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ECHL Florida Everblades

'Blades upended by Stingrays 3-2

January 26, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (23-15-4) suffered a tough 3-2 loss to the South Carolina Stingrays (27-12-2) on Saturday night at Germain Arena in front of a crowd of 6,617. The win was South Carolina's sixth straight, while the Everblades saw their record fall to 3-1-1 vs. the Stingrays this season.

A spirited contest that felt like a playoff game saw each team register late first period goals. The Everblades broke through first tallying a power play goal with at 18:31 when Brandon Roach patiently fired a wrist shot from the left circle into the upper right corner of the net. The play began with Mathieu Melanson breaking his stick on his shot from the right circle. The puck rolled to Kirk MacDonald who fired a perfect pass to Roach for his seventh goal of the season.

The euphoria of the goal was washed away when South Carolina tied the game with 14 seconds remaining in the frame. Scott Romfo notched his sixth goal of the season with a shot from the left circle that clicked off the arm of Everblades goaltender Justin Peters, sending the teams into the intermission tied 1-1.

The second period saw the intensity ramp up with the teams combining for three goals and two fights. Just over a minute later Brad Brown squared off against former Everblade Grant McNeill. After the scrap, the Stingrays tacked on two goals midway through the period to open a 3-1 lead. Travis Morin gave South Carolina the lead for good at 8:39 with a power play marker. Morin's 19th goal of the year completed a tic-tac-toe passing play from Mike Gabinet and Patrick McNeill. The Stingrays notched the eventual game-winner shortly after when Chris Chaput deflected a pass from Matt Reid into the net at 11:20.

The Everblades clawed back to within a goal at 12:56 of the second period on Roach's second power play marker of the night. Roach finished off the play that began with Melanson and Derek Damon passing the puck along the right side of ice. After faking a shot, Damon slid a pass to Roach at the top of the left circle, where the rookie defenseman one-timed a shot by Stingrays net-minder David Parley.

The second spirited fight of the period came with a little over five minutes left in the middle stanza when Brad Herauf squared off against Matt Scherer.

The intensity of the contest carried into the third period, but the Stingrays clamped down defensively, limiting the Everblades to just five shots to prevent Florida from finding the tying goal.

In goal Peters (15-8-2) suffered the tough-luck loss after allowing the three goals on 28 shots, while Parley (12-4-1) earned his third straight win by turning away 25 or 27 shots.

On the power play, the Everblades closed out night 2-for-7, while the Stingrays finished 1-for-7.

Experience the excitement of the Everblades 10th Anniversary season! The Everblades return to action Tuesday, January 29 when they host the South Carolina Stingrays 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.

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