[truebluefan]

League plus/minus leader and Renegades defenseman Joe Pace will be sidelined for an undetermined period after a freak accident during practice damaged his left collar bone. After separate exams by two West End Orthopaedic surgeons the Renegades management and coaching staff have left Pace in Richmond while they continue their 4 game road trip in Florida and Fayetteville this weekend. In 19 games Pace had 1 goal and 2 assists and 40 PIM's. However his standout statistic is his league leading plus/minus of plus 15 while the Renegades lead the league in that category with a plus 51.

"Joe made an awkward hit on (David) Mitchell and spun off clutching his left shoulder area," stated Allan B. Harvie, Jr., Renegades President and GM. "Lisa (trainer) went to him immediately after he fell to the ice in obvious pain. The x-rays were inconclusive but suggested there may be a hairline fracture in his collar bone. We decided to leave him here and have him re-examined on Tuesday rather than take a chance playing him and lose him for 6-8 weeks. We don't want to take any chances with our players so he is currently in a sling to immobilize the area."

"This has to stop at some point," continued Harvie. "My number one goalie, my top goal scorer and now the league's top plus/minus player all gone to injuries. And to top that off we have six players with the flu and one just getting over food poisoning. This has not been a fun month. It can only get better and a win in Florida Friday will begin the healing."

The Renegades continue their road trip this weekend with a game in Kissimmee, FL against the Florida Seals on Friday and then in Fayetteville, NC on Saturday night against the FireAntz. The Renegades return to home ice on Wednesday, December 27th for the first of three home games in 4 nights. It will be another 2-3-4 or More Night plus the first Skate with the Renegades following the game.

For more information call (804) 644-PUCK or go to the Renegades website at Richmond Renegades.

 

[truebluefan]

Keller Doubles Up On Knoxville

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The contrast between the two teams on the ice at the Silver Spurs Arena Thursday night couldn't be starker. Or surprising.

Behind the second consecutive two goal game by Justin Keller and yet another solid performance by Matt Balser in net, the host Florida Seals convincingly defeated the Knoxville Ice Bears 5-1 for their fifth win in the last six games.

"I've just kind of been getting the bounces here," Keller said. "For a little while, we were struggling a bit as a team and guys needed to pick up their game. That's what we've done here down the stretch a little bit and things have been going our way lately."

The visiting Ice Bears entered the game having lost five consecutive games, very uncharacteristic for the defending league champs. Up until the mid point of the first period, things were quiet.

That all changed when Florida struck first. Just as a power play was ending, Craig Miller sent a cross ice pass to Dan Pszenyczny who fed Keller in the bottom of the circle. He moved out and whistled a wrist shot over the glove shoulder of Knoxville goalie Terry Dunbar for a 1-0 Seals lead. Dunbar held the Ice Bears in the game as Florida out-shot the visitors by a 15-6 margin.

The two teams seemed to have decided between periods that the second stanza would be an old fashioned shoot-out. This worked to the Seals' advantage as they won the shot clock battle and the scoring war.

It started at 3:33 of the period when Florida converted a man advantage. Lawne Snyder found a seam in the defense and sent a cross ice pass to Steve Zoryk who had a wide open net to shoot at for the goal. A little over three minutes later, Tim Vitek and Rob Sich combined to set up Chad Haacke who jammed the puck past Dunbar.

That goal ended the night for Dunbar who was replaced by Ervins Mustukovs in net. He fared little better as at the 12:40 mark, Keller took a cross ice feed from Ryan Coghlan and sailed it into the top corner for another power play goal and a 4-0 lead. Knoxville finally got on the board in the final seconds of the period as Bob Rangus tipped in a Curtis Menzul shot for a power play goal that cut the margin to 4-1 after two.

"We're really struggling right now. We're going to have to find a way to dig ourselves out of this hole we've gotten ourselves into," Knoxville Coach Jim Bermingham said. "There's still a lot of hockey left to be played this year but we definitely need to turn this ship around pretty soon."

As the Seals' lead had grown, the chippy play started. Knoxville was getting more and more frustrated. Balser, starting his seventh consecutive game, added to that when he stopped Aaron Lewis on a clean break-in early in the third. Coghlan added the final nail when he got loose on a break and blasted a shot past Mustukovs for Florida's third power play goal of the night. For the game, Balser stopped 30 shots in posting his seventh victory.

"Knoxville worked hard. They're in a bit of a rut right now," Seals Coach Tommy Stewart said. "They're having a tough time scoring goals. We're just the opposite. We're scoring lots of goals. It was a good win for us."

The Seals don't have any time to rest. They come right back to the Silver Spurs Arena Friday night when the Richmond Renegades pay a pre-holiday visit. Game time is set for 7:35 p.m.

 

[truebluefan]

Barracudas join forces with Nemours on Kids' Night

The Jacksonville Barracudas Hockey Club has joined forces with Nemours, one of the nation's largest children's health systems, to present "Kids' Night" tonight, Friday, December 22nd, 2006.

The Barracudas play the defending Southern Professional Hockey League Champions, Knoxville Ice Bears. The game will be accompanied by a toy drive in support of local children's charities, a special raffle in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Florida, and a large admission discount just for kids!

"The Barracudas Hockey Club is especially excited to be working with an organization like Nemours, whose efforts have touched countless numbers of children and families throughout the country and here in Jacksonville," said Barracudas' General Manager Gilles Richard. "Kids' Night is a chance for parents to bring their children out for an exciting night of family entertainment at a discounted price, and to help out a good cause as well."

