Seals come from behind for victory
December 22, 2005 - SPHL (SPHL)
Florida Seals News Release
[KISSIMMEE, Fla.] -Fans who came out to the Silver Spurs Arena got an early holiday present. The Florida Seals came from two goals down to beat first place Fayetteville 5-3. It was the biggest come from behind victory of the year for Florida.
Craig Miller was the hero as he scored the game winner with less than three minutes to go in the third period. It was Miller's second goal of the night; both goals gave his team the lead at the time. The New Brunswick native carried the puck into the zone and slowed to a near halt in the circle. As he slowed down he took a slap shot and beat goalie Glenn Ridler up high.
Things looked bleak early as Fayetteville's George Nistas and Mark Phenow each scored a power play goal before the first period was half over. The two power play goals must have woke up the Seals and turned up the shots and lit the lamp in bunches.
The Seals cut the lead in half at the 15:57 mark of the opening frame when Steve Zoryk scored for the 17th time this season, tied for the league lead. Florida would take the momentum and carry it throughout much of the second period.
Ridler misplayed the puck behind his net, and David Deeves intercepted the pass and found Ryan Rivard in the slot. Rivard made Ridler pay with his fifth goal of the season; it was the second straight goal the Seals scored because of a Ridler misplay.
Florida would take their first lead of the game when Miller finished one of hockey's prettiest plays. John Gurskis won the draw back to defenseman Art Mnatsakanov on the blue line. Mnatsakanov delivered a perfect pass to Miller across the ice for his forward to finish.
The win put the Seals in a second place tie with Knoxville and moved them within four points of the FireAntz. The Fayetteville loss was the first for Ridler this season in 14 appearances.
The teams will finish their home-and-home series in Fayetteville Friday night. It will be Florida's first trip to the Crown Coliseum since Mar. 2003. The puck drops at 7:30pm. The game can be heard locally on 1190 WAMT and around the world at www.wamt1190.com.
To reserve your season tickets or find out more about partnerships with the Seals, call the office at (407) 343-PUCK or go to www.floridaseals.com. Single game tickets for exciting Seals hockey start as low as $10 for an individual and $6 for groups. All home games can be seen live at www.livesportsnetwork.com/sphl.
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- Seals come from behind for victory - Florida Seals
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