ESTERO, FLA – The Florida Everblades (24-15-4-4) had to settle for a point in the standings on Wednesday night after falling 3-2 to the Jacksonville Icemen (27-14-2-1) in a five-round shootout at Hertz Arena. 
The evening began with a blast up front from Brendan Harris, which put the Icemen up 1-0 just 71 seconds into the game. Jacksonville’s Zach Berzolla doubled the lead five minutes later (6:21), catching Everblades goaltender Parker Gahagen out of the crease on a feed from Jake Elmer. Cam Johnson entered the game as Florida’s netminder immediately after the play. Joe Pendenza cut that 2-0 score in half on an Everblades power-play conversion with 43 seconds left in the first period.
The second period of play saw no scoring from either side as the game remained 2-1 Icemen. At the intermission, the Everblades led in shots 21-20 after 13 chances in the first period and eight in the second. The Everblades were also 1-for-2 on the power-play while Jacksonville stood scoreless on five man-advantage opportunities.
Everblades alternate captain Nathan Perkovich tied the score at two after swiping in a rebound from the back door at 3:27 of the third period. The remainder of regulation was a back-and-forth thriller with neither team able to break the draw through an additional overtime period. Florida’s Blake Winiecki struck in the first round of the shootout, but the Icemen replied with goals from James Sanchez and Vladislav Mikhalchuk to claim the victory. Despite the loss, Johnson shined in net, stopping all 25 of his shots faced after moving in net for Gahagen.
The Everblades continue their three-game homestand with a matchup against the South Carolina Stingrays this Friday, February 18th.
Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews
You must be logged in to post a comment.