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Orlando Seals

The World Hockey Association Founders, Inc. has terminated an agreement with David and Ruth Waronker for the purchase of the Orlando Seals.

After three weeks of negotiations, the WHA Founders, Inc. and Orlando Professional Hockey, Inc. entered into an Asset Sales agreement on Monday which would allow the Orlando Seals to play in the WHA. Closing was scheduled to July 15, with an outside date of July 19. The Waronker's understand that the WHA Founders, Inc. issued a statement stating that they have terminated negotiations top purchase the team or have a franchise in Orlando. Although the source of this annoncement is unknown, it is accepted by the Waronkers and the other partners in Orlando Professional Hockey Inc that if the WHA is not willing to honor its agreement, then the team will proudly enter the SPHL as its ninth franchise.

The Waronker's felt it was important to advise the Central Florida hockey fans, and for that matter all of the hockey fans in the SPHL of this pending sale sooner than later. The Waronker's wanted the Seals fans, sponsors, and creditors to understand the reason for the sale, and, they also wanted to assist the fragile WHA by letting the hockey world know that the agreement to sell was finalized and that the WHA could expect Orlando as one of its original cities.

Reached at his New Jersey office this afternoon, David Waronker stated, "I am not so sure what the story is with the WHA, as Allan Howell is out of the country and no one knows the wherabouts of the WHA required $200,000 deposit on contract signing. I will reserve comment on the situation until such time as I talk with Mr. Howell, but suffice it to say if the WHA cannot buy the team, we will happily play in the SPHL. We were down this road with the WHA last month, it would really hurt the credibility of the WHA if they are again not able to follow through on an agreement."

Waronker further stated that if the team remains in the SPHL he would look for other local investors to join the ownership group and would also look to sign a three year affiliation agreement with the SPHL and with the City of Orlando. The deadline for any WHA invovlement is Monday, July 19; this day is also the deadline for Waronker to official accept or decline affiliation with the SPHL. "This rollercoaster ride is not fair to our fans, our sponsors, and also our employees. I truly thought the WHA would bring stability to the Seals, we will just see what will happen. But, all fans should take heart and note the Seals will be in Orlando next season and for years to come."

SEALS INTERN TURNS PRO

Carr to Become Media Liaison

June 23, 2004

The Orlando Seals announced Wednesday that Sheli Carr would replace Steve McCall as Director of Media Relations. Carr takes over these duties immediately following McCall’s departure for Tulsa and the Central Hockey League. McCall’s broadcasting role will be filled at a later date.

“No one can replace Steve. He has an extraordinary gift when it comes to working with people,” Carr said. “I can only do my best to be me while at the same time making good use of the skills he taught me during my time as an intern.”

Carr began her tenure with the Seals as an intern during the 2002-03 season, assisting on game nights to manage the press box and distribute media notes. In 2003-04 she was responsible for post-game reporting of game statistics to local media outlets, including a written game report for the team website. Carr has served as team office manager since April.

“The transition should be a smooth one, as Sheli is familiar with the day-to-day operations of this team as well as with game night protocol,” said General Manager Chris LiPuma. “She worked hard to get where she is and I know she will be a valuable asset to the team.”

The Seals are currently accepting season ticket applications for the 2004-05 season. For more information call the Seals at (407) 447-PUCK (7825).

SEALS, BARRACUDAS SALE STOPS

Waronker Terminates Negotiations

June 18, 2004

David Waronker, owner of the Orlando Seals has announced negotiations to transfer ownership of the Seals and the Jacksonville Barracudas to Star Leaf Sports, of Calgary, Alberta have ceased, and that Waronker will retain control of the two teams.

“My wife Ruth and I along with our other shareholders entered the negotiations with the hope that the transaction could be completed as the buyer had indicated in an original letter of intent. However, circumstances outside of our control have prevented the sale being closed. So in order to best move ahead, we will retain controlling interest of both franchises,” Waronker said.

“Along with both team’s other shareholders, we have been disappointed that certain aspects of the original letter of intent have not been met by the buyer. These include lack of the required deposit, and a request not to make any announcements about the pending sale or operational matters. The buyer had not placed the deposit in escrow, and has made media announcements of coaching decisions in both cities. They have also indicated in a story to the Orlando newspaper they plan to change the name. All of this has taken place without a signed deal. We will not jeopardize two strong championship franchises for a buyer who has failed to prove he is capable of finalizing the transaction,” Waronker said. “We feel bad for the fans, sponsors, and anyone affected by the unfounded speculation of the sale of the teams. We feel most sorry for our employees who had to endure a roller coaster ride for the past three weeks. That includes Jim Paek, Ron Duguay, Butch Groing, and Zac Boyer who were promised coaching positions by the potential buyer before the deal was consummated. We just had to put an end to the madness.”

The Seals and Barracudas will remain in the Southern Hockey League for the 2004-05 season. Waronker said ending the sale process will allow both teams to move ahead with the planning process for next season. “We expect that we will start the season with at least eight franchises. We have four months to promote and sell Seals and Barracudas hockey. Our coaching staffs also have four months to put together their championship teams.

“Naturally our fans and our corporate partners had legitimate questions about what was happening with the teams,” Waronker said. “By ending the speculation about the sale and ceasing negotiations it lets us proceed in a manner that is fair to our fans, partners, and other teams in the SHL. We also wish good luck to the WHA as it continues to locate suitable venues and legitimate ownership groups to start its first season. The Founders of the WHA are trying very hard to get their league off the ground, they have a very strong business plan and both the Seals and Barracudas anticipate working with the WHA in any reasonable way possible to help them get started in October, 2004.”

The Seals and Barracudas are currently accepting season ticket applications for the 2004-05 season. For more information call the Seals at (407) 447-PUCK (7825) or the Barracudas at (904) 367-1ICE (1423).

PAEK TO RETURN BEHIND BENCH

June 1, 2004

Seals Coach Coming Back

Jim Paek will return for a second season behind the bench for the Orlando Seals as the team’s coach.

Paek and Seals owner David Waronker have agreed to terms that will have the two-time Stanley Cup champion coaching the Seals for the 2004-05 Southern Hockey League season. Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.

“My family and I have really grown to like it here and the fans have treated me very well,” Paek said. “With some different teams in the league, it’ll be an interesting season for sure.”

“I know Jim wants to improve on the team’s record from last season, and getting him on board earlier than last season will help him in recruiting,” Waronker said.

Under Paek, the Seals had their second straight winning season with a 27-25-5 record. He also coached the WHA2 league all-stars to a victory over the host Jacksonville Barracudas in the league all-star game.

Paek will be entering his second season as a coach, following a 16 year professional playing career in which he was a member of two Turner Cup champion teams in the International Hockey League and won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992.

The SHL will play a 60 game schedule beginning in October and currently features eight teams in Asheville, NC; Huntsville, AL; Jacksonville, FL; Lakeland, FL; Macon, GA; Orlando, FL; Pelham, AL and Winston-Salem, NC. Plans are for the SHL to begin the 2004-05 season with eight to 10 teams.

The Seals are currently accepting season ticket applications for the 2004-05 season. For more information call the Seals at (407) 447-PUCK (7825).

