JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Everblades came up just short on Wednesday night, dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to the Jacksonville Icemen despite a 43–23 shot advantage.
 
Anthony Romano did not waste much time igniting the offense for the Blades snapping home his third of the year 70 seconds into the opening frame for an early 1-0 Florida lead. The visitors continued the early pressure delivering six of the first seven shots, however Jacksonville netminder Scott Ratzlaff staved off the early Everblades momentum. Despite nearly pulling even when Matteo Constantini rang the iron with 12:30 remaining, Jacksonville didn’t have to wait long. The Icemen tied the game less than three minutes later on the power play as Patrick Bajkov redirected a Brayden Hislop point shot with 26 seconds remaining on the man advantage. Florida nearly recaptured the lead moments later on a 2-on-1 rush from Carson Gicewicz and Oliver Chau, but Ratzlaff turned it aside. Florida then came up empty on its only power play of the period, failing to register a shot during the man advantage. Kyle Betts then hit the post from inside the left circle as Florida pressed late in the period. The Jacksonville defense held firm throughout the opening 20 minutes despite being outshot 11–5.
 
Florida came out firing in the middle stanza, offering the first seven shots of the second period. Although the Blades controlled the early play, Jacksonville’s opportunistic offense struck again as Matteo Constantini gave the hosts their first lead of the night 3:27 into the frame on the Icemen’s first shot of the period. Florida earned a chance to answer with a power play at the 10:59 mark but managed just one shot, as Anthony Romano set up Kyle Betts with a cross-ice feed for Florida’s best look with the extra skater. Moments later, Garrett Van Whye nearly extended Jacksonville’s lead with just under six minutes remaining, but Cam Johnson shutdown his breakaway bid to kick off the Icemen’s best flurry of the period. The Everblades quickly regained their footing and closed the frame the same way they opened it, firing the final seven shots of the period. Florida heavily outshot Jacksonville 21–10 in the middle stanza, but Scott Ratzlaff turned aside every opportunity to preserve the Icemen’s 2–1 advantage heading into the second intermission.
 
Cam Johnson was tested early in the third period, turning aside a chance from Nathan Dunkley just 94 seconds into the frame. The Everblades quickly turned the tide after the initial opportunity, firing the next six shots of the period and pulling even as Kyle Betts redirected a shot from Zach Berzolla for his team-leading sixth of the season. Tarun Fizer nearly gave the Blades the lead with just over 11 minutes to go in regulation but his bid from between the circles was canceled out by Ratzlaff who made 11 stops in the final frame to send the game to overtime. Jacksonville found the game-winning goal with 4:07 remaining in overtime on a shot from Aidan Fulp set up by Matteo Constantini to give the Icemen the extra point.

Game Sheet
 
Blades Bites
 
Florida has now scored first period goals in four straight contests and have scored the game’s first goal in four straight games
 
Florida has outshot their opponents in 14 of 17 games this season and have reached the 40-shot mark three times this season
 
 The last five meetings between Florida and Jacksonville have been decided in overtime.
 
Upcoming Promotion
Friday, November 28 – Blackout 239 Night (7:30 p.m.)
Join us for Blackout 239 Night as the Everblades return home to Hertz Arena. Fans can take advantage of a special ticket package featuring 2 tickets, 2 drinks, and 1 season program for just $39.
Kids 12 and under eat free at Breakaway, making it the perfect night out for families.

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