The Everblades’ special teams units came out big, striking twice on the power play and once while short-handed.
Berzolla opened the scoring for the Everblades just 1:38 into a busy and physical first period. His second goal of the season came after a shot was stopped by South Carolina goalkeeper Mitchell Gibson but found its way into the net off a Stingray player to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.
The good guys’ early lead was short-lived as Simon Pinard tied the game for the Stingrays at 4:57 with his second goal in as many games. Pinards 14e The goal came just 27 seconds after his team failed to score despite having a two-man advantage. Everblades netminder Will Cranley gave up five shots on goal during a frenetic two-minute stretch.
Both teams had twelve shots on target in the opening frame, which ended with a few leftovers in the final minute and after the final whistle. All told, the bitter rivals finished the frame with 26 combined penalty minutes on 13 total fouls.
As the pleasantries continued throughout the second period, the Everblades’ special teams took over in the middle frame. Romano’s short-handed goal from the post at 4:18 and Chau’s power-play marker at 11:16 lifted Florida to a 3-1 lead. Romano’s score was the Blades’ eighth shorty of the season and gave the ECHL All-Star 13 goals, while Chau’s man-up marker was the captain’s sixth.
South Carolina’s Josh Wilkins cut the Everblades’ lead with his second goal of the series, making it 3-2 at 14:31 of the second frame, as the Blades’ lead held until the final period. Nine fouls in 34 minutes lit up the scoreboard in the middle 20 minutes, highlighted by a 10-minute misconduct and a game misconduct against South Carolina’s Bryan Moore at 10:16.
The Stingrays tied the game for the second time at 6:24 of the third period, as Pinard’s second goal of the afternoon, his 15e This season the match was tied at 3-3.
For the third time in the afternoon, the Everblades took the lead – this time for good. Brar set up a perfect feed from Kyle Penney for his fifth goal of the year (and second in two games) as the Blades took a 4-3 lead with 7:19 to play. Two goals in the final two minutes, an empty-netter from Jesse Lansdell and a power-play tally from Romano, his second of the match, capped the 6-3 win.
Florida won the shots in the goal battle 32-26, with Cranley (13-2-0-0) making 23 saves to get back in the win column.
With only one minor penalty against South Carolina in the final period, the teams finished the game with 62 penalty minutes on 23 total fouls. The host Stingrays accounted for 13 penalties and 42 minutes, compared to 10 penalties and 20 minutes for the Everblades.
The Everblades return home on Wednesday, January 28 to open a three-game series against the Atlanta Gladiators. Puck drop at Hertz Arena for the midweek tilt is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
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BLADE BITS
With the winning goal, Ben Brar scored goals in back-to-back matches for the second time this season, matching the feat he originally accomplished on December 7 in Norfolk and on December 12 against Orlando.
Anthony Romano’s shorthanded goal gave the Everblades eight shorties on the year, second-best in the ECHL. With two goals and an assist, Romano extended his points streak to four games.
Oliver Chau and Zach Berzolla both scored their first goals since finding the net in the Blades series in Norfolk on December 5 and 7 respectively. Berzolla added an assist for his first two-point game since that Dec. 7 tilt.
With Sunday’s win, the Everblades improved to 3-0-1-0 vs. South Carolina and captured the visiting team’s first win of the season series. This series marked the final regular season trip to North Charleston and the Palmetto State. Stingrays will visit the Hertz Arena for matches on April 10 and 11.
The score sheet from Sunday afternoon
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