SEALS SEE LEAGUE CHANGE NAMES

April 27, 2004

EHL Becomes SHL

The Eastern Hockey League has announced it will change its name to the Southern Hockey League, immediately and be known by that name when play starts in the 2004-05 season.

The change was made to avoid confusion with the ECHL, which was known as the East Coast Hockey League, until this past season. ECHL officials had expressed concern that fans may confuse the EHL and ECHL.

Speaking on behalf of the new Southern Hockey League, David Waronker, owner of the Orlando Seals, Jacksonville Barracudas, and Macon Trax, said, “As we try to establish our own identity and the ECHL raised its concerns about the similarity of the names, we looked at the situation and agreed. So a new name is the best way for us to differentiate ourselves and keep our fans focused on our teams.

The Seals are currently accepting season ticket applications for the 2004-05 season. For more information call the Seals at (407) 447-PUCK (7825).

SEALS MAKE PAYMENT TO CITY

April 25, 2004

Waronker Pleased With Lease Revisions

The Orlando Seals and city of Orlando have revised the terms of the hockey’s team’s lease with the city, assuring the Seals future for the 2004-05 season and beyond.

Seals owner David Waronker has made a $50,000 payment to the city, towards reducing the Seals debt from the 2003-04 season.

“This is a very positive step for the Seals and our fans, and with the other revisions to our lease agreement that we’re finalizing with the city, the Seals will be able to move forward with a much brighter financial future,” Waronker said.

“I feel very confident we are going to play Seals hockey next season, and this is a step forward,” Jon Dorman, Orlando Centroplex deputy director said.

The Seals are currently accepting season ticket applications for the 2004-05 season. For more information call the Seals at (407) 447-PUCK (7825).

Curtain Comes Down

April 4, 2004

That’s A Wrap: The Orlando Seals will conclude their regular season this afternoon hosting the Macon Trax.

Records: The Seals are 27-24-5 with a .527 percentage in fifth place in WHA2.

Macon is 29-20-6 with a .582 percentage in third place in WHA2.

Season Series: The Seals and Manatees are meeting for the 13th time this season. The Seals are 6-6-0, with one of the wins coming in a shootout. Half of the previous 12 meetings have been decided by a 2-1 score, and there have been two other one goal games, so eight of the 12 contests have been decided by one goal. The Seals won the most recent contest between the two teams, 4-1 in Macon on Friday night.

Recent Results: The Seals saw their two game winning streak come to an end last night in a 6-4 loss at Jacksonville. Macon rewrote the WHA2 record book last night, in a 14-2 romp over Lakeland.

Power Play: Seals 41-233 17.6% 5th Macon 45-230 19.6% 4th

Penalty Kill: Seals 167-209 79.9% 3rd Macon 218-251 86.9% 1st

Who’s Missing?: Last night’s results solidified the WHA2 playoff picture, and the Seals loss eliminated them from playoff contention. The top four teams in order are Jacksonville, Alabama, Macon and Miami. Jacksonville will play Miami in one semi-final series, while Alabama will play Macon. The semi-finals and league final series will all be best of three series.

Sniper Battle: While playoff positions are determined there a couple of key individual races that will be affected by today’s game. Macon’s David Deeves is one point ahead of the Seals’ B.J. Stephens in the overall points race, but Stephens leads Deeves by three in the goal scoring race.

Next Up: The Seals will be off until next season. Season tickets are now available by calling 407-447 PUCK (7825) and at www.orlandoseals.com.

Seals Win 8-4

April 2, 2004

Heath Gordon and Jerry Keefe each scored two goals for the Orlando Seals in an 8-4 win over the Miami Manatees on Thursday night at TD Waterhouse Centere. The victory keeps the Seals hopes alive for one of the final playoff spots in WHA2.

Gordon had the lone goal in the first period, before a goal filled second period in which the Seals outscored Miami 5-3. Gordon, who was a college teammate of Keefe's at Providence College, set up Keefe's first goal of the night, that gave the Seals a 4-2 lead midway through the second period.

The Seals play at Macon on Friday night, and need to win that game to keep their playoff hopes alive. Game time is 7:35 p.m. and can be heard at www.IRN.FM.

First Period 1. ORl-Heath Gordon 3 (unassisted) 17:20

Second Period 2. Orl-Brad Federenko 24 (Seamus Galligan, Mike Fournier) pp. 3:52;3. Mia-Darren Cain 12 (Tom Perry, Trevor Socholotuk) pp. 9:01; 4. Orl-Jamie Muswagon 6 (Jerry Keefe, Galligan) 10:54; 5. Mia-Garrett Dionne 4 (unassisted)11:10; 6. Orl-Keefe 6 (Gordon)12:42; 7. Orl-B.J. Stephens 35 (unassisted) 16.38; 8. Mia-Dan Donnette 12 (Perry) 17:14; 9. Orl-Gordon 4 (Stephens, Jason Elders) pp. 19:52;

Third Period 10. Orl-Keefe 7 (Mike Fournier) 2:29; 11. Mia-Donnette 13 (Cain, Perry) pp. 8:54. 12. Orl-Elders 32 (Ryan Anderson) 17:10

Goals by Period 1 2 3 T
Miami 0 3 1 4
Orlando 1 5 2 8

Shots On Goal 1 2 3 T
Miami 16 14 8 38
Orlando 10 18 16 44

Goaltenders--ORL-David Goverde (19-16-3; 38 shots 34 saves) MIA-Al Rooney (1-1-0; 44 shots 36 saves)

Power play opportunities: ORL- 2 of 4; MIA 2 of 6

Must Win Time

April 1, 2004

Victory Needed: The Orlando Seals need a win against the Miami Manatees tonight to keep their playoff hopes alive. A Miami win will clinch a playoff berth for the Manatees.

Records: The Seals are 25-23-5 with a .519 percentage in fifth place in WHA2.

Manatees are 24-15-5 with a .602 percentage in third place in WHA2.

Season Series: The Seals and Manatees are meeting for the 11th time this season. The Seals are 4-4-2. And one of Orlando’s wins also came in overtime, so three of the previous ten games have gone past regulation time. The Manatees won the last meeting, 6-5 in Orlando last Thursday.

Recent Results: The Seals dropped their fifth straight game, and third straight one goal decision in a 2-1 loss at Macon last Saturday night. The Manatees have not played since their win last Thursday over the Seals.

Power Play: Seals 37-217 17.05% 6th Manatees 45-210 21.42% 2nd

Penalty Kill: Seals 155-194 79.89% 3rd Manatees 149-193 77.20% 6th

Paek’s Back: Seals head coach Jim Paek returns behind the bench tonight, after serving a 10 game league suspension, handed down after the game of February 5 in Jacksonville. The Seals were 3-7-0 during Paek’s suspension.

Goal-Den Touch: Right winger B.J. Stephens is closing in on the league goal scoring crown. Stephens has 34 goals to lead the league, one ahead of Macon’s David Deeves.

Playoff Picture: It’s not bright for the Seals, but also not hopeless. The Seals need to win their remaining four games while having Miami lose its four remaining games OR have Macon lose its remaining three games in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Next Up: The Seals hit the road to play in Macon tomorrow at 7:35 p.m. and play at Jacksonville Saturday at 7:05 p.m. The Seals return home Sunday against Macon at 4:05 p.m. All Seals games are available on the internet at www.IRN.FM.

