ECHL Florida Everblades

Blades see skid hit three after falling 4-3 to Checkers

February 8, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


CHARLOTTE, NC - The Florida Everblades (33-12-2) saw their losing streak hit three after dropping a Sunday afternoon tilt 4-3 to the Charlotte Checkers (23-20-2) in front of a crowd of 6,004 at Time Warner Cable Arena. Despite two third period goals by the Everblades to climb back to within one and late pressure, the Everblades saw their four-game winning streak against Charlotte come to an end.

The game began in good fashion for the Everblades got on the board quickly when Kevin Baker tallied his milestone 40th goal of the year just 1:35 into the contest. Baker picked up a loose puck behind the Charlotte net before swinging to the bottom of the left circle where his sharp angle shot banked between the pads of Charlotte goaltender Jeff Jakaitis.

The goal for Baker also tied the Everblades single-season record for most goals in one year, which is also held by Brian McCullough who tallied 40 in 2003-04.

The fast start however for the Everblades was erased by three unanswered goals by the Checkers over the remainder of the opening period. The first of the three goals came at 4:15 when Mike Bayrack completed a nice passing play by wristing a shot over the blocker over Everblades net-minder David Leggio for his 13th goal of the year.

The Checkers then took the lead a 13:04 after Michel Leveille finished off a 2-on-1 rush into the zone by lifting a wrist shot over Leggio's glove for his ninth goal of the season. The lead increased to 3-1 at 15:36 when Ryan Murphy one-timed a pass from the slot past Leggio for his fourth goal of the year with a delayed penalty coming against Florida.

Despite good pressure at the start of the second period, the Everblades couldn't find a way to get the puck past Jakaitis, but the Checkers did manage to increase their lead to three on Lee Falardeau's sixth goal of the season at 6:17 when his wrist shot from the inside of the right circle snuck past Leggio.

The Everblades clawed back to within two goals late in the third period on a power play goal by Ernie Hartlieb after collecting a rebound at the top of the crease after Baker's slap shot from the left circle was stopped, but not controlled by Jakaitis, allowing Hartlieb to sweep the puck across the line at 13:26. Baker and Peter Metcalf registered the assists on Hartlieb's 14th goal of the season.

Florida kept the pressure on and eventually cut the Checkers lead to one at 15:53 after a great offensive cycle that ultimately saw Baker pick up the puck behind the Charlotte net before slipping into the left circle and firing the puck across the top of the crease. Mathieu Roy muscled loose from a Charlotte defender at the right side of the crease before banging a shot past Jakaitis. Along with Baker, Aaron Brocklehurst assisted on Roy's 17th goal of the year.

In the closing moments, with Leggio pulled for an extra attacker, the Everblades threw a lot of pressure on the Checkers and nearly tied the contest when a pair of chances skipped just wide of the right post.

In the end Jakaitis picked up his fourth win over Florida by turning away 44 of 47 shots to improve his record to 15-12-2 overall. Leggio suffered his second straight defeat after allowing the four goals on 29 shots which dipped his record to 16-5-1.

On the power play, the Everblades finished the night 1-of-6, while Checkers closed out the game 0-of-4.

BEWARE OF THE BITE! Action You Can Sink Your Teeth Into! Individual tickets to all Everblades home games are on sale now! Visit the Germain Arena Box Office M-F from 10-6 to purchase tickets, or order online at www.ticketmaster.com. Visit www.floridaeverblades.com and www.germainarena.com or call 239-948-PUCK for more information on group ticket packages, pricing and upcoming Germain Arena events.

The Everblades return to action on Wednesday, February 11 when they host the Cincinnati Cyclones at 7:30 p.m. from Germain Arena.

3 Stars:

1 - Mike Bayrack- CHR

2 - Michel Leveille - CHR

3 - Lee Falardeau - CHR

Check out the Florida Everblades Statistics



ECHL Stories from February 8, 2009


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