ECHL Florida Everblades

'Blades drop opener with Texas, 6-3

Published on January 31, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


BEAUMONT, TX - The Texas Wildcatters (33-4-7) rode four first period goals to their fifth straight win after holding off the Florida Everblades (24-16-4) three-goal second period to pick up a 6-3 victory on Thursday night at Ford Arena in front of a crowd of 2,138.

The Wildcatters began their first period explosion by tallying just 1:27 into the contest when Scott Champagne notched his 12th goal of the season by taking a pass from Kevin Baker and firing it into the net over the glove of Everblades goaltender David Shantz.

The key moment of the first period came midway through the frame when the Wildcatters held a 5-on-3 power play. With five seconds remaining on the two-man advantage Dan Welch deflected home a shot from the left circle to open a 2-0 Texas lead at 10:55. However a delayed penalty against the Everblades as the goal was scored, led to another 5-on-3 penalty that the Wildcatters quickly converted on. Ross Carlson made it a 3-0 Texas lead at 11:11 after slipping a shot from the bottom of the left circle past a moving Shantz.

The final blow in the period came after the Everblades had killed off the penalty time. Max Taylor notched his 14th goal of the year after Baker hit the cross bar with his shot from the left circle and the rebound dropped into the crease where Taylor swept onto the loose puck at 13:02. The goal also brought an end to the night for Shantz as he was lifted from the game in favor of Justin Peters, who closed out the period stopping all five shots he faced.

The second period took on a completely different look as it was the Everblades that carried the play, climbing all the way back to within a goal after out-shooting Texas 15-4 in the frame. As the Wildcatters did in the first period, the Everblades got off to a quick start in the second period scoring just 57 seconds into the period. Mike McLean notched the first of the three Florida goals after skating onto a pass from Jarret Lukin in the slot before rifling a shot past Texas net-minder Anton Khudobin. Preston Callander notched the second assist on McLean's 6th goal of the season.

The Everblades continued with their comeback effort seven minutes later when Lukin tallied his third goal of the season after a nice play by McLean, who began the play in the left corner before stepping out for a stuffer attempt that was kick away by Khudobin. The rebound to the top of the crease was pounced on by Lukin at 7:57 to cut the Wildcatter lead in half. Dan Collins also chipped in with an assist on the play.

Late in the second period the Everblades trimmed the Texas lead down to 4-3 with a power play maker. With 3:53 remaining in the frame, Ernie Hartlieb slid the puck from a goal-mouth scramble into the net at the left post for his 15th goal of the year. The play started with a shot from the top of the right circle by Derek Damon that was kick away by Khudobin. The rebound was battled for by Callander and Ross Carlson of Texas, with Callander knocking it free for Hartlieb.

The Everblades continued to pressure over the final minutes of the second period and nearly tied the game at four in the final seconds if not for a big save by Khudobin, however the Everblades still had a lot to build on entering the final 20 minutes of play. In the early stages of the third period the Everblades again brought good pressure but couldn't find the equalizer. Texas then got the wind back in their sails at 8:57 on Welch's second goal of the night after stepping out from behind the net and slipping a shot between the pads of Peters.

The Wildcatters added some insurance late in the third period with their third power play goal of the night with 5:25 remaining. Former Everblade John Adams' shot from the left point found its way through traffic and into the net to open the 6-3 Texas lead.

For the Everblades, Shantz (3-2-1) was the goalie of record, taking the loss after allowing four goals on nine shots in the 13:02 he played. Peters finished out the game playing the final 46:58 and stopping 20 of 22 shots. For Texas Khudobin improved to 18-1-4 after stopping 34 of 37 shots.

On the power play, the Everblades closed out night 1-for-9, while the Wildcatters finished 3-for-5.

Experience the excitement of the Everblades 10th Anniversary season! The Everblades return to action Friday, February 1 when they take on the Texas Wildcatters at 8:30 p.m. from Ford Arena in Beaumont, TX. The Everblades return home on Friday, February 8 when they host the Augusta Lynx at 7:30 p.m. Individual tickets to all Everblades home games are on sale now! Stop by the Germain Arena box office to reserve your seat for all the exciting action! Visit www.floridaeverblades.com and www.germainarena.com for more information on ticket packages, pricing and upcoming Germain Arena events.

Three Stars:

1) Dan Welch - TEX

2) Max Taylor - TEX

3) John McNabb - TEX

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ECHL Stories from January 31, 2008


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