(Macon, GA) March 19, 2004 – The Orlando Seals picked up a valuable win Thursday night as they defeated the Macon Trax 2-1. The win lifts Orlando into the fourth and final playoff spot in WHA2 with a .573 winning percentage.

Steve Zoryk put Macon on the board early in the first, netting his 29th goal of the season to put the Trax up 1-0 only 1:14 into the contest. It was the only offense the Trax could assemble as David Goverde shut the door through the remaining 58:46 of play. Goverde made 34 saves on the night en route to his 18th victory of the season.

Mike Sanderson tied the game 1-1 late in the first period. B.J. Stephens put Orlando ahead to stay in the third with his league-leading 32nd goal of the season. Stephens also pulled into a five-way tie for most game-winning goals this season with six.

Orlando continues its three game road trip Friday night in Jacksonville at 7:05 p.m. The Seals next home game is Thursday March 25 against the Manatees, also at 7:05 p.m. All games can be heard at www.IRN.FM.

Orlando 1-0-1 - 2
Macon 1-0-0 - 1

First period - 1, MAC, Zoryk 29 (Murphy, Dickson), 1:14; 2, ORL, Sanderson 20 (Jelinek, Sadiki), 17:46.
Second period - None.
Third period - 3, ORL, Stephens 32 (Federenko, Elders), 9:11.
Shots – Orlando 7-11-9–27; Macon 11-12-12–35. Power plays – Orlando 0-1; Macon 0-2.
Goaltenders – Orlando, Goverde 18-12-3 (35 shots, 34 saves); Macon, Faulkner 14-11-2 (27-25).

Seals 8, Manatees 4

March 14, 2004 - (Orlando, FL) – The Orlando Seals had seven players with multiple-points and racked up a season-high seven goals in the third period to catapult over the Manatees 8-4.

The Manatees pulled out to a 3-1 lead after two periods on goals by Kevin Swider, Dan Donnette, and Josh Liebenow.

Jamie Muswagon started the Seals comeback with his 5th goal of the season. Tomas Jelinek connected with Muswagon in the slot who tucked the puck behind Eric Scanlan to draw the Seals within one. Seamus Galligan’s first of two on the night tied the game 3-3.

Jelinek found the back of the net 1:10 later, breaking into the Manatees’ zone and flipping the puck over Scanlan’s right shoulder for a 4-3 Orlando lead. Miami got one back 13 seconds later on Swider’s second of the game but Orlando followed with four unanswered goals to win their second game in three tries.

Heath Gordon, Brad Federenko, and Mike Sanderson also had goals for Orlando.

The Seals take to the road Thursday as they head to Macon to face the Trax at 7:05 p.m. Their next home game is Thursday, March 25th at 7:05 p.m. All games can be heard at www.IRN.FM.

Miami 2-1-1 – 4

Orlando 1-0-7 – 8

First period – 1, MIA, Swider 19 (LeColst, Liebenow), 4:35; 2, MIA, Donnette 11 (LeColst, Cabana), 12:35; 3, ORL, Sanderson 18 (Sadiki), 13:19.

Second period – 4, MIA, Liebenow 9 (Swider), 5:15.

Third period – 5, ORL, Muswagon 5 (Jelinek, LiPuma), 3:17; 6, ORL, Galligan 13 (Keefe, Gordon), 5:02; 7, ORL, Jelinek 4 (Muswagon), 6:12; 8, MIA, Swider 20 (LeColst), 6:25; 9, ORL, Galligan 14 (unassisted), 9:25; 10, ORL, Gordon 1 (Keefe, LiPuma), 17:03; 11, Federenko 23 (Stephens, Elders), 17:44; 12, ORL, Sanderson 18 (Muswagon), 18:42.

Shots – Miami 6-12-7–25; Orlando 12-9-16–37. Power plays – Miami 0-2; Orlando 0-2.

Goaltenders – Miami, Scanlan 1-1 (37 shots, 29 saves); Orlando, Goverde 17-12-3 (25-21).

Loggerheads 3, Seals 2

March 9, 2004

Orlando – The Orlando Seals still cannot find a way to win, dropping their eighth straight decision Tuesday night in a 3-2 loss to the Lakeland Loggerheads. Two former Seals lead the way as Joe Seroski had two goals and Chris Cerrella netted the game-winner for the Loggerheads.

Cerrella’s 15th goal of the season came with only 2 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in regulation to put Lakeland on top to stay, despite being outshot 36 to 27.

B.J. Stephens put the Seals on the board first. Stephens collected the puck in the corner and skated toward the front of the net, backhanding the puck between Carl Poissant’s skate and the goal post for a 1-0 Orlando Lead.

Lakeland answered with less than a minute left in the first period on Seroski’s first goal of the night.

Seamus Galligan’s goal at 7:48 of the second period put the Seals in front 2-1. Galligan and new Seal Heath Gordon entered the Lakeland zone on a 2-on-0 breakaway. As Galligan attempted the cross-ice pass to Gordon, the trailing Lakeland defender illegally threw his stick to break up the play. On the ensuing penalty shot, Galligan wristed a shot low to Carl Poissant’s glove side for his 11th goal of the season.

Seroski tied it up again for the Loggerheads with a laser shot that beat David Goverde high glove side for a 2-2 hockey game.

The Seals and Loggerheads face off again Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. in the Tank. That game will be available on the internet at www.IRN.FM.

Lakeland 1-1-1 – 3

Orlando 1-1-0 – 2

First period – 1, ORL, Stephens 29 (Federenko, Elders), 16:11; 2, LAK, Seroski 14 (Spiller, Glowa), 19:17.

Second period – 3, ORL, Galligan 11 (unassisted), 7:48 (ps); 4, LAK, Seroski 15 (Cerrella, Clouston), 16:09.

Third period – 5, LAK, Cerrella 15 (Harper, Bonanno), 17:45.

Shots – Lakeland 7-11-9–27; Orlando 16-8-12–36. Power plays – Lakeland 0-1; Orlando 0-1.

Goaltenders – Lakeland, Poissant 4-12-3 (36 shots, 34 saves); Orlando, Goverde 15-12-3 (27-23).

Attendance – 2846

STANDINGS TAKE ON DIFFERENT LOOK

March 9, 2004

Winning Pct. Priority Over Points

The Orlando Seals of WHA2 are revising the way they release the team’s standing in its official news releases, to reflect the team’s accurate playoff standing.

“With the league determining that the Manatees will now play only road games, and playoff seedings will be determined by winning percentage instead of points, our information to fans will reflect that. In terms of points, the Seals are behind Macon, but the Seals are ahead in winning percentage,” Seals public relations director Steve McCall said. “Because teams will have a different number of games played at the end of the season, we want to keep our fans abreast of where the Seals stand in the playoff picture.”

McCall said team releases for the rest of the season will list the Seals standing based on winning percentage. The current league standings would see two changes based on winning percentage over points. Miami has a higher winning percentage than Alabama, and thus is technically in second place now, and the Seals have a higher winning percentage than Macon, and thus are technically now in fourth place.

The current standings based on winning percentage: Jacksonville .677; Miami .622; Alabama .606; Orlando .570; Macon .543; Lakeland .278.

