ECHL Florida Everblades

Peters Again Backstops Blades To Win Over Alaska

November 30, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - For the second straight game the Florida Everblades (12-6-0) rode the shoulders of goaltender Justin Peters to a victory over the Alaska Aces (10-7-1). The second-year pro turned away 43 of 44 shots to help lead the Everblades to a 3-1 victory on Friday night at Germain Arena in front of a crowd of 5,728. The win improved Florida's home record to 8-1-0 this season, while the loss was the fourth straight by the Aces.

Before Peters had to face a shot on goal, the Everblades offense gave him a lead to work with. Ernie Hartlieb picked up his eighth goal of the season just 12 seconds into the game after Brett Peterson's shot from the left boards was stopped. The puck rolled loose to Hartlieb at the left post where he jammed it past Aces goaltender Derek Gustafson. The goal set an Everblades all-time record as the fastest goal scored at the start of a game, breaking the previous mark set last November 14 when Jon Lehun scored 13 seconds into the start of a game vs. Columbia.

The first period moved along with the score remaining 1-0 until late in the frame. The Aces tied the contest 1-1 at 16:03 when Olivier Filion picked up a rebound off his own shot and deposited the puck behind Peters. Peters made the first save on Filion after also making a save on the initial shot by Barrett Heisten from the right circle.

In the second period the Everblades would take the lead for good a little over six minutes into the frame. Mathieu Melanson extended his point-scoring streak to 11 straight games when he tallied a power play goal by banging in a centering pass from Brad Zancanaro at 6:21. Hartlieb added the second assist on Melanson's 12th goal of the season which came just at the conclusion of a 4-on-4 situation, putting Florida on the power play.

A nice effort by Frank MacDonald late in the second period allowed the Everblades to open a 3-1 lead. MacDonald began the play by keeping the puck in the offensive zone at the blue line. He then fed a pass to Zancanaro along the left boards, who gave the puck back to MacDonald who got loose in the high slot. MacDonald then turned and rifled a shot into the upper left corner of the net at 17:22 for his second goal of the season.

As he did in Florida's 4-1 win over the Aces on Wednesday night, Peters took over in the third period. The Aces fired 18 shots in the final period, and limited the Everblades to a season and all-time low two shots in the frame, but Peters turned away all of them, many spectacular fashion. The Everblades penalty killers also came up big once again, killing off all five power play opportunities for the Aces, including a 5-on-3 power play late in the third period.

Peters won his fourth straight game in net and improved his overall record to 8-3-0 on the season, while Gustafson suffered the loss allowing the three goals on 23 shots, which dropped his record to 3-5-1.

On the power play, the Everblades closed out night 1-for-4, while the Aces finished 0-for-5.

Experience the excitement of the Everblades 10th Anniversary season! The Everblades return to action on Saturday, December 1 when they host the Alaska Aces 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.

Three Stars:

1) Justin Peters - FLA

2) Ernie Hartlieb - FLA

3) Mathieu Melanson - FLA

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ECHL Stories from November 30, 2007


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