Everblades Rally to Earn 5-4 Shootout Win Over Monarchs

ESTERO, FL – Michael Kirkpatrick scored the tying goal and the game-winning goal in the shootout to lift the Florida Everblades (21-7-1-2, 45 pts) to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the Manchester Monarchs (21-8-1-2, 45 pts) Wednesday night at Germain Arena.

The Monarchs grabbed the first goal of the game at 3:24 of the period following a turnover in front of the net.  Florida coughed up the puck at the top of the crease and Cory Ward instantly hammered the puck into the top shelf of the net at point blank range to give the Monarchs an early 1-0 lead.

Less than a minute later, Brendan O’Donnell evened the game at one, when he picked up his own rebound and delivered the puck behind Manchester goaltender Jonah Imoo.

The Monarchs immediately reclaimed the lead just over a minute later when Jordan Lavallee-Smotherman’s backhand shot slipped the through the five-hole of Florida netminder Anthony Peters to give Manchester a 2-1 edge.

Later in the period, Lavallee-Smotherman scored again, when Ashton Rome led a 2-on-1 rush into the zone and delivered a pass across to Lavallee-Smotherman who buried the puck behind Peters to extend the Manchester lead to 3-1.

The Monarchs kept adding to their lead in the second when Matt Leitner raced past the defense and flipped a shot over the blocker of Peters to give Manchester a 4-1 advantage.

Two minutes later, the ‘Blades stopped the Monarchs' scoring set at 15:59 of the middle frame.  Zack Kamrass delivered a pass from deep in his own end all the way up the ice to O’Donnell at the blue line.  O’Donnell raced into the zone on a scoring chance and wristed the puck past Imoo to pull Florida within two at the end of 40 minutes of play.

O’Donnell’s 20th goal of the season sparked the ‘Blades in the third.  Six minutes into the period, Logan Roe faked a slapshot from the left wing circle and delivered a diagonal pass to the backside of the crease to Matt Berry.  Berry shoved the puck into the wide open net behind Imoo to pull Florida within one.

Nearly three minutes later, the ‘Blades won a faceoff in the offensive zone and worked the puck around to Michael Kirkpatrick at the left wing circle. Kirkpatrick hurled a shot that beat Imoo to even the game at 4-4 and eventually force overtime,

Both teams traded scoring chances in the extra session, but neither found the decisive marker.  Kirkpatrick scored the lone goal in the shootout, while Anthony Peters stopped all three shooters to seal the 5-4 victory.

Peters earned the win stopping 17 of 21 shots faced, while Imoo allowed four goals on 42 shots.   Brendan O’Donnell finished with three points (2g, 1a), while Lavallee-Smotherman also posted thee points (2g, 1a).

The two teams will meet again this Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Promotional details listed below.Upcoming Home Games & PromotionsFriday, January 6 vs. Manchester, 7:30 p.m. – Kids eat FREE in the Breakaway Sports Pub with the  purchase of an adult entree!

Saturday, December 7 vs. Manchester, 7:00 p.m. – The Fur Circus (pictured below) will perform during the intermissions and entertain fans throughout the night.  Pregame tailgate from 5-7 p.m. featuring live music and bounce houses.  A great night to bring the kids!

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.com2016-17 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.

Discounted Group Tickets: Bring your group of 10 or more to a game at a discounted price, and you may also receive an Everblades souvenir! Group tickets are available for all home games. For more information on group tickets, call 239-948-7825.This release courtesy of Fort Myers Technical College & Cape Coral Technical College

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