The top four teams based on winning percentage qualify for the WHA2 playoffs, with 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 in a best of three series. The winners of those series will meet in the final series which will also be best of three.

All Seals games are broadcast via the internet at www.IRN.FM. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, and online at www.ticketmaster.com. For more information call the Seals at (407) 447-PUCK (7825).

SEALS SEE LOGGERHEADS, SLAMMERS !

(22-16-5 49 Points, 5th in WHA2)

4 Games, 2 Foes: The Orlando Seals will have four games this week, playing two different teams as they host the Lakeland Loggerheads on Tuesday and Thursday with each game starting at 7:05 p.m. Thursday’s game is a Real Radio 104.1 Thirsty Thursday. On Friday the Seals travel to Alabama for an 8:05 p.m. (eastern time) face off with the Slammers and then return home for a rematch with the Slammers on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. Tuesday’s game with Lakeland can be heard on AM 740 The Team. All Seals games are available on the internet at www.IRN.FM.

Luck Of The Irish: For the second straight season, Renal Dynamics is teaming with the Seals to present special St. Patrick’s Day jerseys. The Seals will wear the Renal Dynamics St. Patrick’s jerseys on Sunday against Alabama. Fans at the games will have the opportunity ot bid on the game worn jerseys.

Week In Review: The Seals spotted both their opponents big leads last week and had rallies come up short. After falling behind 4-0 in the first eight minutes, the Seals fell 5-4 to the Macon Trax on Thursday night. The Seals trailed Jacksonville 4-1 at one point in the first period, before losing 6-4 Friday night.

Hats Off: The Seals registered hat tricks in back to back games for the first time this season when Mike Sanderson had three goals against Macon, and Jason Elders scored three times against Jacksonville.

Have A Seat: As the result of a third period fracas in Jacksonville, WHA2 has issued seven suspensions, five to the Seals, and two to Jacksonville. Seals coach Jim Paek, and Nello Ferrera (10 games each), Ryan Anderson (6) and Mike Sanderson and Ridvan Sadiki (1 game each) all received suspensions. Jacksonville coach Ron Duguay (10) and Dan Pszenyczny (1) are the suspended Barracudas.

Got Tickets?: 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).

March 5, 2004

SEALS HAVE WEEKEND OFF

Miami Transfer Shuffles Schedule

The transfer of the Miami Manatees franchise to central Florida announced earlier this week by WHA2, is creating some adjustments for the Orlando Seals weekend schedule.

The Seals play Friday night in Jacksonville at 7:05 p.m., but their game on Saturday with Miami has been postponed. No make up date is yet available for that game. The Seals next home game is Tuesday March 9 against the Lakeland Loggerheads at 7:05 p.m. That game will be broadcast on AM 740 The Team.

Later this month, on March 26th and 27th, the Seals have road games at Lakeland and Macon, respectively. Those are inadvertently listed as home games on the team’s pocket schedule.

WHA2 ANNOUNCES MIAMI FRANCHISE MOVE

March 3, 2004

CELEBRATION, Fla. – The World Hockey Association 2 (WHA2) today announced that the Miami Manatees will relocate to Central Florida.

“With the cancellation clause of the Miami Arena lease exercised, we had to find a new home for the Manatees.” WHA2 Chairman of the Board David Waronker said. “We believe that the Central Florida area will welcome the Manatees and the move will also ease the travel burdens of the other five teams.”

The Miami Manatees games scheduled for this upcoming weekend will be rescheduled. The entire revised home schedule for the Manatees will be released soon.

To request a refund for season tickets, please email Jenn Green at jenn@wha2.com or mail your request to Jenn Green, WHA2, 901 Begonia Road, Celebration, Florida 34347.

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. Games are broadcast on www.irn.fm.

SEALS WITH THREE GAME WEEK !

March 1, 2004 (Orlando, FL)

(22-14-5 49 Points, 4th in WHA2)

Three On Tap: Starting with another Thirsty Thursday, the Orlando Seals will play three games this week. The Seals host the Macon Trax on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. at TD Waterhouse Centre in the next Real Radio 104.1 Thirsty Thursday night. The Seals then have two road against Jacksonville Friday at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday against Miami at 7:05 p.m. All games are available on the internet at www.IRN.FM.

Slump Busters: The Seals are looking to end a five game winless streak, after a 9-4 loss to Miami last Thursday and a 2-1 loss to Macon on Saturday. The Seals game scheduled for Lakeland on Sunday was postponed due to unplayable ice conditions. No make up date has yet been set.

Ouch: Jamie Muswagon and Simon Duplessis both suffered concussions against Miami that had them miss the Saturday game with Macon. Their status for the games this week is yet to be determined.

Eight Was Enough: Mike Sanderson stretched his scoring streak to eight games against Miami (3 G 5A), and saw it end in the loss to Macon.

Getting There: Goaltender David Goverde, out with a knee injury since February 10th, was back in uniform as the back up goalie to Sean Varriale the last two games. Mike Correia remains on the injured reserve list. The Seals have waived goaltender Shad Higginbotham.

Got Tickets?: 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).

Trax 2, Seals 1

February 28, 2004 (Orlando, FL) – Craig Miller’s goal with 1 minute, 56 seconds remaining in the first period lifted the Macon Trax to a 2-1 victory over the Orlando Seals Saturday at TD Waterhouse Centre.

Orlando falls to 0-4-1 in its last five and finishes February with a 2-5-3 record for the month. The Seals also drop to fourth place in WHA2 standings with Alabama’s 6-5 overtime victory at Miami.

Former Seal Matt Brown gave the Trax a 1-0 lead at 9:21 of the first, beating Sean Varriale for his 2nd goal of the season and his first with Macon.

B.J. Stephens tied it at 1-1 with less than three minutes left in the first. Stephens out-muscled the Macon defender and managed to get a one-handed shot off, simply sweeping the puck along the goal line. The puck bounced off the skate of Macon goaltender Andy Kollar and into the net for Stephens’ 28th of the season. The tally puts Stephens one behind Miami’s Oak Hewer for the league-lead.

Kollar was strong in net for Macon, stopping 39 of the 40 shots he faced, including several point blank attempts by the Seals.

The Seals travel to Lakeland Sunday for a 4:05 p.m. start. This is a change from the original 7:05 p.m. face off. The game will be joined in progress on AM 740 The Team early in the first period. The game can also be heard at www.IRN.FM.

Macon 2-0-0 – 2

Orlando 1-0-0 – 1

First period – 1, MAC, Brown 2 (Gurskis, Solari), 9:21; 2, ORL, Stephens 28 (Sadiki), 17:14; 3, MAC, Miller 18 (Murray), 18:04.

Second period – None.

Third period – None.

Shots – Macon 9-10-5–24; Orlando 12-9-15–40. Power plays – Macon 0-0; Orlando 0-3.

Goaltenders – Macon, Kollar 8-8-3 (40 shots, 39 saves); Orlando, Varriale 0-3-1 (24-22).

Attendance – 4056

Manatees 9, Seals 4

February 26, 2004 (Orlando, FL) – The Orlando Seals gave up the most goals in franchise history Thursday night in a 9-4 thrashing at the hands of the Miami Manatees. Oak Hewer had a game-high 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in the victory for the Manatees.

