ECHL Florida Everblades

Blades top Stingrays 5-3

Published on October 24, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (2-1-0) got back into the win column on Friday night with a 5-3 win over the South Carolina Stingrays (1-1-0) in front of a crowd of 4,700 at Germain Arena.

The Everblades got off to a quick start opening the scoring 5:03 into the contest when Michael Grenzy notched his first goal of the year by completing a strong up-ice rush. Ernie Hartlieb fed a pass from the right corner to the front of the net which Grenzy chipped past Stingrays net-minder Josh Johnson.

The lead held until late in the first period when South Carolina evened the score. Zach Tarkir tallied his first goal of the season with 30 seconds remaining in the opening period beating Florida goaltender Anton Khudobin with a shot from the high slot.

After killing off a power play to start the second period, the Everblades offense kicked in, scoring three times in the middle stanza. The scoring began with rookie Andrew Fournier scoring his first professional goal at 7:42 with a power play marker from the top of the crease. Mark Lee and Danick Bouchard collected the assists.

Just 1:03 later the Everblades grabbed a 3-1 lead when a Florida dump in couldn't be handed by Johnson off the end boards. Kevin Baker was first to the puck but Johnson was quick to make the save, however the rebound kicked off the chest of Ross Carlson and into the open net. The goal was Carlson's first of the year, and Brad Zanon earned the second assist.

The Everblades capped off the second period scoring blitz with a nice wrist shot by Bouchard at 15:14. Bouchard's third goal of the year came from the left circle after the winger took a pass in the neutral zone from Lee in stride.

Carrying a 4-1 lead into the third period, the Everblades didn't take long to add to their total as Aaron Brocklehurst scored just one minute in. With Florida on the power play, the rookie defenseman jumped deep into the zone and fired the puck from behind the goal line in the left corner to the front of the net, where it caromed off Johnson's leg pad and into the net. Lee and Jonathan Paiement assisted on Brocklehurst's second goal of the year.

The third period finished off with South Carolina scoring the game's final two goals. Maxime Lacroix cut the Everblades lead to three with a power play tally at 9:44 on a shot from the top of the crease that barely snuck through the pads of Khudobin and across the line. The Stingrays then notched their third goal with one second remaining in the game when Tommy Maxwell flung a loose puck at the top of the crease past the Everblade net-minder.

In net Khudobin (1-1-0) earned his first win of the season by stopping 22 of 25 shots, while Johnson dropped to 0-1-0 after allowing the five goals on 23 shots.

On the power play, the Everblades converted on 2 of their 11 chances, while the Stingrays finished the night 1-for-7.

BEWARE OF THE BITE! Action You Can Sink Your Teeth Into! 2008-09 Florida Everblades full and half season tickets are still available for as little as $252 per/seat! Be sure to reserve your piece of the action for next season! The Everblades' next game is on Saturday, October 18 when they host the Charlotte Checkers from Germain Arena at 7:30 p.m.! Visit www.floridaeverblades.com and www.germainarena.com or call 239-948-PUCK for more information on ticket packages, pricing and upcoming Germain Arena events.

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ECHL Stories from October 24, 2008


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