ECHL Florida Everblades

Baker sets Blades record as Khudobin blanks high-scoring Cyclones 5-0

February 11, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (34-9-2) got back in the win column with an impressive 5-0 victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones (27-18-5), who boasted the highest scoring offense in the ECHL entering the night, on Wednesday night at Germain Arena.

On a night when Kevin Baker set the Everblades all-time single-season record for most goals in one year, goaltender Anton Khudobin tossed his fourth shutout of the season with a 22-save performance that erased Florida's three-game losing skid.

At the start it looked like it could be a long night for the Everblades as Cincinnati came out flying in the game's first five minutes. Khudobin however held strong making some key saves that allowed the Everblades to get their legs going. As the period progressed the Everblades slowly started to pressure the Cyclones although neither team found the back of the net in the first 20 minutes.

In the second period that all changed as the Everblades broke out with four goals in 10 minutes starting with Baker's record-setting 41st goal of the year just 3:07 into the period on the power play. Baker cashed in on the goal after Cincinnati net-minder Ryan Nie made a save on Mark Lee's blast from the top of the right circle, but lost track of where the rebound went. Mathieu Roy was able to sweep the puck to the left post where Baker banged it home for the 1-0 lead.

The Everblades then opened a 2-0 lead at 7:51 when Noah Babin launched a shot from the top of the left circle that clanged off the underside of the cross bar and into the net. The play was made possible off a nice elevated pass from Yannick Tifu from the top of the right circle onto Babin's tape for the one-timer. Ross Carlson also collected an assist on Babin's second goal of the season.

Midway through the period the Everblades picked up a big short-handed goal from Brad Zanon. Khudobin began the play by clearing the puck up the left wing boards. Baker then raced onto the loose puck in the neutral zone before pulling up inside the offensive blue line where he found Zanon trailing the play and fed a perfect pass across to him. Zanon then waited for a screen to develop in from of Nie before firing the puck on net and notching his first professional goal at 10:52.

The Everblades kept the pedal down and eventually chased Nie from the net on Babin's second tally of the night at 13:13. Off a left circle face-off win by Colin Nicholson, Baker fed the puck to the left point where Babin ripped at shot on net that found its through a screen an into the net for the 4-0 lead.

At that point Nie was lifted from the game for Loic Lacasse who remained between the pipes for the rest of the contest.

The Everblades collected their final tally midway through the third period with their second power play goal of the night by Peter Metcalf at 10:03 after his slap shot from the blue line sailed past Lacasse. Baker collected his third assist of the night and Tifu notched his second helper on Metcalf's sixth goal of the season.

Khudobin (18-71) took care of the rest en-route to his fourth shutout of the year and the team's eighth. The shutout was also the first suffered by Cincinnati this season. Nie suffered the loss allowing four goals on 21 shots to see his record drop to (15-8-2) while Lacasse finished off the contest stopping 9 of 10 shots in the final 26:47 of the game.

On the power play, the Everblades finished the night 2-of-9, while Cincinnati closed out the game 0-of-9.

BEWARE OF THE BITE! Action You Can Sink Your Teeth Into! Individual tickets to all Everblades home games are on sale now! Visit the Germain Arena Box Office M-F from 10-6 to purchase tickets, or order online at www.ticketmaster.com. Visit www.floridaeverblades.com and www.germainarena.com or call 239-948-PUCK for more information on group ticket packages, pricing and upcoming Germain Arena events.

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ECHL Stories from February 11, 2009


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