Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Hockey Nights in South West Florida
Everblades Coach Brad Ralph
The Florida
Everblades opened their 2016-2017 season last weekend with a nice
birthday present for new Head Coach Brad Ralph. Ralph celebrated his
36th birthday yesterday. The Blades defeated the
Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Friday and Saturday night.
Friday
night's game was a barn burner. Trailing 2-0 with less than three
minutes remaining, Ralph pulled goalie Anthony Peters for an extra
attacker. Zack Kamrass scored to cut the margin to one goal. Mike
Aviani scored in the last minute to tie the game, and defenceman Matt
McKenzie scored with 18 seconds remaining in the game to seal the
deal. Pretty exciting stuff in front of more than 5 000 fans.
Former Wellington Duke Anthony Peters
On Saturday
night, the Blades completed the weekend sweep with a 5-3 victory that
went a little easier on the coach. They scored the first three
goals, but let the Rabbits back in the game, leading 3-2 at the end
of the second period. Two Everblades' markers extended the lead, and
that was enough for the victory.
The Blades
now head out for their first road games this coming weekend against
the Orlando Solar Bears at the Amway Arena. Naturally, in order to
keep costs down, the Blades play most of their road games in their
own general geographic area: Atlanta Gladiators, South Carolina
Stingrays, Orlando Solar Bears, Cincinnati Cyclones, and Norfolk
Admirals in the south. The Eastern Division opponents: Adirondack
Thunder, Wheeling Nailers, Elmira Jackals, Reading Royals, Brampton
Beast, and Manchester Monarchs.
In February,
the Blades will travel to Brampton on a northern swing, and in March
they will face Toledo and Fort Wayne from the Western Division. Other
teams in the west include Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Alaska! Some
road trips!!
A quick
check on hockeydb.com, the
most invaluable of all hockey sites, tells us that coach Ralph
retired from active play in 2009. He began his junior career with
Kanata in the CJHL, and moved on to play three years with the Oshawa
Generals. He is a member of the “one game wonders”, those
individuals who played one game in the NHL. He spent most of his
career in the ECHL with his last stop in Charlotte.
Altshuller
earned his first win on Saturday night. He also played in Oshawa, and
enjoyed a cup of coffee with the Belleville Bulls. He is sharing
goaltending duties with Anthony Peters, a goaltender who had a stint
with the Wellington Dukes, and the Belleville Bulls.
The greatest
challenge for any coach at the beginning of the season is to find the
appropriate chemistry for his players. At this level, it is most
difficult, as there is always movement up to the American Hockey
League for some, a transition to European teams for others. Coaches
strive to find the ideal fit for players on lines and on defence
pairings. Just before Friday night's game, nine players arrived,
looking for work.
It would be
like fitting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, trying to find
the perfect fit, without resorting to scissors.
Ralph
enjoyed his playing years in the ECHL, then began his coaching career
with the Augusta River Hawks of the SPHL. Last season he coached the
Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League.
As is the
case with all hockey nuts, it was great to be back after the summer
recess.
The Blades play in Orlando Saturday night, then return to the Germain Arena to face South Carolina on Friday, October 28th. See you there!!
The Blades play in Orlando Saturday night, then return to the Germain Arena to face South Carolina on Friday, October 28th. See you there!!
James Hurst
October 18,
2016
# posted by James Hurst @ 8:15 PM 
