'Blades fall in OT; but still clinch first-round playoff bye
April 1, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (45-20-4) dropped a 5-4 overtime decision to the Greenville Grrrowl (42-24-4) on Saturday night, but still clinched a first round playoff bye by claiming a point.
A wild-and-wooly ending to a playoff-type game saw both teams score a goal in the final 65 seconds of regulation. Just after Brock Rudunske tallied a power play goal with 1:03 remaining in regulation to give the Grrrowl a 4-3 lead, Vince Bellissimo sent the standing-room only crowd of 7,523 into a frenzy by scoring with just 46 seconds remaining to even the contest up at four, and send the game to overtime.
With the Everblades holding the 3-2 lead heading into the third period, Greenville battled their way back to tie the game at three when Colin Pepperall notched his 14th goal of the season while a delayed penalty was coming against the Everblades, helping to set up the wild ending.
Prior to that, the action shifted back-and-forth during the first two periods of play. The Everblades staked themselves to an early 2-0 lead when Dan Sisca and Bellissimo scored in the first 10 minutes of the game. Sisca notched his 28th goal of the year at 5:01 backhanding a shot past Greenville net-minder Cam Ellsworth. Bellissimo's first of the night came on a wrist shot from the right circle at 10:06.
The Grrrowl answered back with a late power play goal that came with just 36 seconds remaining in the opening period when Allan Sirois batted the puck out of the air and past Everblades goaltender Kevin Nastiuk.
For the first of two times on the night, Greenville tied the game at 3:11 of the second period on Rudunske's first goal of the night, but the Everblades grabbed the lead back when Paul Cabana deflected home a short-handed goal at 16:14. The short-handed goal was Cabana's team-leading fourth and Florida's 15th as a team.
Nastiuk earned a tie in the standings to bring his overall record to 12-4-2 after allowing the five goals on 29 shots, while Ellsworth raised his record to 21-10-2 by stopping 41 of 45 Florida shots.
On the power play, the Everblades finished the night 1-for-6, while the Grrrowl closed out game going 2-for-6.
The two teams finished the regular season series with identical 3-2-1 records.
The Everblades return to action on Tuesday, April 4 when they take on the Gwinnett Gladiators at 7:35 p.m. from the Arena at Gwinnett Center.
Everblades 2006 Kelly Cup Playoff tickets for Games "A" & "B" are on sale now to the general public! Fans can purchase tickets at the Germain Arena box office, which is open from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com. For additional information, contact the Everblades office at (239) 948-7825.
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