)
In ice hockey, a pest is a characterization of player who attempts to antagonize opponent players either by physical play or verbally.Pests employ legal, illegal, or borderline tactics to accomplish their goals. Some common tactics include trash talk or slashing and hooking while referees are not...
Krys Barch
Krys Barch
Krystofer Barch is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League.-Playing career:...
would screen the net during a Greenville shooting attempt. Everblades defenceman
Defenceman (ice hockey)
Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...
Tim O'Connell checked Barch from behind numerous times, hoping to clear him from in front of the net. Barch, having been fed up with being pressured, turned around hoping to sucker-punch O'Connell. Instead, O'Connell quickly skated away from the crease before Barch turned around, and Barch would end up punching Everblades goalie Tyler Mackay. O'Connell jumped on top of Barch, resulting in a dog pile.
All players on the ice dropped the gloves for a wild line brawl that would see Florida goalie Tyler Mackay and others getting ejected for fighting.
After all the mayhem, Craig Kowalski
Craig Kowalski
Craig Kowalski is an American professional ice hockey player who currently plays for the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL.-Playing career:...
would take Mackay's place as netminder. Shortly thereafter, the Everblades' Simon Tremblay would scrap with Greenville's Adam Nightingale to end the fiasco. The Everblades would go onto win the game, 4-1, and sweep the series, three games to none.
Ironically, game 2 featured no fights as the Everblades won an overtime thriller by a score of 3-2.
2004 American Conference Finals
Game 5 in the 2004 American Conference Finals was quite a memorable series for the Everblades. The Blades would face the Reading Royals in five games in what would be an epic series. Reading evened the series at home, winning Game 3 and Game 4, respectively. With the score knotted at two for Game 5, the game was sent to overtime.Jon McNabb of the Everblades would score on a breakaway goal to defeat the Royals in front of a record crowd of 7,080 fans at Germain Arena.
Year-by-year record
| Year | GP | W | L | T | PCT | GF | GA | PTS | Coach | Playoffs |
| 2010–11 2010–11 ECHL season The 2010–11 ECHL season is the 23rd season of the ECHL. The regular season schedule runs from October 15, 2010 to April 2, 2011. The Kelly Cup playoffs followed the regular season, with the first playoff game held on April 4, 2011, all the way to late May or early June... |
72 | 37 | 30 | 5 | 0.549 | 236 | 222 | 79 | Greg Poss | Lost in round 1 |
| 2009–10 2009–10 ECHL season The 2009–10 ECHL season was the 22nd season of the ECHL. It ran from October, 2009 until April, 2010, followed by the Kelly Cup playoffs which lasted until May 21, 2010 as the Cincinnati Cyclones won their second Kelly Cup championship in three years by defeating the Idaho Steelheads in five games... |
72 | 38 | 25 | 9 | 0.590 | 234 | 221 | 85 | Malcolm Cameron | Lost in round 2 |
| 2008–09 2008–09 ECHL season The 2008-09 ECHL season was the 21st of the ECHL. The league welcomed one new franchise, the Ontario Reign, which will relocate from Beaumont, Texas and will play at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, CA. Two teams, the Columbia Inferno and the Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz, will voluntary... |
71 | 49 | 17 | 5 | 0.725 | 269 | 187 | 103 | Malcolm Cameron | Lost in round 2 |
| 2007–08 | 72 | 39 | 25 | 8 | 0.597 | 230 | 198 | 86 | Gerry Fleming Gerry Fleming Gerald Alexander Fleming is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 11 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens. He is currently an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Barons.-External links:... |
Lost in round 1 |
| 2006–07 | 72 | 44 | 22 | 6 | 0.611 | 272 | 212 | 94 | Gerry Fleming Gerry Fleming Gerald Alexander Fleming is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 11 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens. He is currently an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Barons.-External links:... |
Lost in Conference Final |
| 2005–06 | 72 | 48 | 20 | 4 | 0.694 | 267 | 208 | 100 | Gerry Fleming Gerry Fleming Gerald Alexander Fleming is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 11 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens. He is currently an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Barons.-External links:... |
Lost in round 2 |
| 2004–05 | 72 | 42 | 20 | 10 | 0.653 | 237 | 192 | 94 | Gerry Fleming Gerry Fleming Gerald Alexander Fleming is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 11 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens. He is currently an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Barons.-External links:... |
Lost in Kelly Cup Finals |
| 2003–04 | 72 | 37 | 25 | 10 | 0.583 | 239 | 221 | 84 | Gerry Fleming Gerry Fleming Gerald Alexander Fleming is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 11 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens. He is currently an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Barons.-External links:... |
Lost in Kelly Cup Finals |
| 2002–03 | 72 | 35 | 23 | 14 | 0.583 | 239 | 243 | 84 | Gerry Fleming Gerry Fleming Gerald Alexander Fleming is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 11 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens. He is currently an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Barons.-External links:... |
Lost in qualifying round |
| 2001–02 | 72 | 37 | 27 | 8 | 0.569 | 207 | 221 | 82 | Gerry Fleming Gerry Fleming Gerald Alexander Fleming is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 11 games in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens. He is currently an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Barons.-External links:... |
Lost in round 2 |
| 2000–01 | 72 | 38 | 26 | 8 | 0.583 | 236 | 242 | 84 | Bob Ferguson | Lost in round 2 |
| 1999–00 | 70 | 53 | 15 | 2 | 0.757 | 277 | 181 | 108 | Bob Ferguson | Lost in round 2 |
| 1998–99 | 70 | 45 | 20 | 5 | 0.679 | 253 | 180 | 95 | Bob Ferguson | Lost in round 3 |
- NOTE: The 2008-09 team played 71 games because of scheduling changes caused by two teams ceasing operations in December 2008. Four of the five teams (Florida, Charlotte, South Carolina, Mississippi) played 71 games, with Gwinnett playing 72.
