'Blades end 2006 with 4-1 loss to Wildcatters
Published on December 30, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
BEAUMONT, TX - In their final game of 2006, the Florida Everblades (20-10-0) dropped a 4-1 decision to the Texas Wildcatters (20-7-2) on Saturday night at Ford Arena thanks to the goaltending of Matt Yeats who made 46 saves, which kept the Wildcatters in first place in South Division.
After seeing the teams go 65 minutes without a goal last night, the Wildcatters collected a early first period goal to assure that Everblades goaltender Craig Kowalski wouldn't picked up a third straight shutout. Mike Bayrack notched his team leading 16th goal of the season just 3:44 into the contest to give Texas a 1-0 lead. The Wildcatters later increased their lead to 2-0 when Jason Beeman collected the puck off the right boards and snuck a back-hander past Kowalski from the slot at 16:37.
After neither team tallied in the second period, which included Texas killing off over three minutes of consecutive power play time, the Everblades finally got on the scoreboard when Reggie Berg wristed a shot from the bottom of the right circle over the shoulder of Yeats with 4:09 remaining in regulation. Ernie Hartlieb and Dustin Johner picked up the assists. The Everblades did their best to tie the contest over the final minutes, including pulling goaltender Craig Kowalski with 1:22 remaining in the game, but they could not find the tying goal. Texas added to their lead with a pair of empty net goals, one by Olivier Proulx at 19:18 and one by Leon Hayward with 21 seconds remaining to salt the game away.
Kowalski saw his personal five-game winning streak come to an end by allowing two goals on 24 shots to see his record fall to 11-6-0, while Yeats increased his record to 14-5-3 with the victory.
On the power play, the Everblades finished off the night 0-for-6, while the Wildcatters failed to convert on any of their five chances.
The Florida Everblades, proud affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers, return to action on Friday, January 5 when they host the Charlotte Checkers at 7:30 p.m. from Germain Arena. 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.
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