ESTERO, Fla. – The biggest crowd of the season at Hertz Arena – a standing room only throng of 7,648 boisterous Everblades fans – saw the biggest win of the of season. Luke Santerno snapped a 1-1 tie with under a minute to play as the Florida Everblades closed out an impressive three-game sweep of the Adirondack Thunder, beating the top team in the North Division and the Eastern Conference 3-1 Saturday night at Hertz Arena
Visiting Adirondack opened the scoring just 1:27 into the contest, as Ryan Smith slipped past the Everblades defense and converted from the low slot to give the Thunder an early 1-0 lead that would hold up until the first intermission. Florida enjoyed several good looks throughout the frame, outshooting Adirondack 10-6, but were unable to break through. It was the first lead the Thunder would hold at the end of a period in the three-game series.
The good guys kept the pressure on throughout the middle period, outshooting the Thunder 18-10, and finally breaking through on the team’s first power-play opportunity of the game at the 18:24 mark. Oliver Chau tied the game at 1-1 with his 14th goal of the season, striking from traffic in front of the Adirondack net. Bobo Carpenter and Santerno picked up the timely assists.
Goals continued to be at a premium in the third period, but the Everblades managed to get a big one from Santerno, his fifth of the year, to take a 2-1 lead at the 17:10 mark, with Cam Darcy earning the game-winning assist. Carpenter closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal, his team-leading 20th of the season, with 53.5 seconds to play.
Florida blistered Adirondack in the shot department 44-21 – including a 16-5 edge in the decisive third period – in a contest that featured strong goalie play on both ends of the rink. For the Everblades, Cam Johnson (15-9-3-1) stopped 20 of 21 shots, while the Thunder’s Jeremy Brodeur (14-6-1-0) turned aside 41 shots in the loss.
The four-game homestand will come to a close when the Orlando Solar Bears come to town for a 7:30 p.m. game on Wednesday, February 14. The Valentine’s Day meeting with be Margaritaville Night, complete with $3.00 hot dogs, $3.00 Labatt beers, a Cooler Bag giveaway courtesy of Mollie Moo’s Ice Cream, and live music from DJ Matty Chiuch.
Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
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