Gwinnett, GA – The Florida Everblades made a defensive statement Friday to halt a three-game skid, getting 29 saves from Kristers Gudlevskis to shut out Gwinnett Gladiators 3-0 at The Arena at Gwinnett Center.
As the two teams appeared to be heading into the first intermission in a scoreless tie, Blades captain Mathieu Roy cashed in a transition rush with Matthew Pistilli on a delayed penalty call to give Florida a 1-0 lead with seven seconds left in the first.
Florida’s PK, which was 0-for-1 Thursday, answered the bell in the second, killing off a four-minute double minor on Austin Levi and 54 seconds of 5-on-3 power play time for Gwinnett to keep the score 1-0 through two.
With 6:16 left in the third, rookie Kyle Bonis continued his hot week by double the Blades’ lead to 2-0, ripping a Trevor Bruess rebound over the blocker of Gladiators netminder Chris Rawlings for his third goal of the week and eighth of the season.
Bonis followed that score up with his fourth of the week with just 2:31 remaining in regulation, blasting a centering pass from Brandon MacLean in under the cross bar to make it 3-0.
Gudlevskis made the lead stand up, making a handful of saves in the final two minutes to secure his first ECHL shutout by a 3-0 count.
Rawlings slipped to 1-5-0-0 despite 23 stops.
The Blades will now wrap up their three-game divisional road trip Saturday with a 7:05pm first-place showdown with the South Carolina Stingrays at North Charleston Arena.
Saturday’s matchup of the top teams in the South Division will be broadcast locally on 98.1 FM The Island and worldwide online on America ONE, the official internet television provider for the ECHL, at www.americaonesports.com. Pregame coverage will get under way at 6:50pm.
2013-14 Season Ticket Package Information
Ticket packages for the 2013-14 season are currently on sale—and going fast! Full season packages begin at $380, while 10 and 20 game packages start as low as $160. Sign-up for a new season ticket package today, and receive a $20 gift card per seat to Outback Steakhouse!
For more information call 239-948-7825, or stop by the Everblades main office located at Germain Arena.
Office hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning.
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