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Florida Everblades

Three goal second period propels Blades to 5-2 win over Gwinnett

February 18, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (29-24-3) used a big night by their top line and a three-goal second period to earn two big points in the South Division with a 5-2 win over the Gwinnett Gladiators (22-23-7) on Friday night at Germain Arena.

The Everblades' top line of Matt Beca, Francis Lemieux and Alex Imbeault all chipped in at least two points and factored in three of the five goals on the night.

That line helped out in the opening goal of the game just 1:07 into the contest. Imbeault feed Beca with a pass on the left side. Beca brought the puck into the zone before dropping back a pass to Elgin Reid who launched a slap shot that beat Gladiators goaltender Ed Pasquale low on the glove side.

The Everblades kept the pressure on, eventually opening up an 8-2 shot advantage before Gwinnett gained some traction and found a way to tie the score at one at the 9:33 mark when Mike Forney's one-timer from the slot got past Everblades net-minder Jaroslav Janus.

With the score even at one entering the second period the Gladiators this time got off to a quick start, grabbing a 2-1 lead just 53 seconds into the frame when Andy Brandt found himself in the right place at the right time. After a hard shot by Forney from the right circle clanked off the cross bar, the puck ricocheted off the leg of Brandt, and into the open net.

The Everblades however battled back and at 7:37 scored the first of four straight goals en-route to the victory. Imbeault got the Everblades tied back up at that mark of the second period after picking up a rebound in the slot and sliding it along the ice past Pasquale. Lemieux and Beca assisted on Imbeault's 29th goal of the season which put him into a tie for the most goals in the league.

Shortly after that Beca tallied the eventual game-winning goal while the Everblades enjoyed a 5-on-3 power play. The newest member of the Everblades, defenseman J.F. David began the play at the top of the right circle by feeding Lemieux at the bottom of the circle. Lemieux then found a seam across to the left circle where Beca hammered home his 13th goal of the year at 11:47.

The Everblades closed out the three-goal second period scoring blitz with 1:06 remaining after Bobby Raymond fired a long outlet pass from his own zone up to Jared Staal at the offensive blue line. Staal's speed got him behind the Gwinnett defense and completed the breakaway with a wrist shot over the glove of Pasquale for his sixth goal of the year.

In the third period the Everblades tacked on a little insurance early in the frame at 5:38. A nice give-and-go between Tony Mosey and Ian McDonald resulted in Mosey finishing the play with a shot from the slot that just slid under the pads of Pasquale and across the goal line. Mosey's second goal of the season was also assisted by Alex Hutchings.

In goal Janus improved to 10-12-0 after stopping 27 of 29 shots, while Pasquale fell to 4-3-0 after allowing the five goals on 35 shots.

Individual tickets to all 2010-11 Florida Everblades home games are on sale now! Tickets are available at the TIB Bank Box Office Monday - Friday from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. - 2 p.m. Fans can also purchase tickets through TicketMaster by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com or calling 800-745-3000.

The Everblades return to action on Saturday, February 19 when they host the Gwinnett Gladiators at 7:00 p.m. from Germain Arena. Visit www.floridaeverblades.com and www.germainarena.com for more information on ticket packages, pricing and upcoming Germain Arena events.

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