ORLANDO, Fla. — Although Florida Everblades forward Justin Auger stands at 6 feet 6 inches tall, he has impressive puck handling skills, and those skills landed him the No. 1 spot on Sports Center’s Top 10 Plays.
Auger’s tally in the first period of Florida’s 4-2 win over the Orlando Solar Bears on Thursday night catapulted to the top position on ESPN’s flagship program.
After picking the puck up just outside the ‘Blades defensive blue line, Auger dangled his way past three different Orlando skaters. The tallest player on Florida's roster eluded the final man, Orlando defenseman Étienne Boutet, with a toe drag before transitioning back to his forehand to beat Orlando goaltender Martin Ouellette, a former Everblade.
This isn’t the first big goal for Auger this year. The Waterloo, Ontario, native posted the Teddy Bear Toss goal for Florida on Dec. 8 at Hertz Arena, triggering an avalanche of 8,236 stuffed animals.
Both big goals for Auger have come after call-ups to the American Hockey League. Thursday night was Auger’s first game back with Florida after being loaned to the AHL’s Belleville Senators from Dec. 11-18. He missed 14 games with the ‘Blades while on loan to the Rockford IceHogs from Nov. 8-Dec. 7.
Florida plays the second of three games in three days against the Solar Bears on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Amway Center in Orlando.
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