ECHL Florida Everblades

'Blades Clinch 5th Seed in Conference with 5-3 Win Over Gwinnett

March 31, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL- The florida Everblades secure the fifth seed going into the playoffs with a 5-2 victory over the Gwinnett Gladiators Saturday night in front of the largest crowd of the season of 7,256 at Germain Arena Saturday night. The Blades will battle the Greenville Road Warriors in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs (Full Series Schedule Below).

The first period began with a lot of back and forth action and it would take until the 17-minute mark before Florida would get on the board. The first goal came when Trevor Bruess found Leigh Salters low in the slot. Salters was able to slide the puck in the net past Gwinnett goaltender Ryan Zapolski.

Less than a minute later, Florida added a second goal after Brayden Irwin found David Rutherford in the left side circle. Rutherford found the open lane in the defense at the left wing circle and found the back of the net to beat Zapolski for the second time in the period. The goal gave the Everblades a 2-0 lead going into the second period.

The Gladiators were able to pull within one goal in the first minute of the second period when Doug Jones received a pass in stride from Justin Milo in the slot. Milo fired a slap shot that screamed past Florida netminder Pat Nagle making the score 2-1.

The Blades added to their lead at eleven minutes into the period as Leigh Salters found Matt Marquardt at the bottom of the right side circle. Marquardt saw an opening and fired off a wrist that would clip off Zapolski's glove and go into the net giving the Blades a 3-1 lead going into the third period.

The Gladiators once again got off to a fast start in the period and scored only 30 seconds into the period. Dallas Jackson fired a shot from the slot and was blocked by Nagle only to be rebounded by Andy Brandt who put in the net and pull Gwinnett within one.

That would be the end of Gwinnett's scoring and the Blades would control the puck the rest of the period and would add goals from Brayden Irwin and a dazzling goal by Mike Ratchuk, putting away the Gladiators by 5-2 score to close out the regular season.

Pat Nagle earns the win stopping 35 of 37 shots, while Zapolski takes the loss allowing five goals on 32 attempts.

The Blades and Road Warriors will open up the Quarterfinal Playoff Series on Monday, April 2 at Germain Arena. The following is a schedule of the best-of-five series:

Game One: Monday, April 2, 7:30 p.m. at Florida Game Two: Wednesday, April 4, 7:30 p.m. at Florida Game Three: Friday, April 6, 7:35 p.m. at Greenville Game Four Saturday, April 7, 7:05 p.m. at Greenville ** Game Five: Monday, April 9, 7:35 p.m. at Greenville ** **If necessary

Playoff packages and individual playoff game tickets are currently on sale. The first two games of the Quarterfinal Playoff Series will take place at Germain Arena on Monday, April, 2 and Wednesday, April 4.

To purchase tickets stop by any Ticketmaster outlet, or the Capital Bank Box Office at Germain Arena. The Capital Bank Box Office is open Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Fans may also call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or order online at www.ticketmaster.com For more information regarding playoff packages call 239-948-7825.

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ECHL Stories from March 31, 2012


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