All-time recordholders
- Games: Brent McDonald - 311
- Goals: Reggie Berg - 320
- Assists: Tom Buckley - 207
- Points: Reggie Berg - 391
- Power play goals: Reggie Berg - 32
- Penalty minutes: Tom Buckley - 422
- Goaltending games: Marc MagliarditiMarc MagliarditiMarc "Mags" Magliarditi is a retired American ice hockey goaltender who most recently played for the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL. After playing for Western Michigan University of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association for one year, he was drafted in the sixth round, 146th overall, by the...
- 139 - Goaltending wins: Marc Magliarditi - 139
- Goals against average (Min 20 games): Tyler MacKay - 1.92
- Goaltending save percentage: Tyler MacKay - .928
Individual records
Individual records- Most goals - Game: 4 (4 times, last by Saviano, Mar. 31, 2006 vs. PEN)
- Most assists - Game: 4 (7 times, last by Hartlieb, Feb. 24, 2007 vs. AUG)
- Most points - Game: 5 ( times, last by Zancanaro, Jan. 5, 2007 vs. CHR)
- Most shots - Game: 12 (Steve Saviano, Nov. 12, 2005 at Gwinnett)
- Most penalty minutes - Game: 37 (Kyle Kos Mar. 22, 2003 at South Carolina)
- Most saves - game: 58 (Rob Zepp, Dec. 27, 2003 at Gwinnett)
- Most saves - period: 25 (2 times, last by Zepp, Dec. 27, 2003 at GWI (1st))
Individual Streaks
- Consecutive game goal scoring streak: 9 (Keith Anderson (10/18/03 - 11/8/03))
- Consecutive game assist streak: 10 (Daniel Sisca (12/9/05 - 12/28/05))
- Consecutive game point streak: 16 (Tom Buckley (10/26/01 - 12/7/01))
- Consecutive games started streak: 15 (twice, last by Craig Kowalski (2/10/07 - 3/10/07))
- Longest winning streak: 9 (Tyler MacKay (2/25/05 - 3/19/05))
- Longest unbeaten streak: 11 (Tyler MacKay (2/19/05 - 3/19/05) (9-0-2))
- Shutout streak: 163:43 (Randy Petruk (11/3/01 - 12/14/01))
Retired numbers
- Reggie Berg- played with Blades from 1999–2007, sweater # 10 is retired.
- Tom Buckley- played with Blades from 1999–2004, sweater # 14 is retired.
Both players' numbers were retired during a pre-game ceremony on October 19, 2007, as the Everblades hosted the Mississippi Sea Wolves
Mississippi Sea Wolves
The Mississippi Sea Wolves were a professional hockey team based in Biloxi, Mississippi and playing in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Sea Wolves were members of the ECHL....
, in what would be the Sea Wolves' first official regular season game after being placed on a two-year hiatus due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. Banners made with their jersey numbers were hung to the rafters of the Germain Arena.
External links
- The Official Florida Everblades Web Site
- The Official ECHL Web Site
- The Charlotte Checkers, AHL Affiliates to the Everblades
- The Albany River Rats, AHL Affiliates to the Everblades
- The Carolina Hurricanes, NHL Affiliates to the Everblades
- Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL Affiliates to the Everblades
- The Plymouth Whalers, OHL Affiliates to the Everblades
- All-Time Everblades Roster