The two teams battled back and forth in the first period. Miami tallied first on Oak Hewer’s league-leading 28th goal of the season but Jason Elders answered only 30 seconds later with a power play goal for a 1-1 game. Chris LiPuma’s shot from the left wing circle was stopped by Miami goaltender Sean Weaver but Elders collected the rebound on the right wing side and wristed the puck into the open net for his 23rd of the season.

Greg LeColst made it 2-1 Miami only to see the lead disappear again just over a minute later on Simon Duplessis’ 6th of the season. Mike Sanderson’s assist on the play extended his point streak to eight games with 3 goals and 5 assists in that span.

Tom Kotsopoulos tallied two more for Miami and B.J. Stephens added another Seals’ power play goal for a 4-3 Miami lead after one period.

The shooting match continued in the second, as Miami’s Darren Cain beat Shad Higginbotham to put the Manatees up 5-3. Stephens’ second goal of the game drew the Seals within one at 5-4 but that would be all the Seals could muster as Miami scored four unanswered goals, including a shorthanded goal in the latter half of the second, for the 9-4 triumph.

The Seals look to get back in the win column Saturday night when the Macon Trax come to town for a 7:35 p.m. start. Prior to that is the Guns and Hoses game for the benefit of Special Olympics at 1 p.m. Tickets for the doubleheader are available at gunsandhosestickets@hotmail.com. All Seals games can be heard at www.IRN.FM.

Miami 4-2-3 – 9

Orlando 3-1-0 – 4

First period – 1, MIA, Hewer 28 (Swider), 7:14; 2, ORL, Elders 23 (LiPuma, Federenko), 7:42 (pp); 3, MIA, LeColst 21 (Vanc, Kotsopoulos), 10:14; 4, ORL, Duplessis 6 (Sanderson, Jelinek), 11:15; 5, MIA, Kotsopoulos 9 (Johnson, McCarthy), 13:00; 6, ORL, Stephens 26 (LiPuma, Federenko), 13:32 (pp); 7, MIA, Kotsopoulos 10 (Vanc, McCarthy), 18:43.

Second period – 8, MIA, Cain 9 (Cabana, Donnette), 4:40; 9, ORL, Stephens 27 (LiPuma, Pecoraro), 11:20 (pp); 10, MIA, Hewer 29 (Swider), 13:50 (sh).

Third period – 11, MIA, Donnette 10 (Howard, Cain), 6:37; 12, MIA, LeColst 22 (Hewer, Howard), 14:02; 13, MIA, Swider 16 (Socholotuk, Hewer), 15:10.

Shots – Miami 11-10-10–31; Orlando 9-16-12–37. Power plays – Miami 0-1; Orlando 3-6.

Goaltenders – Miami, Weaver 13-7-3 (37 shots, 33 saves); Orlando, Varriale (13:00, 8-5), Higginbotham 1-1 (47:00, 23-17).

Attendance – 2120.

GUNS AND HOSES HIGHLIGHT WEEK!

February 23, 2004

(22-12-5 49 Points, 2nd in WHA2)

Heroes On Ice: The Orlando Seals play three games this week, hosting the Miami Manatees on Thursday at TD Waterhouse Centre at 7:05 p.m.; hosting the Macon Trax, Saturday at 7:35 (preceded by the 6th Guns and Hoses charity game for the benefit of the Special Olympics at 1 p.m.); and then Sunday the Seals visit the Lakeland Loggerheads at 4:05 p.m.

Time Change: Sunday’s game at Lakeland has been moved to 4:05 from its original 7:05 start time. Sunday’s game will also be broadcast on AM 740 The Team. The game will be joined in progress, early in the first period on AM 740. All Seals games are available on the internet at www.IRN.FM.

Happy Times: The Seals will be at a couple of area events throughout the week. Coach Jim Paek and goaltender Sean Varriale will be on hand at Kerryman’s Pub in Longwood, Monday night at 7 p.m. for the Seals Hockey Happy Hour. On Tuesday the Seals will be on hand at the Mardi Gras Celebration at Sam Snead’s Metro West, 2461 S. Hiawassee Road at 7 p.m.

Not So Happy Times: The Seals maintain second place in WHA2 in spite of gaining only one point last week. The Seals dropped a wild 7-6 overtime decision to Alabama on Thursday, lost 4-2 at Jacksonville on Saturday and lost 2-1 to Macon at home on Saturday.

Make A Date: On Saturday the first 1,500 fans for the Seals game (not including the Guns and Hose game at 1 p.m.) will receive a Kraft Insurance Seals 14 month (April 2008-April 2008) Calendar.

Got Tickets?: 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).

Trax 2, Seals 1

February 22, 2004

Orlando – The Orlando Seals continue to face goaltending woes as they dropped their third straight game Sunday afternoon with a 2-1 loss to the Macon Trax. Mike Fournier had the only goal for Orlando.

Orlando continues to play without their top goaltending tandem as both David Goverde and Mike Correia continue to nurse knee injuries.

The Trax struck first, scoring on only their second shot of the game. John Gurskis streaked into the Seals zone on the left wing side for a good shot. Varriale made the initial save but could not contain the rebound that fell right on the stick of Edan Welsh at the opposite side of the goal crease. Welsh snapped a shot into the open net for a 1-0 Macon lead.

Orlando killed off three power plays in the first period, including a 16 second two-man advantage to remain within one goal.

The Seals knotted the score at 1-1 just over half-way through the second period on Fournier’s chip shot over a sprawling Geoff Faulkner. After Mike Sanderson made the initial play around the Macon net, Fournier drove hard to the net from the blue line, gaining the inside position on the defender to notch his 4th goal this season.

Macon regained the lead late in the second on a power play tally from Gurskis with only 38 seconds remaining in the period. Faulkner’s 15 saves in the third period kept the Seals from tying the game and improved his record to 11-9-2.

The Seals host Miami on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. All Seals games can be heard at www.IRN.FM.

Macon 1-1-0 – 2

Orlando 0-1-0 – 1

First period – 1, MAC, Welch 10 (Gurskis), 2:47.

Second period – 2, ORL, Fournier 4 (Sanderson, Anderson), 11:29; 3, MAC, Gurskis 18 (Welch, Cotnoir), 19:22 (pp).

Third period – None.

Shots – Macon 12-8-13–33; Orlando 7-9-12–28. Power plays – Macon 1-7; Orlando 0-1.

Goaltenders – Macon, Faulkner 11-9-2 (28 shots, 27 saves); Orlando, Varriale 0-2-1 (33-31).

Attendance – 4286.

The Trax Of Time: The Orlando Seals take on the Macon Trax this afternoon, starting the calendar week, the same way they will end it on Saturday, also hosting Macon.

February 22, 2004

Records: The Seals are 22-11-5 with 49 points in second place in WHA2.

Macon is 17-17-5 with 39 points in fifth place in WHA2.

Season Series: These two teams will be meeting for the seventh time this season, with the Seals holding a 4-2 edge, after Macon won the first two games of the season between the two teams. The Seals won the most recent match-up, 3-2 in a shootout here on January 28th.

Recent Results: The Seals dropped a 4-2 decision last night in Jacksonville, with the final goal being scored with just 38 seconds left. Macon, which is playing its sixth straight road game today, won last night, 4-3 in Alabama.

