DULUTH, GA. – The Florida Everblades completed a three-game series sweep over the Atlanta Gladiators with a 4-3 overtime victory to kick off their road trip on a high note before back-to-back matchups against the South Carolina Stingrays.
The first half of the opening frame remained scoreless but that changed when Andrew Fyten netted his second goal of the season, and first of the game, off a wrist shot assisted by Colton Hargrove and Sean Allen, giving the Blades a 1-0 advantage at the 15:41 mark. Heading into the first intermission, the Blades not only held the lead in goals but also in shots on goal, outshooting Atlanta 11-10.
Despite the Blades getting on the board first, Atlanta responded with two consecutive goals, each on a powerplay. Blake Murray leveled the playing field at 2:11, followed by another goal at 4:43 from Cody Sylvester, pushing Atlanta into the lead. However, this was short-lived as Logan Lambdin struck back at 11:33 with a one-timer from the right circle, the same spot he previously scored on in game two against Atlanta, knotting the score at 2-2 with less than half of the middle frame remaining.
Joey Cippone saw past Cam Johnson again at 14:45, closing out the second period with the Blades trailing 23-19 in shots on goal and in a one-goal deficit.
Unlike the second period, the next 20 minutes were scoreless on either side until former Gladiator Carson Gicewicz capitalized on a rebound opportunity to send the game to a familiar road trip overtime. The Blades also evened the shot attempts at 33 to extend their momentum going into three-on-three hockey.
After six minutes with their backs up against a wall, Hargrove clinched the victory with a goal assisted by Mike O’Leary and Adrien Bisson to put the Gladiators away in a 4-3 overtime victory, completing the three-game sweep and maintaining their undefeated season.
The Blades will continue their road trip in South Carolina as they face the Stingrays and look to extend their win streak and maintain their undefeated record in North Charleston, S.C., on Friday, November 1, at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday, November 2, at 6:05 p.m.