Everblades Fall in Shootout at Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The scoring came early and often in VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena Wednesday night, but in the end, the Jacksonville Icemen claimed a second consecutive shootout victory over the visiting Florida Everblades, this one by a 5-4 margin.

The opening minutes were a harbinger of things to come, as Jake Jaremko staked the Everblades to a quick 2-0 lead. Jaremko opened the scorefest, banging home a rebound just 1:31 into the contest for his fourth goal of the year. Jaremko was not done, as he struck gold again at the 5:59 mark by poking in a goal in traffic in front of the net.Florida’s 2-0 lead would soon evaporate as Jacob Panetta got the Icemen on the board at 9:10 of the period, while Ara Nazarian knotted the game at 2-2 with just 53 seconds to play in the opening frame.

Both teams would add a pair of goals in the second period, but this time, Jacksonville would light the lamp for the first two scores of the middle stanza. Luke Lynch put the home team ahead 3-2 at the 7:42 mark, while Joey Sides extended the Icemen lead to 4-2 with a power-play marker just shy of the period’s midpoint at 9:56.    

The Everblades fought back as Dylan Vander Esch potted his third goal of the season at the 13:23 mark to trim the Jacksonville lead to 4-3. As the second frame whittled away with the Blades enjoying a man-up advantage, Blake Winiecki stepped up yet again, collecting his 11th tally of the season with just six seconds remaining on the clock. With the goal, Winiecki extended his point streak to 10 games, as the teams would take a 4-4 game into the second intermission with Florida holding a 19-17 edge in shots.

Despite the high scoring over the first 40 minutes, the third period would prove to be quite different, as neither team managed to put a puck past the opposing goaltender, despite combining for 23 shots. In overtime, both teams came up empty once again, with the Everblades claiming a 6-2 edge in shots.

In the three-round shootout, Jacksonville’s Derek Lodermeier and Craig Martin would score in the first and third rounds, respectively, while Bobo Carpenter and Jaremko came up empty for the Everblades, as the Icemen closed out the 5-4 shootout victory.

Six different Blades registered assists in the game, led by Alex Aleardi on both Jaremko goals. Xavier Bouchard, Jordan Sambrook, Kyle Neuber and Carpenter each picked up a helper for Florida. For Jacksonville, Martin was credited with three assists.The Everblades outshot the Icemen 36-31 in the contest. Tomas Vomacka made 27 saves for Florida, while Tyler Wall registered 32 saves for Jacksonville.  Both teams were whistled for seven penalties and an identical 20 PIM.

After a brief respite for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Everblades and Icemen will return to the ice for the second of three games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena Friday night at 7:00 pm. The game will be carried on FloSports.TV and ESPN Southwest Florida on 770 AM, 98.1 FM, 104.3 FM and online athttps://espnswfl.com.   

The next home game for the Blades will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 1 when the Trois-Rivières Lions come to town for the first time in history. Fans can enjoy Hump Day Deals including $3 John Morrell hot dogs and $3 Bud Light drafts. College students can show a valid student ID at the box office to purchase a student ticket for only $5! The action begins at 7:30 pm and tickets can be purchased HERE.

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The Florida Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Nashville Predators and the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals.

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