Blades grab win over Ice Pilots, 5-2
January 15, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (21-13-3) used a pair of power play goals and 28 saves from goaltender David Shantz en-route to a 5-2 win over the Pensacola Ice Pilots (8-26-4) on Tuesday night at Germain Arena in front of a crowd of 5,835.
The Everblades struck early in the game, notching two goals in the first nine minutes of the contest. Preston Callander started the scoring off with his seventh goal of the season just 2:48 into the game. David Cornacchia made a nice play to keep the puck in the zone and down deep behind the net where he passed the puck off to Derek Damon. Damon then fed Callander with a pass in the right circle where his wrist shot found the back of the net for a 1-0 Florida lead.
The Everblades then opened a 2-0 lead after capitalizing on their first power play opportunity of the game. Brandon Roach notched the goal after his slap shot from the left point snuck between the pads of Pensacola goaltender Cam Ellsworth at 8:48 of the period. Damon and Ernie Hartlieb earned the assists on Roach's sixth goal of the year.
Trailing 2-0 entering the second period Pensacola registered a power play goal of their own just 3:15 into the frame when Erik Fabian deflected a shot from the right point by Andrew Morris past Shantz. Any momentum collected by the Ice Pilots on that goal was erased however just 14 second later when Hartlieb took advantage of being left alone at the front of the Pensacola net as he cashed in a rebound for a 3-1 Everblades lead. Brett Peterson earned the primary assist on the goal with a shot from the left point that was stopped by Ellsworth. Brad Herauf also collected an assist on Hartlieb's 12th goal of the season.
In the third period, the Everblades added to their lead with their second power play marker of the night. Herauf scored the goal after deflecting Cornacchia's point shot past Ellsworth at 10:08 of the period. The play began with Mike McLean scooping up a loose puck in the left circle and feeding it back to Cornacchia who's shot deflected off Herauf. The goal was Herauf's ninth of the year.
Pensacola once again drew within two goals with their second power play goal of the night. For the second time a shot from the point was deflected past Shantz, this time off the stick of Mathieu Roy. Roy's goal came at 12:07 on an assist from defenseman J.C. Sawyer.
The Everblades however sealed the win on what turned out to be a broken rush up ice. Damon cashed in at the end of a wacky play that began with Dan Collins skating in on a 2-on-1 rush with Callander. Collins initially lost control of the puck in the left circle before corralling it and sending a bouncing pass to Callander. Callander then settled the disc and kicked it to Damon who from the bottom of the right circle lifted a shot over a fallen and scrambling Ellsworth with 1:58 remaining in regulation. The goal was the 15th of the season for Damon, who now leads the Everblades in scoring with 37 points.
In net, Shantz improved to 3-0-0 after stopping 28 of 30 shots, while Ellsworth suffered the loss allowing the five goals on 36 shots to see his record drop to 8-16-1.
On the power play, the Everblades closed out night 2-for-8, while the Ice Pilots finished 2-for-7.
Experience the excitement of the Everblades 10th Anniversary season! The Everblades return to action on Friday, January 18 when they travel to Mississippi to take on the Sea Wolves at 8:05 p.m. from the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Everblades next home game is on Friday, January 25 when they 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.
Three Stars:
1) Derek Damon - FLA
2) Ernie Hartlieb - FLA
3) Brad Herauf - FLA
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