ESTERO, FL – Matt Finn scored twice, while Martin Ouellette stopped 23 of 24 shots faced to lift the Everblades to a 4-1 victory over the Orlando Solar Bears in the preseason opener Saturday night at Germain Arena.
Florida raced out to an early 2-0 lead in the first six minutes of the contest, scoring a pair of power tallies. Matt Finn delivered a one-timed shot from the point that clipped past Orlando goaltender Matt Hackett for the game's opening goal.
Just under two minutes later, Kyle Neuber flipped a backhand shot off the pads of Hackett, but the rebound bounced right to rookie forward Paul Russell. The speedster raced to the puck and beat Hackett with a shot from the top of the crease to extend the Florida lead to 2-0.
On the ensuing faceoff, Neuber engaged in a spirited battle with Michael Turner that sent both players to the penalty box for five-minute fighting majors each.
Orlando got on the board just 49 seconds into the second period when Mike Vaskivuo wristed a shot from the top of the left circle that beat Florida netminder Martin Ouellette high in the top shelf of the net.
The Everblades reclaimed a two-goal advantage just five minutes later, when Mitchell Heard picked up the puck at his own blueline and streaked across the ice on a breakaway opportunity. Heard made two deke moves, and flipped the puck past Hackett’s blocker to put the ‘Blades on top 3-1.
Later in the period, Finn recorded his second power play marker of the night on another one-timer that ripped past Hackett for Florida’s fourth goal.
In the third, Ouellette turned aside all five shots faced in the third period to preserve the 4-1 victory in the preseason opener.
The two teams will meet again on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. at Germain Arena. To purchase tickets CLICK HERE
----2017-18 Ticket Packages are Currently on Sale! Everblades ticket packages are now on sale for the 20th season of Everblades Hockey. We offer full season and flexible partial plans that will best fit your schedule and budget! To view pricing and benefits of all available tickets packages CLICK HERE
SPECIAL OFFER! Purchase a new ticket package for the 2017-18 season and receive a $20 gift card to Ford's Garage!
For more information call 239-948-7825, or stop by the Everblades offices at Germain Arena Monday thru Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This release courtesy of Fort Myers Technical College & Cape Coral Technical College
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