Power Play: Seals 29-160 18.1% 5th Macon 35-175 20.0% 4th

Penalty Kill: Seals 110-141 78.0% 2nd Macon 159-186 85.5% 1st

Jerry Mandering: Center Jerry Keefe is on loan to Charlotte of the ECHL. He did not have any points in a 4-3 shootout loss to Greensboro last night. Mark White remains with Florida of the ECHL, where he has one goal and is a +2 in three games.

Bad Boy: Jamie Muswagon scored for the Seals last night, his fourth goal in 12 games with the team. But he did have a first…he picked up his first penalty of the season.

Six Pack: Brad Federenko and Mike Sanderson each extended their point streaks to six games last night. Federenko has four goals and seven assists in the last half dozen games, while Sanderson has four goals and two assists in that same stretch.

Next Up: The Seals host Miami on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. All Seals games can be heard at www.IRN.FM.

Slammers 7, Seals 6 OT

February 20, 2004

Orlando – The Orlando Seals fought hard for the equalizer but were unable to come up with the game-winner, as the Chad Peck beat Orlando goaltender Sean Varriale with 35 seconds left in overtime in Alabama’s 7-6 victory Thursday night at the TD Waterhouse Centre.

After being down by three goals or more on three separate occasions, the Seals pulled off a miraculous four-goal rally to tie the game 6-6 at the end of regulation. Brad Federenko’s second of the game – his 20th of the season – with an empty net in the Seals’ zone tied the game to send the Seals to their 11th overtime contest this season.

The Slammers took advantage of the Seals early in the first as Mike Craigen scored on a one-timer on the left wing doorstep for a 1-0 Alabama lead.

Jerry Kresac made it 2-0 on a breakaway less than two minutes later, finding the back of the net through the five-hole of Shad Higginbotham. Chad Peck and Justin Schabes each added power play tallies for Alabama for a comfortable 4-0 lead after one period of play.

Orlando showed some life in the second period, drilling 23 shots on goal in the second period after managing only 7 shots in the first.

Brad Federenko and Doug Lawrence swapped goals in the second for a 5-1 game before Jason Elders netted his first of two on the night to make it 5-2 Alabama.

The Seals rallied in the third period. After Peck’s second of the night put Alabama up 6-2, Orlando scored 4 unanswered goals for a one-goal game.

Elders’ second goal of the game 5 minutes, 10 seconds into the third made it 6-3. Mike Fournier and Simon Duplessis then notched goals 42 seconds apart to make it a one-goal game at 6-5.

Orlando could not capitalize on several opportunities in overtime, despite several odd man breaks. In the end, it was Peck’s third goal of the game – his 12th of the season – that lifted the Slammers to their third victory in as many games with the Seals.

The Seals play in Jacksonville on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. That game will be broadcast on AM 740 The Team. The next home game is Sunday at 4:05 p.m. against the Macon Trax. All Seals games can be heard at www.IRN.FM.

Alabama 4-1-1-1 – 7

Orlando 0-2-4-0 – 6

First period – 1, ALA, Craigen 7 (Quinnell), 6:24; 2, ALA, Kresac 17 (Schabes), 8:11; 3, ALA, Peck 10 (Paterson, Prentice), 14:33 (pp); 4, ALA, Schabes 3 (Paterson, Lawrence), 19:45 (pp).

Second period – 5, ORL, Federenko 19 (Elders, Stephens), 3:22; 6, ALA, Lawrence 24 (Quinnell), 9:50; 7, ORL, Elders 21 (LiPuma, Stephens), 10:33.

Third period – 8, ALA, Peck 11 (Lawrence, Kresac), 1:43 (pp); 9, ORL, Elders 22 (Federenko, Stephens), 5:10 (pp); 10, ORL, Fournier 3 (Federenko), 9:26; 11, ORL, Duplessis 5 (Fournier, Muswagon), 9:58; 12, ORL, Federenko 20 (Pecoraro, Sanderson), 18:29.

Overtime – 13, ALA, Peck 12 (Paterson, Lawrence), 4:25.

Shots – Alabama 16-4-9-4–33; Orlando 7-23-14-4–47. Power plays – Alabama 3-4; Orlando 2-4.

Goaltenders – Alabama, Ronayne 13-7-3 (47 shots, 41 saves); Orlando, Higginbotham (16-12), Varriale 0-1 (17-14).

Attendance – 3090.

It’s Slammer Time: The Orlando Seals host the Alabama Slammers tonight, in the final game of a four game homestand for the Seals.

Thursday Feb. 19, 2004

Records: The Seals are 22-10-4 with 48 points in second place in WHA2.

Alabama is 21-15-3 with 45 points in fourth place in WHA2.

Season Series: These two teams will be meeting for the seventh time this season, with each team having won three previous games. One of Alabama’s wins was a 1-0 shootout victory on December 6th. Alabama has won the last two meetings between the two teams, the most recent a 5-3 win here at TD Waterhouse Centre on January 17th.

Recent Results: The Seals had a four goal game from Seamus Galligan en route to their biggest offensive output of the season in a 7-2 win over the Lakeland Loggerheads on Sunday afternoon. Alabama had a three game winning streak end in a 3-1 loss at Jacksonville on Saturday night.

Power Play: Seals 26-153 17.0% 6th Alabama 34-145 23.4% 1st

Penalty Kill: Seals 107-135 79.3% 3rd Alabama 156-198 78.8% 5th

White Flight: Defenseman Mark White has joined the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. The Seals maintain his playing rights in WHA2. White, an alternate captain for the Seals, had a goal for Florida on Tuesday night, and the Everblades offered him a spot in their line-up. He is third among WHA2 defensemen in scoring with five goals and 23 assists for 28 points.

Next: Almost like a barbershop, the continued injuries to goaltenders David Goverde and Mike Correia have Seals coach Jim Paek scouring the country for goaltenders available to play, and calling out “NEXT!” Shad Higginbotham is expected to start his third straight game tonight after posting his first win on Sunday. Tonight’s back up is expected to be Sean Varriale who was in training camp with Roanoke of the ECHL at the beginning of the season.

Next Up: The Seals play at Jacksonville on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. That game will be broadcast on AM 740 The Team. The next home game is Sunday at 4:05 p.m. against the Macon Trax. All Seals games can be heard at www.IRN.FM.

WHITE STAYS WITH FLORIDA

February 19, 2004

Seals Defenseman Moves To ECHL

Orlando Seals defenseman Mark White made the most of his opportunity on loan to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. So much so, Florida has signed him to a contract.

“It’s a good opportunity for Mark, and I’m happy for him,” Seals coach Jim Paek said. The Seals retain White’s playing rights in WHA2.

White, an alternate captain for the Seals had a goal for the Everblades in a 3-2 overtime loss to Pensacola on Tuesday night. In 36 games with the Seals this season, he has five goals and 23 assists for 28 points, making him the third highest scoring defenseman in WHA2.

The Seals return to action Thursday night against the Alabama Slammers at 7:05 p.m.

Special President’s Day edition of the Orlando Seals Hockey Happy Hour tonight at Kerryman’s Pub on State route 434 in Longwood.—Trivia question will be what is head coach Jim Paek’s connection to the US presidency?

February 16, 2004

Head coach Jim Paek will review the Seals week in which they earned 5 out of 6 points, while using emergency back up goalies.

