Scheid's Overtime Goal Lifts 'Blades Past Orlando

ESTERO, FL – Eric Scheid’s breakaway goal in overtime lifted the Florida Everblades to a 3-2 victory over the Orlando Solar Bears in a preseason game at Germain Arena Saturday night.

The Solar Bears struck first at 3:33 of the opening frame when Brock Montgomery tipped and redirected a Denver Manderson shot from the point past Florida netminder Anthony Peters for the game’s first goal.

Florida netted the equalizer with seven-tenths of a second remaining in the middle frame.  Cruising in front of the net, Matt Berry clipped the puck past Orlando goaltender Jay Williams to put the game at 1-1 heading into the third.

The Everblades grabbed their first lead of the game just 21 seconds into the third period. From the top of the crease, Mike Aviani attempted to stuff the puck past Williams who made the initial save, but the rebound bounced back to Aviani who then skated to the left side of the crease and delivered the puck into the net past a diving Williams to put Florida in front 2-1.

Florida kept the Bears in check for a majority of the third until the 15:22 mark.  Orlando’s Trevor Ludwig delivered a soft shot at close range, but a Florida defender attempted to grab the puck and accidentally knocked into the Florida net. The tally evened the score at two, and eventually sent the game to overtime.

The ‘Blades sealed the game with 40 seconds remaining in the 3-on-3 overtime session as Eric Scheid (pronounced SHY-dd) accepted a pass in the neutral zone and carried it across the blue line and down through the slot on a breakaway.  Scheid tucked a backhanded shot that squeezed through the five-hole of Williams, and after dramatic pause, the puck trickled across the goal line to seal to the 3-2 overtime victory for Florida.

Garrett Zemlak who entered the game at the halfway point of regulation earned the win stopping ten of 11 shots faced while Anthony Peters allowed one goal on nine shots. The Everblades gave both goaltenders playing time in the game. Williams takes the loss, allowing three goals on 33 shots.

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The Everblades will open up the 2016-17 regular season at home against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on October 14 & 15.  Full weekend details listed below.

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Opening Weekend is October 14 & 15  The Florida Everblades open up their 19thseason of hockey at home at Germain Arena on Friday, October 14 against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits beginning at 7:30 p.m. The first 5,000 fans will receive a free Everblades magnet schedule courtesy of Jack's Cleaning.  The two teams will meet again on Saturday, October 15 with a 7:00 p.m. start time.

2016-17 Season Ticket Plans Now Available!  Full and flexible partial season ticket plans are currently available for the 2016-17 season. We offer several tickets packages designed to help fit your budget and schedule.

Special Offer!  Purchase any new ticket package for the 2016-17 season, and receive a $20 gift card from Ford's Garage!  Locations include Cape Coral, Downtown Fort Myers and Miromar Outlets in Estero.

For more information, call 239-948-7825, or stop by the team’s main office located at Germain Arena from Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 This release Courtesy of Fort Myers Technical College & Cape Coral Technical College

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