ESTERO, Fla. – The Florida Everblades blasted the Gwinnett Gladiators with a pair of commanding wins this weekend at Germain Arena in Estero, Florida. On Friday night, the Blades had a three-goal second period. On Saturday night, they followed with an even bigger four-goal third period. This was Florida’s best set in quite a while. Hopefully this is a turnaround for them, as they approach the run for the playoffs. FRIDAY February 18th FLORIDA EVERBLADES: 5 / GWINNETT GLADIATORS: 2 The Blades came out hard and strong and got on the board just 1:07 into the first period on Friday night. Elgin Reid put away a solid goal with help from Alex Imbeault and Matt Beca. The Blades kept up the pressure out-shooting the Gladiators 8-2. Gwinnett found the back of returning goalie Jaroslav Janus’ net. Mike Forney tied the score at 9:33 of the first. The Gladiators took the lead just 53 seconds into the second period with a goal by Andy Brandt. Mike Forney hit the cross bar and Brandt got a nice ricochet and the puck went flying into the Florida net. Unfortunately for Gwinnett, that was the end of their scoring tonight. Florida barreled ahead, scoring the next four goals (three in the second). Alex Imbeault tied the game at 7:37. Matt Beca scored the eventual game winner on a 5-on-3 power play opportunity at 11:47. Jared Staal added to the score with 1:06 remaining in the period. While the play flowed back-and-forth in the third period, the only goal was one by Florida’s Tony Mosey at 5:38. Florida took the win 5-2. Florida ’s Jaroslav Janus was the winning goaltender with 27 saves, improving to 10-12-0, while Ed Pasquale had 30 saves. SATURDAY February 19th FLORIDA EVERBLADES: 7 / GWINNETT GLADIATORS: 3 Tonight’s game was very much a back-and-forth scoring effort until Florida exploded in the third period. Gwinnett opened the scoring at 13:08 with Dustin Cameron giving them the early lead. Florida quickly responded with Drew Larman tying the game at 14:22. Gwinnett pulled ahead again at 17:06, courtesy of Danick Paquette. The second was the same tempo with Florida tying up the game again just over three minutes into the period with a tally by Matt Beca. Back to Gwinnett, as they now take the lead at 14:27. Cody Brookwell was given an open net opportunity which he capitalized on, adding another goal to the score. Florida tied with less than a minute left as Mathieu scored on the power play. The third period belonged to Florida. Francis Lemiuex scored at 4:08 and Tony Mosby at 8:33. Alex Imbeault scored twice: 5:55 and 14:24. They were totally in command this period. It was one of the best they have played this season. Between these two teams, there were over 90 shots on goal for the night. At the end, Florida had a commanding lead, with a final score of 7-3. BLADE NOTES: (D) Jean-Francois David – received from the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) in trade for (D) Phil Paquet. (D) Kyle Lawson – called up to Charlotte Checkers (AHL) The next game for the Florida Everblades is on Saturday February 26 against the South Carolina Stingrays at the North Charleston Coliseum. Contact the writer: sharon.weatherhead@prohockeys.com
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