ESTERO, Fla. - The Trois-Rivières Lions scored four goals in the first period on Saturday night to take a 6-3 win and series sweep over the Florida Skunk Apes at Hertz Arena.

The Lions silenced the packed crowd of 7,358 at the six-minute mark of the first period when Peter Abbandonato chipped in a centering feed from Justin Ducharme. An additional assist was credited to Olivier Archambault. Abbandonato scored again just two minutes later from the near circle to double the Trois-Rivières lead to 2-0 with 12:06 to go in the opening stanza.

Period one continued to be a nightmare for the Skunk Apes with Alexis D'aoust (10:25) notching his third goal in as many games against Florida. John McCarron eventually got the Skunk Apes on the board, snapping a perfect shot on the breakaway to make it a 3-1 game, causing teddy Bears to rain down from the stands. Abbandonato earned a hat trick at 16:51 before Bobo Carpenter responded for Florida in the final 33 seconds. After twenty minutes of play, the teams combined six goals to the tune of a 4-2 Lions advantage.

Blake Winiecki drew the deficit closer at 4-3 after rifling a shot past goaltender Philippe Derosiers at the 8:15 marker of the second period. D’aoust kept the game out of Florida’s reach on his second tally of the game with 7:13 to play in the frame.

In the third period, Abbandonato hit the net for the fourth time, increasing the score to 6-3 in Trois-Rivières’ favor. That ultimately put the game away for good as the Lions clinched three consecutive victories over Florida. The Skunk Apes now stand at 8-6-2-3 while the Lions return north with a 10-7-0-0 record. 

The Skunk Apes look ahead to their upcoming road trip to Virginia for three games against the Norfolk Admirals. The opening matchup takes place this Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 pm. The game will be carried on FloSports.TV and ESPN Southwest Florida on 770 AM, 98.1 FM, 104.3 FM and online at https://espnswfl.com.

The next home game for the Blades will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 15 when the Atlanta Gladiators come to Estero for the first time this season. 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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