'Blades Rally to Defeat Stingrays 6-4

ESTERO, Fla. - Aaron Bogosian and Matt Marquardt scored late in the third period to lift the Florida Everblades over the South Carolina Stingrays to a 6-4 victory. The victory gives the ‘Blades the top spot in the South Division.

South Carolina was the first team to get on the board at 7:31 in the first period taking advantage of a 5-on-3 power play. Mike Hamilton passed the puck to a waiting Tommy Cross who wristed a shot past Everblades goaltender Pat Nagle. The Stingrays scored again five minutes  later, as Tyler McNeely fired the puck past Nagle and into the net to propel the Rays to a 2-0 lead.

However, the Everblades responded, as  Taylor Ellington fed a pass to ‘Blades Captain Mathieu Roy who forced the puck past Stingrays Goaltender Adam Morrison. Less then a minute later, Justin Shugg sent a saucer pass from the left circle to Corey Trivino. Trivino connected with the puck which was in mid-air and slipped it past Morrison for the tying goal. The two teams were locked two after the first period. .

The second period seemed to go in favor of the ‘Blades. Less then three minutes into the period, as Shugg  scored a shorthanded goal off of a slap shot that sent the puck sailing past Morrison

It would appear the Florida was going to take the 3-2 edge into the second break, but the Rays took advantage of an offensive zone draw with 1.6 seconds remaining. However with 1.6 seconds left in the second period, Stingrays Defenseman Cross took a shot from the left circle and secured a goal for his team raising the score to 3-3.

Both teams entered the third period ready to fight for a victory. Less then a minute into the period, Everblades Forward Brody Sutter fired a shot from the left circle and scored his first goal as an Everblade raising the score to 4-3. The Stingrays were not ready to give up yet as Andrew Cherniwchan picked up the puck from the end board and slipped it past Nagle to even the score at  4-4.

At the 15-minute mark of the third period, Aaron Bogosian took a shot from the left circle and fired the puck over Morrison’s glove to bump the score to 5-4. Two minutes later, Bobby Raymond fed a pass to Matt Marquardt who hammered a shot from the right circle to beat Morrison on the backside. Marquardt’s third of the season secured the 6-4 victory.

Pat Nagle earned the win stopping 23 out of 27 shots, while Stingrays goaltender Adam Morrison stopped 28 of 34 shots faced.  Florida's win was the 70th all-time against South Carolina.

The Everblades will play host to the Greenville Road Warriors at Germain Arena on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. . The Everblades will celebrate Halloween early as all fans in costume will receive a $10 ticket. All kids in costume can trick or treat in the luxury suites during the first intermission.  The McDonald’s tailgate party starts at 5:00 p.m. with live music from Underground, and there will also be bounce houses and face painting for the kids.

Individual games tickets for preseason and opening weekend are currently on sale! Stop by any Ticketmaster outlet, or the Capital Bank Box Office at Germain Arena. The Capital Bank Box Office is open Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Fans may also call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or order online atwww.ticketmaster.com

Season ticket packages are currently available, for the remaining 31 home games. Partial-season packages start as low as $150, and offer a flexible option for fans. For more information on all available packages, call the Everblades office at 239-948-7825, or purchase tickets online.

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