ESTERO, Fla. – Bobo Carpenter snapped a 2-2 tie early in the second period with the first of his two goals, and the Florida Everblades never looked back, scoring twice in each period and beating the ECHL North Division leading Adirondack Thunder 6-3 Wednesday night at Hertz Arena, sending 5,438 Southwest Florida hockey fans home happy following a game with playoff-level intensity.
With the victory, the Everblades snapped Adirondack’s 17-game point streak (14-0-2-1), handing the Thunder a regulation loss for the first time since December 29.
The teams traded quick goals just 28 seconds apart in the opening two minutes of play. Adirondack’s Tristan Ashbrook got the Thunder on the board just 1:42 into the contest, but Nathan Staios responded for the Everblades with his eighth tally of the year. Staios connected on a blast from the low slot that evened the score at the 2:10 mark, with Cam Darcy and Luke Santerno picking up the assists.
Florida’s equalizer came just 21 seconds after the Blades’ Kyle Neuber outpointed Adirondack’s Darion Skeoch during post-faceoff fisticuffs, firing up both the Everblades faithful and the boys in green.
The home team was not done in the opening frame, as Mark Senden buried a laser from the left point off assists by Zach Uens and Neuber at 14:12 to stake the Everblades to a 2-1 lead. Senden’s goal was his sixth of the campaign and third against Adirondack in four games this season.
Exactly three minutes into the second period, Adirondack’s Shane Harper converted an unassisted goal to knot the score at 2-2. The Blades responded quickly, as Carpenter slammed home a rebound off a laser from Jordan Sambrook at the 5:02 mark for his team-leading 18th goal of the year, putting the good guys back on top, 3-2. Oliver Chau also earned a helper.
Chau added an insurance goal for the Blades, his 12th of the year, at 15:50 of the middle frame as Florida pulled ahead 4-2. Joe Pendenza and Carpenter earned the assists. The insurance goal came in handy, as Harper’s second goal of the game, a shorthanded tally at 17:14, brought Adirondack back within one, 4-3, heading into the final frame.
The Everblades saw the two-goal lead restored at 6:36 of the third period, as Carpenter’s second goal of the contest off a feed from a streaking Pendenza put the home team ahead 5-3. Logan Lambdin’s 10th goal of the year from Sean Josling and Sambrook at 11:06 extended the Blades’ lead to 6-3.
Over 60 minutes, the Everblades won the shot battle 40-32, buoyed by a decisive 16-5 edge in the middle frame. Cam Johnson (13-9-3-1) turned aside 29 Adirondack shots to earn the victory, while Vinnie Purpura (12-2-3-1) had 34 saves in a loss for the Thunder.
The four-game homestand continues with two more games against the Adirondack Thunder on Friday, February 9 at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday, February 10 at 7:00 p.m. Friday will be another 239 Friday and fans can pick up two tickets, two wraps and a souvenir program for just $39. In addition, Friday will be Canadian Night at The Swamp presented by TD Bank. And on Saturday, the Skunk Apes are back, complete with a Skunk Apes jersey giveaway courtesy of Arthrex and another always-popular Saturday Night Tailgate with live music!
Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
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