ECHL Florida Everblades

Blades Hit 30 Wins with 7-1 Thrashing of Stingrays

January 30, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


CHARLESTON, SC - The Florida Everblades (30-9-2) rode a five-goal second period and Kevin Baker's fifth career hat-trick to a commanding 7-1 win over the South Carolina Stingrays (21-16-5) on Friday night at the North Charleston Coliseum. Goaltender David Leggio earned his career-high eighth straight win by stopping 24 of 25 shots, and a second period penalty shot.

A solid first period by the Everblades led to them carrying a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. The scoring started quickly after South Carolina was whistled for a too many on the ice penalty two minutes into the game.

It took only 18 seconds after the penalty for the Everblades to find pay-dirt when Mathieu Roy scooped up a rebound at the top of the Stingrays goal crease and slipped it past South Carolina net-minder Jeremy Duchesne. Peter Metcalf began the play with a shot from the left point that Colin Nicholson knocked down before having his shot stopped and the rebound going to Roy.

The Everblades kept the pressure up as the period progressed, at one point opening a 10-2 shot advantage. Goal-scoring wise, the Everblades added to their lead at 9:29 when Danick Bouchard registered his 16th goal of the year with a back-hand shot from the slot. The goal came off a right side face off after Andrew Fournier dug the puck out of a scrum and slipped it to Bouchard. Mark Lee collected an assist on the goal as well.

The second period goal-scoring explosion for the Everblades began with the first of Baker's three goals in the period. While on the power play Baker took a pass from Metcalf in the left circle and banked it off Duchesne and into the net at 4:32. The goal, which was also assisted on by Ryan Lang, was Baker's 15th power play goal this season which set a new Everblades all-time single-season record.

Baker added to his goal total, notching his 34th of the season after taking a long, looping outlet pass by Metcalf and out-racing the South Carolina defenders before slipping a shot between the pads of Duchesne at 7:21. Lang added another assist on the tally.

Lang got in on the goal scoring fun at 8:12 with a power play marker of his own. Lang fired home a loose puck at the right side of the net off a pass from Baker to give the Everblades a 5-0 advantage. Metcalf recorded his fourth assist of the night on Lang's 14th goal of the season.

As the physical play and fisticuffs began to increase during the second period as well as the teams combined for two fights with Patrick Bordeleau and Nate Kiser dropping the gloves early in the frame and Everblades new-comer Benn Olson scrapping with Spencer Carbery just prior to the midpoint.

Meanwhile the Everblades added to their goal scoring total at 8:12 when Lee registered his eighth goal of the year after his initial shot from the right circle went wide, but a hard rebound off the end boards came back to him at the right post where he tapped it in. Bouchard and Steve McJannett tallied the helpers on the sixth Florida goal.

The Stingrays put themselves in a hole late in the period with a string of penalties that cost them another goal. With the Everblades on a 5-on-3 power play Baker completed the hat-trick with 1:57 left in the frame with a one-time shot from the left circle. Ernie Hartlieb got on the scoresheet with an assist along with Lee on Baker's 35th goal of the season.

With the game in control for the Everblades, the Stingrays spoiled the shutout bid by Leggio when Carbery tallied his ninth goal of the year just 1:18 into the period.

From there the period moved along steadily with no further extra-curricular activities and Leggio turned away the remaining eight shots to notch his eighth straight win.

Leggio improved to 16-3-1, while Duchesne fell to 3-8-2 after allowing the seven goals on 36 shots.

On the power play, the Everblades finished the night 4-of-13, while Stingrays closed out the game 0-of-6.

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 30, 2009


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