Gwinnett Holds Off 'Blades with a Wild 7-6 Win

ESTERO, Fla--  Former Everblade Rylan Galiardi netted his second career hat-trick to lead the Gwinnett Gladiators to a 7-6 win over the Florida Everblades Saturday night at Germain Arena.

Gwinnett would be the first team to get on the board coming from ChrisClackson.  Former Everblade Ryan Donald took a shot from the point only to be deflected by Nagle, but Clarkson found the rebound and wristed the puck into the net to give the Gladiators a one goal lead.

Gwinnett added their second goal of the period on a power play opportunity.  Multiple Gladiators attempted shots on Nagle without any luck until finally Christian Oullet found an opening and was able to get the puck in the goal to increase the lead to two.

The Everblades got their spark from Mathieu Roy.  Trevor Bruess won a faceoff in the left side circle, and dropped it back to Roy.  Roy quickly rifled off a shot that would scream past Gwinnett Goalie Louis Domingue and pull the ‘Blades within one.

A minute later, Florida tied the game.  Taylor Ellington sent a perfectly placed pass to Matt Marquardt who was all alone at the left side of the crease.  Marquardt put in a high shot that would get over Domingue, tying the game at two.

The Everblades would close out the period with a 3-2 lead. Bobby Raymond hurled a shot from the point which ripped high into the back of the net for the goal.

Florida picked up right where they left off in the first period and would score just six seconds into the second, taking advantage of a power play carried over from the first.  Roy won the opening faceoff and Matt Beca led a quick two on one charge into the offensive zone.  Beca passed the puck at last second off to Bobby Raymond whose shot caught Domingue out of position and lifted a shot high into the net giving the Blades a 4-2 lead.

Florida continued to put on the pressure and added their fifth unanswered goal three minutes into the period.  David Rutherford put a shot on goal which bounced around in the crease.  The puck finally found its way to the stick of Charles Landry found the puck and put in in goal past an outstretched Domingue.

Gwinnett would regain their momentum on a power play opportunity when Kyle Lawson snapped a shot from the blue line which beat a screened Nagle, pulling his team within two goals.

Then just fifteen seconds later, the Gladiators scored again as Tyler Murovich picked up a centering feed at the crease and shoved the puck into to the net for the goal to put the score at 5-4.

Former Everblade Rylan Galiardi got the final goal of the period to tie the game at five.  Evan Bloodoff sent a pass from the circle to Galiardi in the slot, who saw an open lane and fired a wrist shot that beat Nagle.

Galiardi added two more goals in the third period to earn the second hat trick of his career.

Florida attempted to mount a comeback after a goal by Alex Hutchings.  From behind the net, Hutchings sent a backhanded pass into the crease where it would find the inside of Domingue’s pad and deflect in to the net for the goal.

The Everblades finished the final minute of the period with an extra skater but were unable to get the game tying goal to force overtime and the Gwinnett Gladiators increased their win streak to seven games with a 7-6 victory.

Gwinnett goalie Louis Domingue earns the win stopping 24 of 30 shots face, while Florida net minder Pat Nagle suffers a loss allowing seven goals on 40 shots faced.

The Blades start their six game road trip next week and will return to Germain Arena on Friday, November 30th.  Don’t forget December 1st is the annual Teddy Bear Toss game.  Bring a stuffed animal to throw onto the ice after the Blades score their first goal.

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.comSeason ticket packages are currently available, for the remaining 28 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.