Estero, FL - Florida Everblades All Star rookie forward Brandon Buck recorded his first professional hat trick but it wasn't enough as Florida fell to Gwinnett 4-3 in overtime. Adam Berti was the hero for Gwinnett who recorded just their third victory in seven tries in the season series.Gladiator defenseman Chad Denny scored the first goal of the game with a wrap-around tally assisted by forward Matt Francis at the 18:52 mark of the period. Twenty-six seconds later, Gwinnett struck again as Mike McLean poked a puck past Chris Beckford Tseu with assists from Tim Miller and Daniel Sullivan. The Gladiators two late goals gave them a 2-0 advantage after the first 20-minutes of play.
Blades forward Brandon Buck capitalized on the power play halfway through the second period to put Florida on the board with helpers going to captain Ross Carlson and Mathieu Roy. Buck put Florida on the board in his first game back with the 'Blades after being reassigned by the Houston Aeros on February 8. The 21-year-old scored again with assists by Carlson and Shea Guthrie at 17:02, and completed the natural hat trick two minutes later to give the Everblades their first lead of the game, 3-2. The final tally was assisted by Benn Olson and rookie Guthrie. Carlson's two assists bumped his point total to 32 for the season, which leads the Everblades. The 'Blades ended the second stanza with a one-goal edge.
Florida would hold their one-goal advantage until the final minute of play in the game. Gwinnett got the equalizer with just 53-seconds remaining as Tim Miller was the last Gladiator to touch the puck which dribbled by Chris Beckford-Tseu. Deadlocked at three in overtime, Gladiator captain Adam Berti fired a hard wrist shot from the left circle that beat netminder Beckford-Tseu at the 3:11 mark and gave Gwinnett their first victory over Florida in their last five tries.
Florida and Gwinnett finish face off again tomorrow night in Germain Arena at 7:30 p.m.
Three Stars of the Game: #1: Buck #2: Berti #3: McLean
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