Kids under the age of 12 with valid ID will be able to receive a $13.00 ticket at the Arena Box Office for just $7.00. There will be a special jersey raffle at the game as well; where three children will have the opportunity to visit the Barracudas' dressing room immediately following the game, and have a kids' jersey presented and signed by all the Barracudas' players. Fans are also encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the fan relations booth in the Arena, as the Barracudas hold a Toy Drive in support of local children's charities.

Discounted tickets for Kids' Night can be purchased at the Arena Box Office; while regularly priced tickets can be purchased either at the Box Office or at Ticketmaster.com. For more information on Kids' Night, or anything concerning the Barracudas' Hockey Club, call 904-367-1423, or visit Official Site of the Jacksonville Barracudas Hockey Team.

About Nemours

Nemours provides institutions and services to improve the health of children. Employing over 400 pediatric physicians, subspecialists and surgeons, Nemours cared for approximately a quarter of a million children during nearly one million encounters in 2005, making Nemours one of the nation's largest children's health systems.

In addition to the many ongoing research, education, health and prevention programs, Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, and major children's specialty centers in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr), New Jersey (Atlantic City and Voorhees) and many primary care pediatric practices throughout Delaware. Additionally, the most visited health care Web site online for parents, kids, and teens, KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about children's health is a project of Nemours.

Nemours is affiliated with the Mayo Clinic, Thomas Jefferson University, University of Florida, University of Delaware, Christiana Care Health System, Main Line Health System, Virtua Health, AtlantiCare Regional Health System, Baptist Medical Center (Wolfson Children's Hospital), Orlando Regional Medical Center (Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women) and Sacred Heart Children's Hospital. Additional information can be found at www.nemours.org.

 

[truebluefan]

Chrapala Steals Victory For Renegades

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Good goaltending wins games. It can also steal victories away from impending defeat.

That was the case Friday night as Jay Chrapala made 41 saves, 34 in the last two periods, to life the Richmond Renegades to a 4-2 road victory over the Florida Seals at the Silver Spurs Arena.

"The boys worked hard. They played good in front of me and we just ended our losing streak," Chrapala said. "Hopefully we can get on a winning streak here and keep on rolling. We're coming together as a team and that's what we need to do."

The Richmond team traveled to Central Florida a day early. They appeared to benefit from the rest as they were crisper in the first period. Their passing paid off at the 7:44 mark when Danny White whistled a cross-ice pass to a wide open Mat Goody. Goody had a wide open net to shoot at and he didn't miss, giving the Renegades a 1-0 lead.

The margin grew to two at 12:33 when Richmond capitalized on a power play. Just 15 seconds into the man advantage, Tyler Schremp got the puck to Phillip Youngclaus who got the puck past Seals' goalie Matt Balser. Florida answered late in the stanza with a power play goal of their own as Lawne Snyder made a good play to keep the puck in and out of the ensuing scramble, Tim Vitek popped the puck home past Chrapala to make it 2-1.

"We certainly didn't want it (the losing streak) to go any further before we could get it stopped," Richmond Coach John Brophy said. "Our goaltender played great tonight as he has to do that every night. It's a good league right now and if the guys aren't ready to play, you're not going to win."

Florida came out with more charge in the second but Chrapala was equal to the task. His best save was early when he robber Justin Keller with his catching glove. Late in the period, Richmond again pushed their lead to when Dean Jackson got loose for a wrist shot that eluded Balser's glove hand. 45 seconds later, Rob Sich cut the lead back to one when he circled in the zone and unloaded a canon shot past Chrapala. At the intermission, it was 3-2 Richmond but Florida was now awake and in the contest.

The Seals controlled the third period but Chrapala again was the story. He made several key saves, including one on former teammate Scott Corbett and another off the stick of Sich. With just under two minutes left, the Renegades were hit with a roughing penalty, giving Florida a huge opportunity to tie the game. When the Seals pulled Balser, the linesman blew the play dead, saying that the goalie's replacement left too early. The face-off was moved out to center ice and it cost Florida dearly as they were unable to set up for another good shot. White sealed the victory by scaling the puck the length of the ice into the empty net.

"They (Richmond) came in and worked hard for the whole game. Obviously we took it to them in the third but we just couldn't get it past their goalie," Seals Coach Tommy Stewart said. "You've got to play sixty minutes and we were kind of lackluster for the first forty."

The Seals finish their pre-holiday home stand with a game Saturday night against the Pee Dee Cyclones. It will mark the return of former Seals Art Mnatsakanov to the Silver Spurs Arena. It is also "Teddy Bear Toss" night. Fans are asked to bring a stuffed toy that will be donated to the "Teddies For Tragedies" program through the Osceola County Council On Aging. Game time is 7:35 p.m. Richmond continues on the road, heading up to Fayetteville, North Carolina to take on the FireAntz at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

 

[truebluefan]

Havoc drops one at home

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Matt Carmichael misplayed a clearing shot by Craig Stahl with 17:06 left in the third period allowing the winning goal as the Columbus Cottonmouths slipped by the Huntsville Havoc 3-2 Friday night.

The Cottonmouths jumped out to a 2-0 lead on first period goals by Orrin Hergott and Tim Green.

The Havoc cut the lead to 2-1 on a powerplay goal by Bill Monkman before tying it with 9:11 left in the second on a James Patterson goal.

Chad Rycroft made 44 saves for the Cottonmouths as the Havoc out shot Columbus 46-27.

The Havoc will host the Jacksonville Barracudas tomorrow night at 7:35.