ECHL Florida Everblades

'Blades hold off Rays, win 3-2

January 29, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (24-15-4) gained two big points in the standings after holding off a mad rush by the South Carolina Stingrays (27-13-2) in the closing moments to win 3-2 over their South Division rival on Tuesday night at Germain Arena in front of a crowd of 4,783. The win improved the Everblades to 4-1-1 over South Carolina this season, and snapped South Carolina's six-game winning streak.

Another fierce battle between the two long-time rivals featured tight checking, hard hitting and plenty of animosity as the Everblades looked to avenge a pair of losses to the Stingrays this past weekend. Looking to get off to a fast start, the Everblades jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one period of play.

Third-year defenseman Steve Czech opened the scoring with his second goal of the season at 12:01 of the opening period. Czech got the Everblades on the board after letting a slap shot from the blue line go, that somehow found its way through traffic and into the back of the net. Brad Herauf and Ryan Van Buskirk assisted on the goal.

Just over two and a half minutes later, the Everblades extended their lead with a power play marker by Ernie Hartlieb. A play that began with good passing between Derek Damon and Preston Callander ended with Callander feeding a pass to Hartlieb in the slot who one-time a quick shot past Stingrays net-minder Davis Parley at 14:37. The goal was Hartlieb's 14th of the season.

The Everblades carried that two-goal lead late into the second period, when they would make it a 3-0 goal late in the frame. However in between, play got feisty. Everblades defenseman David Cornacchia and Stingrays forward Matt W. Reid were first to square off dropping the gloves just over six minutes into the period. Blades d-man Steve Ward and South Carolina forward Steve Pinizotto were next to duke it out 12 minutes into the frame.

After the dust settled, the Everblades opened a 3-0 lead when Kirk MacDonald fired home a pass from Mike McLean with 2:03 remaining in the period. Off a face-off win, Jordan Henry's shot from the blue line was blocked in front of the net. McLean then swooped in and picked up the loose puck then dropped it off to MacDonald who tallied his 10th goal of the year.

The Stingrays brought hard pressure in the third period and eventually broke through on the scoreboard midway through the period. While on the power play Stingrays captain Cail MacLean deflected a shot from Marty Guerin past Everblades goaltender Justin Peters at 10:04 to trim the lead to 3-1.

The game remained a two-goal Everblades lead until the closing minute when, with the goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, Travis Morin notched his 20th goal of the season by chipping a feed from behind the net by Pinizzotto inside the right post with 45 seconds remaining in regulation. South Carolina kept the pressure up and had a few more chances to the net in the closing 45 seconds, but Peters held strong to preserve the win.

Peters improved his record to 16-8-2 by stopping 28 of 30 shots, while Parley saw his personal three game winning streak come to an end after allowing the three goals on 30 shots.

On the power play, the Everblades closed out night 1-for-3, while the Stingrays finished 1-for-6.

Experience the excitement of the Everblades 10th Anniversary season! The Everblades return to action Thursday, January 31 when they travel to Texas to take on the Wildcatters at 8:05 p.m. eastern from Ford Arena. The Everblades return home on Friday, January 8 to host the Augusta Lynx at 7:30 p.m. from Germain Arena. 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) Justin Peters - FLA

2) Steve Czech - FLA

3) Ernie Hartlieb - FLA

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 29, 2008


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.

OurSports Central