ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Blades Defeat Gladiators in Physical 5-3 Victory

Published on March 30, 2012 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL- Brayden Irwin had his hand in three of the five Blade's goals putting up two goals and an assist, leading the Florida Everblades to a 5-3 victory over the Gwinnett Gladiators Friday night at Germain Arena

Florida's offense began the first period by controlling the puck and keeping it in Gwinnett's zone. The pressure paid off five minutes into the period when Matt Marquardt fed a pass to Cedric McNicoll in the slot whose back-handed shot got past Gwinnett goaltender Marc Cherverie.

The Everblades extended their lead to two, taking advantage of a powerplay opportunity, as Marquardt recorded his second assist of the night when he sent a cross ice feed to Brayden Irwin in the left side circle. Irwin fired a wrist shot to beat Cherverie to give Florida a 2-0 lead going into the first break.

The second period saw both teams capitalizing on their powerplay opportunities. The first came from Gwinnett when Pat Gallivan intercepted a pass in the Everblades zone and took the puck to the net and put it in the net from point blank range.

The Gladiators tied it up two minutes later when Joey Haddad found Sean Duddy high in the slot whose one timer beat John Muse and tied the game at two.

Florida would retake the lead, and score the third goal of the period off a powerplay chance when Bobby Raymond passed the puck from the crease to a wide open Marquardt. Marquardt took a tough angled shot from the bottom of the left side circle, and went just high of Cherverie's glove to put the Blades up 3-2 going into the second break.

Florida jumped to a two goal lead at 11 minutes into the period when Mike Ratchuk placed a beautiful pass right into Brayden Irwin's stick. Irwin's one timer would get past Cherverie for the fourth time and give the Blades a 4-2 lead.

Gwinnett would not go out quietly and would make it a game again nearly a minute later. Following a Gladiator penalty, Andy Brandt won the faceoff in the Gladiator zone and quickly sent a pass to Haddad who outskated the defense and score the shorthanded goal on a backhanded shot from point blank range closing the gap to one goal.

Florida finally got the insurance goal they were looking for in the final minute of play when Matt Beca outworked two defenders in Gwinnett's zone and shot on an empty net to make the score 5-3 and put the game out of reach for the Gladiators.

John Muse earns the win stopping 30 of 33 shots on goal, while Marc Cherverie takes the loss allowing four goals on 32 shots.

Florida closes out the regular season tomorrow at Germain Arena against the Gwinnett Gladiators. Game starts at 7:00 p.m. It is Fan Appreciation Weekend, and the first 2,500 fans will receive a free Everblades team photo courtesy of FGCU and Direct Impressions.

Playoff packages and individual playoff game tickets are currently on sale. The first two games of the Quarterfinal Playoff Series will take place at Germain Arena on Monday, April, 2 and Wednesday, April 4.

To purchase tickets stop by any Ticketmaster outlet, or the Capital Bank Box Office at Germain Arena. The Capital Bank Box Office is open Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Fans may also call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or order online at www.ticketmaster.com For more information regarding playoff packages call 239-948-7825.

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ECHL Stories from March 30, 2012


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