ECHL: Everblades Snap Icemen Winning Streak with 6-2 Win

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ESTERO – When two of the hottest teams in the ECHL collide, something has to give. And Friday night at Hertz Arena, it gave in a big, big way for the red-hot Florida Everblades, a 6-2 winner over the Jacksonville Icemen.

Four was the number of a magical night, as the Everblades not only scored four unanswered goals to seal the team’s fourth straight win but snapped South Division rival Jacksonville’s four-game winning streak in the process. And a fourth straight sellout crowd of 7,224 fans cheered the Blades to victory.

Despite entering play ranked last in the ECHL on the power play, Jacksonville bucked the trend and struck first as Christopher Brown scored just 17 seconds into the first power-play opportunity enjoyed by either team. Brown’s ninth goal of the season gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at 12:59 of the first period.

Jacksonville’s lead would be short-lived as Gary Haden connected for the Everblades with his second goal of the season at the 18:59 mark. Haden deflected in a shot by Jordan Sambrook with Isaac Nurse also picking up an assist as the teams took a 1-1 deadlock into the first intermission.

A flurry of goals in the first 4:17 of the middle stanza gave the Everblades a 3-2 lead. Alex Kile opened the second period scoring and restored the Blades’ lead at 2-1 with his fifth goal of the season off a faceoff at the 1:51 mark, but Jacksonville’s Brody Crane pulled the Icemen even at 2-2 just over a minute later at 3:04.

Florida regained the lead for good on a power-play goal by Colton Hargrove just over a minute later. Hargrove finished off a beautiful tic-tac-toe tally with Colin Theisen and Kile getting the helpers, as the Blades pulled ahead 3-2. The goals by Kile and Hargrove were their fifth and seventh of the season, respectively.

Just 36 seconds into the third period, Hargrove cashed in for a second time, poking in a rebound to put the Everblades ahead 4-2. Hargrove’s second goal of the contest was his eighth of the season and gave him a pair of three-plus point games on the season. Logan Lambdin and Marc-Andre Gaudet registered the helpers.

The Everblades would add two more third-period goals to blow the game open, 6-2, with Gaudet finding the net at the 5:46 mark and Jordan Sambrook following suit at 6:52. Tempers exploded midway through the final frame, as the teams combined for 50 penalty minutes in back-to-back fracases at the 8:56 and 9:13 marks.

In between the pipes, Cam Johnson (17-2-1-0) made 24 saves for the Everblades and was a winner for the third straight game. For Jacksonville, former NHL goaltender Michael Houser (0-1-0-0) was busy, making 39 saves in his first ECHL start of the season since joining the Icemen from Rochester (AHL).

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