ESTERO, FLA – The Florida Everblades (23-8-0-2) held the South Carolina Stingrays (12-12-6-2) scoreless in a 4-0 victory on Friday night at Hertz Arena. Jake Hildebrand stopped all 29 Stingrays shots to earn his first shutout of the season. Michael Huntebrinker notched two goals and an assist in the winning effort, and the Florida power play broke out for two goals.
FIRST STAR:Â Jake Hildebrand (FLA) – 29 saves, shutout
SECOND STAR:Â Michael Huntebrinker (FLA) – two goals, one assist, four shots
THIRD STAR:Colby Sissons (FLA) – one goal, two assists, five shots
The game remained scoreless until the second period when Florida took the first lead of the contest. After maintaining heavy pressure on the power play, the Everblades specialty unit broke through when Colby Sissons rifled a wrist shot under the blocker arm of Stingrays goaltender Hunter Shepard at 13:14.
The power-play goal from Sissons broke a rough skid on the man-advantage for the Everblades. Florida hadn’t scored on the power play since February 26th against South Carolina and were 0 for their last 13 until Sissons found the back of the net.
Levko Koper struck again for the Everblades roughly five minutes into the third period. Forward Joe Pendenza centered the puck from the wall, and Koper finished the play in front for his 10th tally of the season at 5:01.
Huntebrinker provided two goals and an assist for Florida in the victory. The explosive winger had been enduring his longest offensive dry spell of the season, entering Friday’s game without a point in his last five appearances.
In the third period with Florida on a power play, Huntebrinker cached a rebound to put the Everblades up 3-0 at the 15:50 mark. Once the dam broke for Huntebrinker, the goals kept coming. The forward added his second tally when he swatted a hovering puck out of midair to give the Everblades a 4-0 lead late in the third.
Florida goaltender Hildebrand made 29 saves to record his first shutout of the season. The netminder now has seven shutouts as a professional.
First Responders Weekend continues when Florida meets the Orlando Solar Bears (17-10-3-0) on Saturday, March 13th at 7 p.m. at Hertz Arena. Enjoy the Saturday Tailgate Party featuring free live music from 3 Hour Tour from 5-7 p.m. outside of Hertz Arena.
We continue to honor all of the first responders who work tirelessly, especially throughout the pandemic, on First Responders Weekend presented by Cape Coral Firefighters and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The Everblades will again don specialty first responders’ jerseys on Saturday, and net proceeds from the jersey auction will be donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
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