ECHL Florida Everblades

'Blades fall to Inferno 4-3 in overtime

January 15, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (19-13-4) lost their third straight game in overtime falling 4-3 to the Columbia Inferno (18-11-3) on Saturday night at Germain Arena. Chanse Fitzpatrick netted the game-winner and goaltender Rob McVicar stopped 39 shots to push Columbia to the win.

Fitzpatrick deflected a centering pass past Everblades goalie Craig Kowalski 32 seconds in to the extra period. The overtime capped a wide-open game which saw both teams with a plethora of chances through the night. The Inferno twice held leads by two goals, only to see Florida battle back to tie the game. Trevor Demmans and Bryson Busniuk staked the Inferno to a 2-0 lead by the 11:07 mark of the first period with both goals coming off rebounds allowed by 'Blades starting goaltender Rob Zepp. Florida closed the gap to 2-1 when Damian Surma notched his team-leading 18th goal of the season with 1:54 remaining in the opening period.

In the second period, Columbia opened a 3-1 lead at the 9:00 mark on Andy Berg's second goal of the season, which led to Florida lifting Zepp and putting Kowalski into the game. The two-goal lead lasted a little over six minutes before Reggie Berg, who returned to the lineup for the first time in 30 games, chipped a shot into the upper left corner of the net at 15:38 of the second period.

In the third period, Matt Hendricks converted on the power play to tie the game at three a little over 12 minutes into the period, forcing the game into overtime.

Kowalski picked up a tie in the standings, stopping 15 shots in the 31:32 he played, which brought his record to 11-6-3. Zepp turned away eight of the 11 shots he faced. McVicar raised his record to 5-8-1 with his 39 saves. The Everblades closed out the night 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Inferno finished 0-for-3 on the man advantage.

Florida returns to action on Tuesday, January 18 when they host the Augusta Lynx at 10:30 a.m. at Germain Arena. Tickets are available for Tuesday's game and fans can call (239) 948-7825 for ticket information. Tune to SportsRadio 770 AM or visit www.floridaeverblades.com, www.abc-7.com, and www.nbc-2.com to hear all the action with the "Voice of the Everblades" Kevin Reiter calling the play-by-play.

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ECHL Stories from January 15, 2005


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