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ECHL Florida Everblades

'Blades fall 6-5 in overtime to Pensacola

December 29, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


PENSACOLA, FL - The Florida Everblades (16-10-3) earned a point in the standings after falling in 6-5 in overtime to the Pensacola Ice Pilots (7-19-3) in front of a crowd of 2,313 on Saturday night at the Pensacola Civic Center. Bryan McGregor notched the goal of difference 2:40 into the extra period.

The game-winner for the Ice Pilots came after Everblades defenseman Ernie Hartlieb had his shot from the right point blocked by Mathieu Roy, knocking the shot into the neutral zone. Roy and Hartlieb raced after the loose puck with Roy getting to it first and breaking in on Everblades goalie Justin Peters, who stopped the first shot, but the puck slid free in the crease where McGregor poked it into the open net.

The wild affair between the South Division rivals began with Pensacola carrying a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. The Ice Pilots opened the scoring at 5:40 of the period when J.C. Sawyer's shot from the blue line sailed over the shoulder of Everblades net-minder Justin Peters giving Pensacola a 1-0 lead. It didn't take long for the Everblades to answer that goal, just 15 seconds later Dan Collins let a wrist shot fly from the top of the right circle after a face-off win by Derek Damon. Collins' second goal of the season sailed over the blocker of Pensacola goaltender Cam Ellsworth and into the upper left corner of the net.

Pensacola however carried the play over the last five minutes of the opening period and cashed in twice to carry a 3-1 lead into the locker room. The Ice Pilots opened a 2-1 advantage at 14:56 on Jason Bloomingburg's first goal of the season, then opened the two-goal lead on Bryan Esner's seventh goal of the season with 14 seconds remaining in the period.

The Everblades came out strong in the second period out shooting Pensacola 10-5 and tallying twice to tie the score at three heading into the second intermission. A pair of power play goals for the Everblades was the difference in the period as Preston Callander notched the first of the two man advantage goals at 5:43. Callander's second goal of the season came after taking a pass from Damon into the right circle where he fired a wrist shot low to the ice and past Ellsworth to trim the lead to one.

Just as Pensacola did in the first period, the Everblades evened the score with a late goal to end the second period. Brandon Roach collected the second power play marker of the game by unleashing a slap shot from the left point that sailed into the upper right corner of the net with just 10 seconds remaining in the period. Damon and Ernie Hartlieb assisted on Roach's fifth goal of the season.

A wild third period began with Pensacola regaining the lead on a power play goal by Mike Sgroi at 2:39 of the third period, but the Everblades responded with two goals in 34 seconds to take the lead early in the frame. David Cornacchia notched the first goal of the period for the Everblades at 4:51 after Ellsworth failed to handle Brad Herauf's shot from the left boards. Cornacchia raced in to loft the puck into the open net from the bottom of the right circle for his fifth goal of the season. Just 34 seconds after that, the Everblades took their first lead of the night when Kirk MacDonald scooped up the loose puck off a rebound from Ellsworth and fired into the net from the left circle. Ryan Van Buskrk tallied the lone assist on the goal.

The 5-4 Florida lead stood up until the final minute of the contest when the Ice Pilots, with the goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, tied the game to send it into overtime. Sgroi notched his second goal of the night after deflecting a shot past Peters with 33 seconds remaining in regulation.

Peters earned a tie in goal for the Everblades, brining his record to 11-4-2 after stopping 32 of 38 shots, while Ellsworth (7-9-0) notched the win by stopping 34 of 39 shots.

On the power play, the Everblades closed out night 2-for-3, while the Ice Pilots finished 1-for-3.

Experience the excitement of the Everblades 10th Anniversary season! The Everblades return to action on Sunday, December 30 when they take on the Pensacola Ice Pilots at 6:05 p.m. from the Pensacola Civic Center. 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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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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