Blades Soar over Wings to Claim 4-2 Victory
November 20, 2024 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
Florida Everblades forward Craig Needham
(Florida Everblades)
ESTERO, Fla. - The Florida Everblades returned to The Swamp with a 4-2 victory over the Kalamazoo Wings to set the tone for an exciting weekend of back-to-back matchups between the two teams.
Heading into their first period on home ice after three away games, the Blades aimed to come out of the gates strong to set the tone early. Carson Gicewicz turned this to reality 10:45 into the opening frame with a one-timer to see past Kalamazoo goaltender Johnathan Lemieux and give the Blades the early lead.
Shots on goal for both teams after the first 20 minutes were knotted at two with starting goaltender Cam Johnson turning away all eight.
The Blades' momentum from Gicewicz's goal stayed present after the first intermission as Alex Kile saw past traffic in the crease to claim an Everblades second and extend the lead just over a minute into the second period. With the majority of the period remaining, Johnson stood strong in Blades territory, facing nine more shot attempts and saying no to each.
The Blades maintained their explosive demonstration of hockey in the third period as Oliver Chau netted their third consecutive goal at the 5:10 mark to keep Kalamazoo scoreless and in a three-goal deficit.
The script was flipped six minutes later when Kalamazoo responded and saw past Johnson to get on the board for the first time in this matchup. As a last-ditch effort, Kalamazoo pulled Lemieux to gain an extra attacker, resulting in forward Josh Bloom capitalizing with a goal each to make it a one-goal contest with just under three minutes left.
However, Chau was able to reverse their luck in the final minute with an empty net goal to secure his second of the night.
The Blades ended their matchup on home ice in a 4-2 victory, outshooting Kalamazoo 28-25. The two teams will face each other in back-to-back contests this weekend, Friday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, November 23 at 7 p.m.
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 Florida Everblades forward Craig Needham |
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