'Blades Rally Falls Short as Nailers Prevail 6-5

By Bryce Wright Everblades Media Relations Assistant

ESTERO, FL- The Wheeling Nailers out score the Florida Everblades 6-5 Wednesday night at Germain Arena thanks to John McCarron’s two goals for the Nailers.

Two minutes into the game, John McCarron ripped the puck on a wrist shot top shelf from the right wing side that beat Anthony Peters for the first goal of the game.

Less than two minutes later, Harrison Ruopp added to the Nailers lead squeezing the puck under Peters in front of the net to put the score at 2-0.

At 4:17 of the opening frame, Jarrett Burton scored his ninth goal of the year wristing a shot past Peters from the slot giving the Nailers an early 3-0 lead.

With nearly a minute remaining in the opening frame, Gabriel Desjardins scored on a centering pass from Mark Nemec to put the Everblades on the board, and cut the Wheeling lead to two.

Moments later, Matt Stanisz gloved down a clearing attempt at the blue line and unleashed a shot that ripped into the net past Wheeling goaltender Franky Palazzese with just eight second remaining in the period, to pull the Everblades within one at the end of the first period of play,

Wheeling replicated its scoring barrage from the first period into the second period, scoring three more goals in the first four minutes of the middle frame.

The first goal came just 53 seconds into period when Zack Torquato slapped in his fourth goal of the season extending the Nailers lead 4-2.

Three minutes later, McCarron adds his second goal of the night on a Wheeling power play to put the Nailers up 5-2 over the Everblades.

Then just 15 seconds later, following an Everblades turnover, Wheeling’s Ty Loney put in his fourth goal of the night on a breakaway for the sixth of the night for the Nailers.

Florida kept their chances alive when Ethan Werek scored his fifth goal of the year on  an unassisted sniper’s shot from the left wing to cut the Nailers lead to three. Everblades and Nailers went into the third period with the score at 6-3.

Brant Harris (pictured above) led the charge in the final stanza, scoring two more goals for the ‘Blades. The first one came two minutes into the third period with a wrister from the right wing side that beat Palazzese to cut the lead to two.

Then with five minutes to go in the game, Harris got a hold of a rebound in front and clipped the puck over the outstretched body of Palazzese and into the net to pull Florida within one.

The Everblades continued to press, creating a scoring chance after scoring chance, including one which hit the post.  Despite the numerous chances, the Everblades failed to net the equalizer and the comeback bid fell short as Wheeling held on for the 6-5 victory.

Palazzese takes home the victory stopping 31 of the 36 shots by the Everblades, while Peters gets the loss allowing six goals on 25 shots.

The Everblades host the Nailers again on Friday night at Germain Arena. Game time is set at 7:30 p.m.Upcoming Home Games This WeekFriday, November 20  vs. Wheeling Nailers, 7:30 p.m. – Kids eat free in Breakaway Sports Pub with purchase on an adult entree.

Saturday, November 21  vs. Wheeling Nailers, 7:00 p.m. – Latino Heritage Night presented by Telemundo!   Tailgate Party from 5-7 p.m. featuring bounce houses, face painting and live music.

Ticket Information

Game Tickets: Everblades tickets may be purchased at the Florida Community Bank Box Office located at Germain Arena, or at any Ticketmaster outlet, or online atwww.ticketmaster.com

Discounted Group Tickets: Bring your group of 10 or more to a game at a discounted price, and also receive an Everblades souvenir! Group tickets are available for all home games. For more information on group tickets, call 239-948-7825.

Full and Partial Season Ticket Packages: We off full and partial season ticket plans that will save your money and fit your budget and schedule. . For more information, call 239-948-7825, or stop by the team's main office located at Germain Arena from Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Fans may also stop by our sales tables located in the concourse at Everblades games.

The Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliateof the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes###