'Blades end skid, knock off Columbia 3- 2
December 22, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (15-10-2) ended their four-game winless streak with a hard-fought 3-2 win over the Columbia Inferno (11-12-6) in front of a crowd of 5,598 on Saturday night at Germain Arena.
Both teams opened the game at a cautious pace with each team registering only one shot on goal over the first eight minutes of the contest. The game's first goal didn't come until the final two minutes of the period, that's when Anthony Battaglia of the Inferno banged home a pass from Jeff Miles at 18:15 to give Columbia 1-0.
Columbia carried that lead into the second period, but the Everblades came out strong right from the drop of the puck. Florida out-shot the Inferno 17-6 over the middle stanza and turned that pressure into two late goals to open a 2-1 lead after two periods. Everblades defenseman Brandon Roach tied the game at one at 15:22 of the period after completing a nice passing play. The goal began with Ernie Hartlieb feeding Mathieu Melanson in the right circle. The All-Star winger then waited and found Roach camped out at the left post before throwing a cross-ice pass to the rookie d-man who banged home his fourth goal of season.
While the crowd was still celebrating the goal, the Everblades took the lead just 43 seconds later. After Columbia goaltender Todd Ford stopped Melanson twice on the same break away attempt, Hartlieb swept in and poked the loose puck across the goal line at 16:05. David Cornacchia collected the second assist on Hartlieb's 10th goal of the year.
This time, the Everblades carried a one-goal lead into the third period, but just as the Everblades tied the game in the second period, the Inferno responded by tying the game early in the third period. Owen Fussey jammed a shot past Everblades net-minder Kevin Nastiuk at the left post just 1:16 into the third to even the score at two. The Everblades however answered back just over five minutes later to tally the eventual game-winning goal.
After working the puck down low to the left corner, the Everblades' Kirk MacDonald dug the puck free, then fed a perfect pass to the high slot where Cornacchia sped onto the disc and released a quick one-timer low to the ice that beat Ford at 6:31. Roach notched the second assist on Cornacchia's fourth goal of the year.
The Everblades kept the pressure on throughout the third period, limiting Columbia to just five shots over the final 20 minutes to ensure the victory. With the win, the Everblades improved to 4-2-0 vs. Columbia and are now 10-3-2 at home.
In goal, Nastiuk improved his record to 1-1-0 by turning away 18 of 20 shots, while Ford (9-6-4) suffered the tough-luck loss after allowing three goals on 40 shots.
On the power play, the Everblades closed out night 0-for-1, while the Inferno finished 0-for-5.
Experience the excitement of the Everblades 10th Anniversary season! The Everblades return to action on Friday, December 28 when they travel to Mississippi to take on the Sea Wolves at 8:05 p.m. from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Everblades return home on Friday, January 4 to host the South Carolina Stingrays 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.
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