Blades back on winning track after 4-3 OT win
November 30, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
JOHNSTOWN, PA - The Florida Everblades (13-3-1) got back on the winning track on Sunday night with a hard-fought 4-3 overtime victory over the Johnstown Chiefs (14-5-1) at Cambria County War Memorial.
After the Chiefs tied the game with the goaltender pulled in the final moments of regulation, Doug O'Brien sent the Everblades bench spilling onto the ice in celebration with his second goal of the year with 33 seconds remaining in overtime.
O'Brien's game winner came on a sharp angle shot from the left boards that banked off the inside of the leg of Chiefs net-minder Kris Mayotte and across the line as time was winding down in the extra session. The goal was assisted by Peter Metcalf and Ryan Lang.
The Everblades had to earn the win however after the Chiefs tied the game up with 33 seconds remaining in regulation and Mayotte pulled for the extra attacker. After Florida failed to clear the zone, the Chiefs struck with a quick passing play that ended with Petr Pohl getting the puck at the bottom of the left circle where he snapped off a quick shot that banked off Anton Khudobin and into the net sending the crowd of 1,323 to their feet in jubilation.
Overall the fans got what they expected in this matchup between two first place teams as a fast paced first period saw the Everblades tally the only goal of the opening frame. Florida started the game shaking off some rust from a long bus ride the night before, but got their legs going five minutes into the contest and once that happened the Everblades were able to get some scoring chances.
The first goal of the contest came with the Everblades on their second power play of the night. Peter Metcalf took a lead pass from Jacob Micflikier into the zone on the left side where he used his body to shield the puck as he cut through the left circle before lifting a shot over the blocker of Johnstown goalie Kris Mayotte at 15:32. Colin Nicholson notched the second assist on the goal.
In their own end, the Everblades penalty killers were strong in the opening period killing off a pair of Johnstown power plays, including nearly a minute of 5-on-3 power play time. Khudobin was solid as well stopping all 11 shots in the period, including a breakaway by Andy Contois with under four minutes remaining in the period.
The power play clicked again for the Everblades in the second period as Ernie Hartlieb extended Florida's lead to 2-0 with a quick snap shot from the high slot at 7:09. With the puck on edge, Hartlieb flung the puck to he net where it fluttered over the glove of Mayotte and into the net. Micflikier continued his hot string by tallying the lone assist on Hartlieb's sixth goal of the season.
The two-goal lead however was short lived as the Chiefs broke through for the first time at 8:52 when Pohl carried the puck into the zone down the left wing side on a 2-on-1 rush. As Pohl cut through the left circle he fired off a quick wrist shot that snuck through the pads of Khudobin for his eighth goal o the season.
As the period moved along the Everblades chances were there as they out shot Johnstown 25-8, but Mayotte came up big, including stopping a pair of breakaways by Kevin Baker to keep the Florida lead at one.
The Everblades power play stuck once again in the third period when Metcalf notched his second goal of the night at 7:06 of the frame. The play developed with Metcalf taking a pass at the blue line from Baker before firing a shot from the high slot through traffic that found the back of the net to open a 3-1 advantage. Danick Bouchard also collected a helper on the goal.
Once again the Chiefs battled back to trim the lead to one. This time with Johnstown enjoying a full two minute 5-on-3 power play, Contois cashed in at the right post after Khudobin stopped the first two chances. The puck rolled of the Everblade net-minder to his left where Contois notched his first goal of the season at the right post at 11:51, setting up the wild finish for the Chiefs in the final moments.
In goal Khudobin pushed his winning streak to eight in a row after stopping 27 shots to improve to 8-1-0. The Everblades fired a season-high 57 shots at Mayotte (10-2-1), who got credit for a tie after turning away 53 of them.
On the power play, the Everblades finished out the night 3-of-10 while Johnstown closed out the game 1-of-5.
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.
The Everblades return to action on Wednesday, December 3 when they travel to Elmira to take on the Jackals from First Arena at 7:05 p.m.! The Everblades' next home game is Friday, December 12 when they host the South Carolina Stingrays at 7:30 p.m.
3 Stars:
1 - Doug O'Brien - FLA
2 - Peter Metcalf - FLA
3 - Kris Mayotte - JHN
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