Tomas Jelinek will be featured in Meet the Seals to discuss his hockey career and what it’s like growing up as the child of an NHL player.

Community corner tonight features WHA2 director of officiating Clay Sigurdson

Hockey News and views will give an up date on afternoon games in the NHL and a milestone for Sergei Fedorov.

Seals preview will look ahead at Thursday’s game with Alabama (uh oh, that means you know who might be there—I hear he wants to meet Tomas Jelinek) Saturdays game with Jacksonville, and Sunday’s home game with Macon.

The Hockey happy Hour is at Kerryman’s in Longwood from 7-8 p.m. and is broadcast on www.IRN.FM from 9-10 p.m. eastern time.

SEALS LOOK TO KEEP ROLLING

(22-10-4 48 Points, 2nd in WHA2)

On A Tear: The Orlando Seals who have earned points in seven of their last eight games, look to continue their recent hot streak with three games this week. The Seals will host the Alabama Slammers on Thursday at 7:05 p.m.; visit the Jacksonville Barracudas Saturday at 7:05 p.m.; and return home to face the Macon Trax on Sunday at 4:05 p.m.

Drink Up: Thursday’s game will be the next Real Radio 104.1 Thirsty Thursday with Drew Garabo broadcasting his evening show live from TD Waterhouse Centre.

5 Out Of 6 Ain’t Bad: The Seals earned five of a possible six points last week, with a 4-3 overtime loss against Miami, then a 5-4 win over Jacksonville and a 7-2 win over Lakeland.

Goalie A Go-Go: With both David Goverde and Mike Corriea injured, the Seals used emergency goalies Shad Higginbotham and Eric Scanlon to post their two wins. The two combined, with Scanlon getting credit for the win over Jacksonville, while Higginbotham played the entire game in the win over Lakeland.

Galligan The Great: It wasn’t a magic act, but Seamus Galligan netted a Seals season high four goals in one game against Lakeland. The seven goals in that game are also a team high for the season.

Magnificent 7’s: Jason Elders (3G, 4A) and BJ. Stephens (2G, 5A) each registered seven points in the Seals three games last week.

Got Tickets?: 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).

January 15, 2004 (Orlando, FL)

The Orlando Seals blew out Lakeland 7 -2.

Orlando – The Orlando Seals scored a season-high seven goals, five in the second period alone, to defeat the Lakeland Loggerheads 7-2 Sunday afternoon at the T.D. Waterhouse Centre. Seamus Galligan had his first career four-goal game in the win.

Shad Higginbotham, who remains on the Orlando roster because of injuries to both David Goverde and Mike Correia, was stellar in net, stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced for his first professional victory.

Jason Elders started the scoring barrage in the first period, lighting the lamp for his 20th goal of the season 11 minutes, 20 seconds into the contest.

Galligan made it 2-0 Orlando 7:21 into the second frame with his first goal of the night. Jerry Keefe sent a long outlet pass to Galligan just outside the Lakeland blue line. The swift center got by the Lakeland defender for a clear break into the zone and wristed the puck past Lakeland goaltender Tyler Murray for the two-goal advantage.

The Seals added three more goals in a span of 50 seconds to increase their lead to 5-0. Galligan, B.J. Stephens, and Mike Sanderson had the tallies for Orlando in that duration.

Galligan capped his career night with two more goals for a total of four on the night and a season total of ten, another career high.

Chris Cerrella and Chris Harper each had a goal for the Loggerheads, who fall to 7-25-5 on the season.

The Seals concluded this four game homestand on Thursday, February 19th when they host the Alabama Slammers at 7:05 p.m. All Seals games can be heard at www.IRN.FM.

Lakeland 0-1-1 – 2

Orlando 1-5-1 – 7

First period – 1, ORL, Elders 20 (Stephens), 11:20.

Second period – 2, ORL, Galligan 7 (Keefe, Elders), 7:21; 3, ORL, Galligan (Muswagon, Keefe), 10:17; 4, ORL, Stephens 25 (Federenko, Elders), 10:40; 5, ORL, Sanderson 13 (Duplessis), 10:57; 6, ORL, Galligan 9 (Jelinek), 11:27; 7, LAK, Cerrella 8 (Harper, Seroski), 19:57.

Third period – 8, LAK, Harper 8 (unassisted), 11:14; 9, ORL, Galligan 10 (White, Muswagon), 16:28.

Shots – Lakeland 9-11-10–30; Orlando 9-14-14–37. Power plays – Lakeland 0-3; Orlando 0-3.

Goaltenders – Lakeland, Murray 6-13-3 (17 shots, 13 saves), Poissant (20-17); Orlando, Higginbotham 1-0 (30-28).

Attendance – 5791.

Don’t Tread Lightly: The Orlando Seals host the improving Lakeland Loggerheads this afternoon. Lakeland has earned nearly half its win total in the last 10 games.

February 15, 2004

Records: The Seals are 21-10-4 with 46 points in second place in WHA2.

Lakeland is 7-24-5 with 19 points in sixth place in WHA2.

Season Series: These two teams will be meeting for the 10th time this season. This the most games the Seals have played against any one opponent. The Seals are 7-2-0 against Lakeland. But three of those wins have come in either a shootout or overtime. So Lakeland is 2-4-3 against the Seals. Orlando won the last meeting between the two teams, 4-3 in a shootout at Lakeland.

Recent Results: The Seals behind the goaltending of emergency replacements Eric Scanlon and Shad Higginbotham defeated the Jacksonville Barracudas 5-4 on Thursday night. Lakeland is playing its first game since February 7th, when the Loggerheads dropped a 6-1 decision at Jacksonville.

Power Play: Seals 26-150 17.3% 6th Lakeland 32-183 17.5% 5th

Penalty Kill: Seals 104-132 78.8% 4th Lakeland 124-153 81.0% 2nd

Goalie Go Round: With Mike Correia and David Goverde both still sidelined, the Selas will have Shad Higginbotham and George Crickmore as their goalies in uniform today. Higginbotham played the first two periods Thursday ngiht against Jacksonville. Crickmore has been an emergency back up for Macon earlier this year.

Down South: Defenseman Mike Fournier has been placed on loan to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, and won’t be in the Seals line-up today. In two games with Florida, Fournier has no points or penalty minutes and is a minus one.

Ask The Owner: Seals owner David Waronker will be at the fan club table outside section 114-115 during the first intermission of today’s game.

Next Up: The Seals conclude this four game homestand on Thursday February 19th when they host the Alabama Slammers at 7:05 p.m. It will be a Real Radio 104.1 Thirsty Thursday night.

SEALS AT SAM SNEADS

(Feb. 13, 2004)

Will Celebrate Mardi Gras Feb. 24

While the Orlando Seals have been fattening on their WHA2 opponents, they’ll be spending Fat Tuesday at Sam Snead’s Metrowest.

The Seals will be on hand at the popular tavern on Tuesday February 24th beginning at 7 p.m. Sam Snead’s will be featuring a variety of specials that evening, and there will be Seals prizes given away as well.

The Seals host the Lakeland Loggerheads on Sunday February 15th at TD Waterhouse Centre starting at 4:05 p.m.

