FireAntz Earn Split Of Weekend Series
December 16, 2006 - SPHL (SPHL)
Florida Seals News Release
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - Friday night, the third period between the Florida Seals and the Fayetteville FireAntz was a score fest. Saturday the fun started earlier
Adam Meyer's power play goal with a little less than nine minutes left and an empty net goal by David Mullins proved to be the difference as the FireAntz ended the Seals' three game winning streak by a final of 6-5 at the Silver Spurs Arena. The outcome spoiled a two goal performance by Florida's Chad Haacke.
"We showed some character tonight coming back from 3-1 down," Fayetteville coach John Marks said. "Obviously we needed to win, there's no question about that. We found a way and that's what counts."
Florida didn't want to repeat the slow first period start from the night before. They came out of the gates much better and it paid dividends. Midway through the period, Ryan Coghlan ripped at shot that Fayetteville goalie Garrett Kindred stopped. Haacke was left alone in front and pounced on the rebound for the goal and the lead.
The second period was wild and crazy. It started with Tim Vitek picking up a loose puck in the FireAntz zone, faking Kindred to one side and firing high to the other for a shorthanded goal. Just under three minutes later, Fayetteville got on the board when Nick Kormanyos dug the puck out of a scramble and beat Balser. Florida answered back 28 seconds later when Haacke notched his second off the rebound of yet another Coghlan blast.
The visitors kept fighting and responded with two unanswered scores, one by Josh Piro on a breakaway out of the penalty box and the other by Tim Velemirovich on a power play to tie the score at 3-3. The Seals came right back and went in front again when Lawne Snyder sent Rob Sich in alone. Sich picked the top corner on Kindred to put Florida up 4-3. The lead lasted all of 1:50 as Jarrett Robertson cashed in the rebound of a Pekka Saittakari shot to send the game to the final period tied at 4-4.
The question at the start of the final period was which team would blink first. It would be the Seals as they took a hooking penalty at 7:09 and Fayetteville made them pay. During a flurry on the ensuing power play, Balser made two or three saves but the puck came to Meyer in the slot. He picked the top stick side corner on Balser and lit the lamp at 8:47 for the visitors' first lead of the game. Fayetteville extended the lead to two with just over a minute when Mullins capitalized on a Seals' mistake for an empty net goal. It proved to be important as Coghlan scored with just 1.6 seconds remaining to bring Florida back within one but it wasn't enough to change the final outcome.
"We dominated the first period. We had a 3-1 lead in the second. Two mistakes cost us two goals and that's the difference in the hockey game," Florida coach Tommy Stewart said. "You score five goals at home and you should win. I'm looking at a big picture right now. The guys are playing well and there are going to be nights like this."
The Seals have a busy week ahead. It starts with a game Tuesday night at Jacksonville followed by home games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Silver Spurs Arena.
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