ESTERO, FL – Anthony Peters turned aside 26 of 27 shots faced to help pace the Florida Everblades (25-8-1-2, 53 points) to a 2-1 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays (20-13-1-1, 42 points) Friday night at Germain Arena. Florida extended its win streak to five games.
The Stingrays struck first, with a power play strike at 5:44 of the opening frame. Colton Saucerman hammered a shot from the left wing circle that was stopped off the pad of Florida’s Peters. The rebound jumped right to Rob Flick at the right of the crease and Flick immediately tapped the puck into the net for the tally to give the Stingrays a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
In the second period, Florida tied the game on a power play goal of its own. During a 5-on-3 advantage, Akim Aliu delivered a blistering one-timed shot that ripped past South Carolina goaltender Parker Milner to even the game at one.
Exactly one minute later, Florida claimed the lead. Matt Berry executed a perfect no look pass between his legs to Clark Bishop at the top of the crease. Bishop batted the puck into the Stingrays net for the go-ahead marker as the Everblades took a 2-1 lead into the third period.
In the final stanza, Peters again took control and turned aside all 11 shots faced in the period to preserve the tight 2-1 victory.
Peters earns his16th win of the season stopping 26 of 27 shots while Milner also played well despite taking the loss, allowing two goals on 32 shots faced.
Florida’s Brant Harris saw his point streak end at 13 games. The streak tied a league best this season, previously set by Atlanta’s Justin Buzzeo in November. Harris registered 17 points (7 goals, 10 assists) during the 13-game streak which began back on December 10.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday at Germain Arena with a 7:00 p.m. start time.
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