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Finish up road trip in Macon FridayMiami Manatees Press ReleaseThe Manatees are nearing the end of their six-game road trip, as they head back to Miami this week before heading out to Macon this Friday, Dec 12th.The Manatees finished up the first week of December by going winless in three road games. With the losses, the Manatees drop to fourth in the WHA2, but remain only two points out of a tie for first place. Dec 5th @ Lakeland: The Manatees were handed their 2nd loss of the season, dropping a 4-3 decision to the Loggerheads in the Manatees first visit to the Lakeland Center. Oak Hewer got the Manatees on the board first at 2:34 in the first period, a short-handed goal that was set up on a two-on-one with Eric Perricone. That goal was the seventh time in eight games that the Manatees scored the first goal of the game. For the first time this season, The Manatees found themselves trailing early in the game as the Loggerheads scored the next four goals of the game, giving them a 4-1 lead going into the third period. Garrett Dionne added one goal, and Jeremy Vokes lit the lamp twice in the second period. Jeff Giowa tallied the only goal of the second period. Making his first start in nets for the Manatees, Mark Gowan kept the Loggerheads off the score-board in the third period. Perricone got his second assist of the night, setting up Hewer�s second goal of the night at 3:52 of the third period to bring the deficit to two goals. After Ryan Kiley checked Lakeland�s Garrett Dionne with a clean open-ice hit, Dionne retaliated by punching Kiley, setting off a scrum which resulted in Kiley and goaltender Sean Weaver�s both getting game misconducts and were ejected from the game. Playing with a shortened bench, Kevin Swider fed the puck to Todd Nowicki as he entered the offensive zone. Swider left a drop pass for a trailing Perry, who unleashed a shot from the left circle that beat Murray. That goal drew the Manatees to a one goal deficit with 9:43 left in the game. But the Manatees late rally wasn�t enough as the Loggerheads held on for the 4-3 victory. The win was the Loggerheads first of the season. The Manatees still retain sole possession of first place with Alabama�s 4-3 defeat to the Seals Friday night. Scoring:
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Special Teams: Dec 6th @ Jacksonville: After the defeat in Lakeland, the Manatees headed to take on the Barracudas and looked to get back in the win column. The Manatees have defeated the Barracudas in both match-ups this season, outscoring them by a total of 7 goals. The �Cuda�s had the momentum on their side early as they jumped out to an early lead on goals by Chris Hacket and Derek Toninato, but the Manatees fought back in the first period to score two goals in 55 seconds. JF Picard�s wrist-shot from the point trickled past Nate Ziemski�s glove-hand to find the back of the net at 17:19, and Todd Nowicki pounced on a rebound left in the crease as he shot the puck top-shelf over a sprawling Ziemski at 18:14. The teams appeared to be heading to the first intermission tied up at two, until Toninato scored his second goal of the game on a wrap-around with 11 seconds left in the first period. Coming out after a scoreless second period in which the Manatees were held to five shots on goal, Kevin Swider intercepted a pass at the blue-line, cut across from the top of the right circle to the top of the left circle, and unleashed a wrist-shot past Ziemski. That goal at 1:56 tied the game up at three apiece. But the Manatees comeback was halted by Klage Kaebel�s two goals to close out the third period scoring and lead the �Cudas to a 5-3 victory.
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Goalies: Dec 7th @Orlando: Playing in their fifth game of a six-game road-trip, the Miami Manatees dropped a decision to the Orlando Seals 6-3 in front of 2,875 fans at the TD Waterhouse Center. Dan Donnette got his first goal of the season, putting a wrist-shot past David Goverde at 15:06 of the first period, and Oak Hewer got his eighth goal of the season to tie the game at 3:57 of the second period. The score remained tied at two until 18:30 of the second period, when Matt Brown scored his first goal of the season, putting the rebound past Manatees goaltender Mark Gowan. But Eric Perricone was able to tie the game up as the third period got underway. Perricone�s 10th goal and 21st point of the season moved him back into a first place tie for scoring in the WHA2 with Alabama�s forward Paul Vincent. But Jason Elders scored two goals in the third period, and Joe Pecararo added his second goal of the night to pull the Seals ahead for the final score of 6-3. Mark Gowan made 22 saves on 28 shots in the loss for the Manatees, and David Goverde turned aside 28 of 31 shots for the Seals. Manatee Notes: With the two road losses, the Manatees are now tied for third place with the Seals with eleven points. The Manatees remain undefeated at home, and are scoring an average of 4.6 goals a game (through nine games). The Manatees have given up 35 goals so far this season. The Manatees have the second ranked power-play and top ranked penalty-kill in the WHA2. The Manatees power-play is operating at a 23.4% (11-47) efficiency rate, while the penalty kill has killed off 86.2% (50-58) of their opponent�s power-plays. Through 9 games, the Manatees have three of the top ten scorers in the WHA2. Second in the league with 20 points is left wing Eric Perricone. Perricone�s nine goals puts him tied for 2nd in the league in goal scoring behind Alabama�s Paul Vincent�s 11 goals. Perricone�s 11 assists in tied for fourth in the league. Oak Hewer is tied for third in league scoring with 19 points, and third in the league with 12 assists. Todd Nowicki and Tom Perry are tied for ninth in league scoring with 12 points apiece. Miami has two of the top three defenseman in the WHA2. Tom Perry is the leading scorer among defenseman with 12 points, and J.F. Picard is 3rd with 10 points. Goaltender Sean Weaver is tied with Orlando�s David Goverde for the league lead in wins with five, and is third in the league with a 3.70 GAA (min. 4 games). Moving Up: The Manatees jumped up two spots in the ITC/Just Hockey �AA� Top 20 Hockey Poll, and are now ranked second overall among 70 eligible nationwide teams from various leagues. WHA2 teams also getting recognition on the Top 20 poll are Jacksonville at #12 and Alabama at #19. Need Gift Ideas?: Looking to give a great gift for your favorite hockey fans? Try the Manatees Holiday pack. For only $50, you get 2 Manatee T-Shirts, 2 Manatee Hats, 2 Tickets to any Manatees game, and a Manatees puck. Call the Manatees office at 305-536-7825, or just visit the merchandise booth at the next game. Manny Claus is Coming: Be sure to get your children�s photos taken with the mascot Manny Claus at the next home-stand for the Miami Manatees on Dec. 13th and 14th. Children of all ages are welcome and photos package prices will be announced soon! Skate with the Team: The Manatees invite the fans to skate with the Miami Manatees mascot and players. After the Sunday, Dec. 14th game the Miami Arena ice will be yours to enjoy. Make sure to bring a pair of skates and get ready for a good time. Got Internet?: Catch all of the Manatees action on www.irn.fm as Manatees broadcaster Mark Fischel calls the game from the road.
Manatees Hockey: Come out and Play! Web posted on Dec. 8, 2003
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