ECHL Florida Everblades

'Blades swamped 5-0 by Texas in game two

Published on April 25, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Texas Wildcatters rebounded from a 5-0 game 1 loss to the Everblades to turn the tables and hand Florida a 5-0 defeat in game 2 on Wednesday night at Germain Arena in front of a crowd of 4,312. Texas net minder Matt Yeats turned away all 33 shots he faced to earn his first shutout of the playoffs, as the Wildcatters evened the best-of-seven series at one heading to Texas for the next three games.

As the Everblades did in game 1, the Wildcatters jumped out to an early lead in game 2 and never looked back. Daniel Sparre opened the scoring at 6:22 of the first period to give Texas the early advantage. The goal marked the first time the Everblades failed to score the game's first goal this post-season, and also ended the shutout string of 'Blades goaltender Craig Kowalski at 140 minutes and 1 second.

Leading 1-0 heading into the second period the Wildcatters continued their strong play, out-shooting the Everblades 16-8 while tacking on three more goals. Ben Thomson notched his second goal of the playoffs at 8:37 deflecting a pass from Jonathan Paiement into the net from the right post. The Wildcatters extended their lead to 3-0 at 12:12 when Kevin Baker's shot from the right corner banked off Kowalski and dropped across the line for Baker's fourth playoff goal. Texas finished off the trio of second period goals when Mike Bayrack completed a 2-on-1 rush with a wrist shot from the slot that slipped inside the right post at 15:13.

At the start of the third period, the Everblades replaced Kowalski with David Shantz, who was rudely greeted by a breakaway by Baker, who notched his second goal of the night at 3:52 by chipping a backhand shot over the stick of Shantz on Texas' first shot of the period. From there the Wildcatter clamped down defensively and Yeats did the rest making several big saves to preserve the shutout as he turned away 15 third period shots to earn his first playoff win and raise his record to 1-1.

Kowalski suffered the loss for the Everblades, his first of the post season, after allowing the four goals on 27 shots dropping his record to 4-1. Shantz finished off the game stopping five of the six shots he faced in the third period.

On the power play, both teams finished 0-for-5.

Following the game, the Everblades saw two changes to their roster take place. Defenseman Martin Tuma was recalled to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, and defenseman Chris Dyment was placed on the 7-day injured reserve list after suffering an injury in the first period of game 1 against Texas.

The Florida Everblades, proud affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers, return to the ice on Friday, April 27 when they travel to Texas to take on the Wildcatters in game 3 of the South Division Finals at 8:30 p.m. from Ford Arena. The Florida Everblades are now taking deposits on 2007-08 season tickets!! Reserve your seat for all the exciting action today by calling (239) 948-7825. Visit www.floridaeverblades.com and www.germainarena.com for more information on group ticket packages, pricing and upcoming Germain Arena events.

3 Stars:

1 - Matt Yeats - TEX

2 - Kevin Baker - TEX

3 - Ben Thomson - TEX

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ECHL Stories from April 25, 2007


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