'Blades Earn 7-4 Win in First Game at Colorado

LOVELAND, Colorado – Alex Hutchings scored two goals, as the Florida Everblades defeated the Colorado Eagles 7-4 at the Budweiser Events Center Wednesday Night.

After a scoreless first period, things erupted quickly in the second.  The Eagles started the middle frame on the power play as Michael Forney tapped the puck in front past Florida goaltender John Muse, to give the Eagles the 1-0 lead.

The ‘Blades countered, scoring three goals in a 120-second span. The first of those goals was scored by Brody Sutter who broke into the zone and fought off the defender and wristed a shot in on goal past Eagles netminder Kyle Jones to tie the game at one.

Nearly 40 seconds later, rookie Dan Milan took the puck behind the Colorado net and carried it to the corner. Milan shot the puck off of the skate of the goaltender Jones banking into the net for the go ahead goal. 

Less than a minute later, Tommi Kivisto wristed a shot past a screened Jones to extend his team’s lead by two.

Later in the period the Everblades were awarded a 5-on-3 power play opportunity and made the best of it After a barrage of shots on Jones, the puck slid to the high slot where Rutherford snapped the puck high into the past the glove of Jones to give the Everblades a 4-1 advantage.

The Eagles soared back with a couple of quick strikes of their own. Forney crashed the net and received a perfectly placed pass by the ECHL’s leading scorer Chad Costello. Forney directed the puck high past Muse to pull the Eagles within two.

Colorado made it a one-goal game at 12:25 when Jack Combs picked the pocket of a ‘Blades defenseman and took off on a breakaway chance. Combs made a deke move and beat Muse to the put the score at 4-3 after 40 minutes played.

In the third, the Everblades quickly quelled any comeback ideas the Eagles were having, as Brayden Irwin scored his first goal of the season 1:02 into the period. Irwin was circled the net and was able to beat Jones on the wrap-around shot on the backside to put the score at 5-3.

Exactly 36 seconds later, Florida made it a three-goal lead  as Alex Hutchings picked up the puck on a turnover in the Eagles end and went in on a breakaway chance. Hutchings deked and flipped a backhand shot past Jones to propel the ‘Blades to a 6-3 lead.

Colorado’s Trent Daavetilla added a goal to make things interesting four minutes remaining, but with 37 seconds remaining and the Eagles net empty, Hutchings scored his second goal of the game by walking the puck to the open net to seal the 7-4 victory.

Muse was sharp, and earns the win allowing four goals on 31 shots, while Jones takes the loss allowing sic goals on 34 shots faced. '

With an assist in the game, Mathieu Roy extends his point scoring streak to eight games. Roy has posted 13 points during that stretch.  Colorado's Chad Costello finished the game wtih four points, and extends his point scoring streak to ten games.

After a day off for Thanksgiving, the two teams will meet again on Friday and Saturday at the Budweiser Events Center. Both games begin at 9:05 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and will be broadcast on the 96 K-Rock (96.1 FM). Fans can also tune in online at www.floridaeverblades.com or watch the game online on America One.