'Blades blank Texas in 1-0 shootout contest
December 29, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
BEAUMONT, TX - The Florida Everblades (20-9-0) earned a 1-0 shootout victory over the Texas Wildcatters (19-7-2) thanks to goaltender Craig Kowalski's second consecutive shutout on Friday night at Ford Arena in front of a crowd of 2,013.
After going scoreless in regulation, the two top teams in the South Division needed a shootout to decide the contest. Both teams played evenly through regulation with both clubs going 0-for-6 on the power play and the Everblades out shooting Texas 35-31 through 60 minutes, but neither team found a way to dent the twine as Kowalski and Texas net-minder Matt Yeats performed magnificently for their clubs. Heading into the five-minute overtime period, both teams had a player in the penalty box and thus the clubs skated 3-on-3 for the first 1:58 of the extra session. After neither team scored in overtime, the game moved to the five-round shootout.
In the shootout, the Everblades collected goals by Vince Bellissimo and Brent McDonald in the first two rounds while Mike Bayrack tallied for Texas in the second round. After neither team scored in the third round, Chris Lee lasered a shot from the slot into the upper left corner of the net to give Florida a 3-1 lead. Kowalski took care of the rest as he stopped Kevin Baker's attempt to seal the win for the 'Blades.
Kowalski backed up his 40 save shutout on December 23 with a 36 save performance tonight to push his personal winning streak to five and raise his overall record to 11-5-0. Yeats picked up a tie in the standings after stopping 33 totals shots in regulation and overtime to put his overall record at 13-5-3.
The Florida Everblades, proud affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers, return to action on Saturday, December 30 when they take on the Texas Wildcatters at 8:05 p.m. from Ford Arena in Beaumont, TX. Florida Everblades group and individual game tickets & mini-plans are now available! Reserve your seat for all the exciting action today by calling (239) 948-7825. Visit www.floridaeverblades.com and www.germainarena.com for more information on group ticket packages, pricing and upcoming Germain Arena events.
Three Stars:
1) Craig Kowalski - FLA
2) Matt Yeats - TEX
3) Brent McDonald - FLA
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