ESTERO, Fla – The Elmira Jackals’ 2011-2012 season came to an end on Friday night at Germain Arena, as the Florida Everblades prevailed with a 2-1 victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. With the win, Florida advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating Elmira in the series, four games to one.
Craig Rivet’s goal at 6:52 of the second period gave the Jackals the first strike of the contest. Rivet took a blocked shot in the slot, skated to the net, and backhanded a puck in past Pat Nagle to put Elmira up 1-0.
The Jackals could not withstand Florida’s third-period pressure, with the Everblades outshooting the Jackals in the final frame, 19-4.
Cedric McNicoll swatted in a rebound off a Ryan Donald shot at 9:54 of the third, tying the contest, 1-1.
Mathieu Roy tipped in Sebastien Piche’s shot from the top of the slot at 18:01, putting Florida in front for the first time in the game, 2-1.
Brian Stewart (4-4) posted a spectacular final outing, making 41 saves on 43 Everblades shots. Pat Nagle (3-0) stopped 17 shots as the Everblades moved onto the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2006-2007.
Florida will face the winner of the Kalamazoo/South Carolina Eastern Conference Semifinals series, currently led by the K-Wings, three games to one.
The Jackals’ fifth season in the ECHL and 12th year overall came to a close in defeat. Elmira went 45-22-2-3 during the 2011-2012 campaign, earning the Eastern Conference’s top seed in the playoffs for the first time in its ECHL history.
Log onto JackalsHockey.com throughout the offseason for updates on the club’s 2012-2013 campaign, which will begin in October.
Notes:The Jackals have made the playoffs in each of their first five ECHL seasons and reached the fifth game of the second round for the first time since entering the league in 2007-2008…Elmira had been swept in the 2009 North Division Semifinals by Cincinnati in its only other appearance past the first round…The series loss marked the second time the Jackals were eliminated by the Everblades in the playoffs, as Florida beat Elmira in the 2010 American Conference Quarterfinals, three games to two
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