Salters Scores Twice as 'Blades Defeat Walleye 4-1

Estero, Fla. - Leigh Salters scored twice in the first period to help lead the Florida Everblades a 4-1 win over the Toledo Walleye at Germain Arena on Wednesday night.

The Everblades began the first period with determination to scoring the first goal of the game at the 7:39 mark. Alex Hutchings passed the puck through the slot to an awaiting Leigh Salters who fired the puck past Toledo Walleye goaltender Jordan Pearce.

The Walleye didn’t wait long to respond, as Patrick Knowlton passed the puck from behind the right side of the net to Doug Clarkson, who received the puck at the top left of the crease and slipped the puck past Everblades net netminder Pat Nagle.

Nearly 15 minutes into the first period, Salters pushed the puck down the slot, swung around a Toledo defender, and took a shot from the top of the crease which beat Pearce high on the glove side bumping the score to 2-1. The score would hold through the end of the opening frame.

The second period began with both teams fighting for a goal. The ‘Blades finally got their wish at the 13-minute minute mark, as Corey Trivino passed the puck to a waiting Matt Marquardt in the slot.. Marquardt shot the puck behind Pearce and gave the ‘Blades a 3-1 advantage over the Walleye through 40 minutes played.

Both teams battled back and forth in the third, but Nagle turned aside all eight shots thrown his way by Toledo. Brayden Irwin sealed the game with an empty net goal with 28 seconds remaining to secure the 4-1 Florida victory.

Pat Nagle earns the win stopping 25 out of 26 shots while Jordan Pearce suffers a loss allowing four goals on 23 shots.

The two teams will meet again on Friday at Germain Arena beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Ticket Information: 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 at www.ticketmaster.com HYPERLINK "http://www.ticketmaster.com" \t "_blank" Partial-season packages are still available, and 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.