Seals 5, Barracudas 4

February 12, 2004

(Orlando, FL) – After two see-saw periods, Joe Pecoraro’s slap shot from the high slot on a third period power play lifted the Seals to a 5-4 victory Thursday night over the first place Jacksonville Barracudas.

Orlando showcased two new goaltenders as Head Coach Jim Paek was forced to start Shad Higginbotham in place of the injured David Goverde, who is listed as day to day with an injury suffered in Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Miami Manatees. Mike Correia has been on injured reserve since injuring his knee in Lakeland on January 31. Higginbotham was replaced by Eric Scanlan at the start of the third period after giving up 3 goals on 18 shots.

Jacksonville struck on its first shot of the game. Jamie Miller’s wrist shot from the left wing circle beat Higginbotham low to the stick side for a 1-0 Barracudas advantage.

Jason Elders tied it up for Orlando late in the first on a power play tally at 19:47. Brad Federenko collected the puck behind the goal line to the left of the Jacksonville net and sailed a perfect pass to a wide open Elders at the right post for a 1-1 hockey game.

The Barracudas regained the lead on their first shot of the second period, as John McCabe’s power play goal found the back of the net only 29 seconds into the frame.

The Seals tied it up once again on Elders’ second goal of the game – his 18th of the season – at 5:32 of the second. Joe Pecoraro made the long lead pass to Elders whose blistering slap shot sailed under the crossbar, high to the glove side of Randy Hevey, knotting the game 2-2.

The two teams swapped goals later in the third with Darren Banks scoring for Jacksonville and Federenko adding one for the Seals.

Orlando got its first lead of the game at 4-3 in the third period as Mike Sanderson chipped a rebound through Hevey’s five-hole for his 12th of the season.

Klage Kaebel tied the game for Jacksonville before Pecoraro lifted the Seals to the victory. Orlando now regains possession of second place in WHA2 standings.

The Seals continue their four-game homestand on Sunday afternoon when they play the Lakeland Loggerheads at 4:05 p.m. All Seals games can be heard at www.IRN.FM.

Jacksonville 1-2-1 – 4

Orlando 1-2-2 – 5

First period – 1, JAX, Miller 20 (Steenbergen, Phenow), 2:46; 2, ORL, Elders 17 (Federenko, Stephens), 19:47 (pp).

Second period – 3, JAX, John McCabe 8 (Miller, Steenbergen), :29 (pp); 4, ORL, Elders 19 (Pecoraro, Stephens), 5:32; 5, JAX, Banks 1 (Jay McCabe, Miller), 13:14.

Third period – 7, ORL, Sanderson 12 (Pecoraro, Duplessis), 5:53; 8, JAX, Kaebel 17 (MacIntyre), 6:49; 9, ORL, Pecoraro 7 (Keefe, Muswagon), 15:52 (pp).

Shots – Jacksonville 6-12-15–33; Orlando 10-15-11–36. Power plays – Jacksonville 1-2; Orlando 2-3.

Goaltenders – Jacksonville, Hevey 12-7-1 (36 shots, 31 saves); Orlando, Higginbotham (40:00, 18-15), Scanlan 1-0 (20:00, 15-14).

Attendance – 3,203.

Seals 3, Manatees 4 OT

February 10, 2004, (Orlando, FL) – The Orlando Seals struck first but could not hold on as a season high crowd of 6,268 witnessed Tom Kotsopoulos’ overtime tally, lifting the Manatees over the Seals 4-3 Tuesday night.

Jamie Muswagon put the Seals on the board early in the first period, chipping a shot out of traffic and into the net for his third of the season. B.J. Stephens then put the Seals up 2-0 with his team-leading 24th of the season. Stephens skated in on net, taking a shot and then collected his own rebound

Miami stormed back in the second, scoring two goals in a 2:15 span for a 2-2 contest. Kevin Swider’s goal at 11:00 brought the Manatees within one. Oak Hewer then tied it up with his league-leading 26th tally of the season at 13:15.

Orlando regained the lead in the third as Mike Sanderson snapped the puck past a sprawling Sean Weaver for his 11th of the season and a 3-2 Orlando lead.

The Manatees thought they had tied the game up on the power play, however the goal was disallowed by referee Clay Sigurdson because the puck was kicked in. Miami did capitalize less than a minute later on the 2-man advantage as Greg LeColst found the back of then net at 9:00 of the third period.

Miami shut the door on the Seals only 1:14 into the overtime period as Kotsopoulos beat David Goverde low to the stick side for a 4-3 Manatees victory. It was the second straight overtime win for the Manatees, who also defeated the Seals in a shootout Saturday night in Miami.

The Seals return to action Thursday night as the Jacksonville Barracudas come to town for a 7:05 pm start.

Miami 0-2-1-1 – 4

Orlando 2-0-1-0 – 3 OT

First period – 1, ORL, Muswagon 3 (Keefe, Fournier), 3:31; 2, ORL, Stephens 24 (Elders), 9:10.

Second period – 3, MIA, Swider 15 (Hewer, Howard), 11:00; 4, MIA, Hewer 26 (LeColst, Howard), 13:15.

Third period – 5, ORL, Sanderson 11 (Stephens, Federenko), 6:38; 6, MIA, LeColst 16 (Swider, Hewer), 9:00 (pp).

Overtime – 7, MIA, Kotsopoulos 7 (unassisted), 1:14.

Shots – Miami 6-17-8-1–32; Orlando 10-7-15-2–34. Power plays – Miami 1-4; Orlando 0-4.

Goaltenders – Miami, Weaver 11-6-2 (34 shots, 31 saves); Orlando, Goverde 15-10-2 (32-28).

Attendance – 6268.

Tie Breaker - (February 10, 2004)

The Orlando Seals and Miami Manatees square off tonight, with the winner of the game taking over sole possession of second place in WHA2.

Records: The Seals are 20-10-3 with 43 points tied for second place in WHA2.

Miami is 20-12-3 with 43 points tied for second place in WHA2.

Season Series: These two teams have met six times this season, splitting the six games with the home team winning each time. Miami has also earned one overtime point in Orlando, and the Seals have earned one overtime point in Miami as well. That came in the last outing between the two teams, when Miami downed the Seals 4-3 in a shootout on February 6.

Recent Results: The Seals lost their last game, losing 4-3 in a shootout at Miami on February 6. Miami defeated Jacksonville 6-2 in Miami on Sunday.

Power Play: Seals 24-143 16.8% 6th Miami 33-170 19.4% 4th

Penalty Kill: Seals 100-126 79.3% 3rd Miami 117-149 78.5% 5th

Striking First: The Seals have run up an impressive 17-3-2 record when scoring the first goal of the game. B.J. Stephens leads the Seals with six first goals of the game. In games in which they don’t score the first goal, the Seals are 3-7-1.

Injury Update: Goaltender Mike Correia had torn meniscus removed from his knee yesterday and is expected to be sidelined for another two to four weeks. Defenseman Ridvan Sadiki also remains out for at least two weeks with a knee injury and left winger Adam Campana remains out indefinitely, recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot from his lung.

Next Up: The Seals are starting a four game homestand tonight. It continues on Thursday night when the Jacksonville Barracudas visit TD Waterhouse Centre. That will be a Real Radio 104.1 Thirsty Thursday with Drew Garabo broadcasting his evening show live from the game.

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