Florida continues road trip

ESTERO, FL – The Florida Everblades continue their 11-game road trip with games three and four in Georgia and South Carolina respectively.   The Blades ended the year, splitting the points between their divisional foes, earning two out of a possible four points.    Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 – Gwinnett ( Duluth) GA: Everblades 4 – Gladiators 1   Florida and Gwinnett met for the second time in just three days.   Blades newcomer, Brian Leitch, came out with a blast of fire, scoring two rapid goals in the first period.   His first goal came at 4:55 on a power play opportunity.   He added his second, on an even strength attempt, just a few minutes later at 7:04.    Florida ended the period up by 2-0.

The Blades remained dominant in the second, as Brandon Buck opened the scoring with an even strength tally at 4:57.   Kevin Baker, last season’s league scoring champion, fired up a power play goal at 14:42.   This was   Bakers’ 300^th professional game in North America.   After two “all Blades” periods of hockey, Florida led by a healthy 4-0. The third was marred by a hooking penalty by Brandon Buck, giving Gwinnett the opportunity of a rare penalty shot.   Pat Galivan was able to get the puck past Florida’s Mike Morrison, giving them their only goal of the game.   Florida won handily with the final score of 4-1. Florida ’s Mike Morrison stopped 38 of 39 shots, and David Brown of Gwinnett stopped 24 of 28.   The Everblades managed two of eight on the power play, while Gwinnett was zero for five.   Thursday, December 31st, 2009 – North Charleston, SC.      Stingrays 4 – Everblades 1  The Blades spent New Years Eve in South Carolina, battling the Stingrays for the last win of the year.   The first two periods were a defensive battle as the two teams remained scoreless. The third period was very exciting, as Florida’s Paul Healey opened the scoring.   Healey knocked in a puck off of a rebound shot and found the back of the net at 5:31.   The Florida goal seemed to infuriate the Stingrays and spurred them to a furious offensive surge. The barrage of South Carolina goals were as follows: Matt Scherer at 8:09 – power play; Keith Johnson at 8:51; Luke Hauswirth at 13:28; and Gregg Johnson 15:19.   In a little over seven minutes the Stingrays not only took control, they easily won their last game of 2009 by a score of 4-1. Shane Connelly of the Stingrays took home the win stopping 33 of 34 shots, while Blades’ Mike Morrison stopped 24 of 28 shots on goal.   Florida was zero for three, while South Carolina picked up one for three on the power play man advantage.NOTES: Three members of the Florida Everblades have been selected for the ECHL All-Star game, American Conference.   They are: Jacob Micflickier, A.J. Thelen and Brandon Buck.   The game will be held in Ontario, California on January 20^th. The Florida Everblades continue their road trip, starting the New Year back in Gwinnett against the Gladiators on Saturday January 2^nd, 2010.    Contact the writer at: sharon.weatherhead@prohockeynews.com  Contact the Photographer at Rob.Huelsman@prohockeynews.com