DULUTH, GA – Martin Ouellette earned his first shutout of the season while Quentin Shore scored twice to help lead the Florida Everblades (21-4-1-2, 45 points) to a 4-0 win over the rival Atlanta Gladiators (13-16-1-1, 28 points) Wednesday night at the Infinite Energy Arena.
Midway through the first period, the Everblades took advantage of a second chance opportunity to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Brett Bulmer fired a shot off the leg pad of Atlanta goaltender Dan Vladar. Unfortunately for Vladar, the kick save sent the puck right to stick of Steven Lorentz who quickly hammered the puck into the open net.
Later in the period, the Everblades converted a shorthanded tally to take a 2-0 lead late on in the opening frame. Pinning the puck in the corner of the Atlanta zone, Justin Kea swung a perfectly timed pass to Shore in the slot. All alone, Shore showed great patience as he deked to the backhand and flipped his shot right over the top of a diving Vladar.
The Everblades added a power play tally midway through the second period to extend their lead to 3-0. Michael Kirkpatrick sent the puck up to Gus Young. Rifling a one-timer through traffic, Young’s shot deflected off the stick of Stephen MacAulay and into the back of the net.
Florida iced the game in the third when it took a 4-0 advantage on Quentin Shore’s second goal of the contest. Shore headed deep into the attacking zone. Firing a quick shot from an extremely tough angle, Shore managed to catch Atlanta sleeping as he looped his shot over the shoulder of Vladar and into the net.
Ouellette was perfect all night in goal for the Everblades, earning his first shutout of the season as he stopped each of the 18 shots he faced. Vladar suffered the loss in goal for Atlanta, allowing four goals on 46 shots.
The Florida Everblades will now head to Orlando take on the Wawa Sunshine Cup rival Orlando Solar Bears this Friday night at the Amway Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Florida will return home this Saturday, December 30 against the Orlando Solar Bears. Game time is 7 p.m.
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