Ice Gators Earn Series Split With 4-2 Win
March 23, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (36-26-6) were defeated by the Louisiana Ice Gators (53-12-4) 4-2 in front of a sold out crowd of 7,181 at TECO Arena on Saturday night. Florida remained tied for fourth place with South Carolina in the Southeast Division despite the loss. Ice Gators forward Ryan Shanahan had the game winning goal and an assist. The Louisiana Ice Gators tied the ECHL record for wins with their 53rd win of the season on Saturday night.
After a scoreless first period in the second period the Ice Gators got on the board first on a power play goal off the stick of forward Shawn McNeil at the 6:59 mark of the period. The Everblades then came back and tied the game at 1-1 after forward Don Smith scored a rebound goal at the 13:12 mark. Louisiana then grabbed a 2-1 lead after forward Konstantin Kalmikov fired a shot into the back of the net at the 15:59 mark of the second period. The Everblades struck back in the third period and knotted the game at 2-2 when recently assigned defenseman Paul Elliot one timed the puck past Ice Gators netminder Frederic Cloutier. However, the Ice Gators reclaimed the lead after Ryan Shanahan scored on the power play with 12:12 remaining in the game. Forward Konstantin Kalmikov iced the win for Louisiana with an empty net goal late in the third period. Florida goaltender Randy Petruk (26-17-5) stopped 39 of 42 shots he faced while Ice Gators netminder Frederic Cloutier (27-5-3) stopped 31 of 33 shots. The Everblades were 0 for 6 on the power play while the Ice Gators were 2 for 6.
Florida concludes the 2001-02 season on the road with a pair of games next Friday and Saturday night in Pee Dee. Both games begin at 7:30 PM. The Everblades then play in Augusta on Sunday at 4:05 PM. All 72 regular season games can be heard on Sportsradio 770 AM, 98.9 "The Gulf" and on the Internet at www.floridaeverblades.com with the "Voice of the Everblades" Mark Miller calling the play-by-play. Listen to "Blade Talk" each Monday on Sportsradio 770 AM from 6 - 7 PM.
3 Stars:
1 - Shanahan - LOU
2 - McNeil - LOU
3 - Elliot - FLA
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