Jakaitis Earns Shutout as Rays Top 'Blades 1-0

Written by Keaton Hanley / Photo by Kevin Bires

ESTERO, FL – Jeff Jakaitis made 18 saves, while Paul Geiger’s shorthanded third period tally guided the South Carolina Stingrays to a 1-0 victory over the Florida Everblades Saturday night at Germain Arena.

BOX SCORE

The first period was a defensive dog fight with both teams boxing each other out for a majority of the period. The first shot didn’t come until almost six minutes into the period during a ‘Blades power play. The defensive minded play showed on the scoreboard with both teams scoreless after one period of play and with there being only a combined 11 shots on net.

The Stingrays came away with one of the only quality scoring chances of the opening period late after the ‘Blades found themselves trying to kill off the last 26 seconds of the period while on a 5-on-3 penalty kill. Stingrays forward Tim McGauley threw the puck on net with two seconds left and Keegan Kanzig tried to get a stick in the way and deflected the puck off the post before the horn sounded to the end the period.

Despite several opportunities on the power play for both sides, neither team was able to get a goal on the board in the second period of play, as they entered the second intermission deadlocked at 0-0.

The Stingrays broke the tie at 9:53 of the third period, with a nice play by Patrick Gaul who rushed into the Blades end shorthanded with Paul Geiger.  Gaul entered the zone and made a 360-spin move and delivered a backhand no-look pass to Geiger for the one timer past Ouellette for the first goal of the game.

The Everblades found themselves on a power play late with 4:55 remaining in the game, but they were once again unable to find the back of the net.

With the 'Blades unable to score on the power play, it forced Florida coach Brad Ralph to pull his goalie with a little over two minutes left in the game. However, but the Blades were unable to get one by Jakaitis.  and he walked away with the 1-0 shutout victory, picking up 18 saves. Martin Ouellette played well in the loss, making 14 saves.

The Everblades will be back on home ice on Wednesday against the Jacksonville Icemen.  Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.  Promotional details listed below.Upcoming Home Games

Wednesday,  December 20, vs. Jacksonville, 7:30 p.m.  $2 Wednesday!  Enjoy $2 hot dogs, $2 Beer and $2 Wine all night long in the concourse.   College students receive a $5 ticket with valid college ID.

Ticket Information

Purchase Single Game Tickets at the Florida Community Bank Box Office located at Germain Arena, or online via Ticketmaster by CLICKING HERE

2017-18 Ticket Packages are Currently on Sale!  Flexible partial plans are available. These packages will best fit your schedule and budget!  To view pricing and benefits of all available ticket 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!

Discounted Group Tickets: Bring your group of 10 or more to a game at a discounted price!  Group tickets are available for all home games. Fundraising opportunities are also available. For more information on group tickets, 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.

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