Everblades extend franchise record with 11th straight home win
December 21, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (16-7-1) used four power play goals to extend their franchise record home winning streak to 11 with a 5-2 victory over the Pensacola Ice Pilots (10-12-3) on Wednesday night at Germain Arena.
After allowing a pair of first period goals to the Ice Pilots, the Everblades rebounded with four power play goals in the middle period to help propel them to their second straight win overall.
Brandon Cook opened the scoring for Pensacola after beating Everblades goaltender Craig Kowalski (10-5-0) at 5:59 of the first period, and Pete Gardiner extended the Ice Pilots lead with a power play goal with just 1:39 remaining in the frame.
However, the Everblades exploded out of the gate in the second period watching Kevin Bergin collect his ninth goal of the year just 1:17 beating Pensacola net-minder Frederic Cloutier (5-5-2) from the left circle to cut the Pensacola lead in half. Bogdan Rudenko then tied the game at two at 6:38 and Jon Lehun sent the crowd of 5,363 into a frenzy by giving Florida the lead for good just 1:08 later with his sixth goal of the year, and Florida's third power play marker of the period.
The Everblades closed out the scoring in the period when Ernie Hartlieb converted a 5-on-3 power play goal with 1:41 remaining in the middle period. The Everblades closed out the scoring with an empty net goal by Phil Aucoin with 25 seconds remaining in the game.
Kowalski picked up his eighth win in his last nine games by turning away 33 of 35 Pensacola shots. Cloutier suffered the loss for the Ice Pilots, allowing four goals on 38 shots.
On the power play, the Everblades finished the night 4-for-8, while the Ice Pilots closed out the game going 1-for-6. With the win, the Everblades now lead the season series 2-0-0.
The Everblades return to action on Thursday, December 22 when they host the Pensacola Ice Pilots at 7:30 p.m. from Germain Arena. During the game, the Everblades will wear special Texas Wildcatters jerseys, which will be auctioned off following the game to help benefit the Hurricane Relief Fund.
Everblades half season, group tickets, and individual game tickets are on sale now! Fans can purchase tickets at the Germain Arena box office, which is open from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone by calling TicketMaster at (239) 334-3309, or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For additional information, contact the Everblades office at (239) 948-7825.
3 Stars:
1 - Ernie Hartlieb - FLA
2 - Dan Sisca - FLA
3 - Martin Lojek - FLA
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