JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Everblades were defeated 3-2 in a hard fought battle Sunday afternoon against the Jacksonville Icemen unable to overcome a late Icemen power play goal. 

There was no scoring throughout the opening 20 minutes despite chances at both ends of the ice. The Icemen pressure early delivering three of the first four shots of the contest. Florida had their chances late in the period but could not beat Cameron Rowe despite firing seven of the final eight shots of the frame including three on a late power play. 

Cam Johnson was strong in net throughout the first period denying all eight Jacksonville shots while Rowe turned away all 10 Everblades shots.

The Icemen wasted little time opening the scoring in the second period thanks to Will Hillman who displayed a neat set of hands to bury his 11^th of the season to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Florida battled back to tie the game as Oliver Cooper deflected a long range shot from Jesse Lansdell at the 7:14 mark. Unfortunately, the Blades hard work to even the score was short lived, as Jacksonville restored their lead 2:27 later on a shot off the rush from TJ Friedmann who let a shot go inside the right circle. 

Florida threatened throughout the second half of the middle frame sending four of the final six shots of the period towards the net of Rowe but could not see past the Jacksonville netminder who maintained the Icemen 2-1 advantage heading into the final frame. 

The hosts had an opportunity to stretch their lead midway through the third period on a power play but failed to convert producing just one shot. Moments later, Florida answered to tie the game on a point shot from Ross MacDougall who scored his first as an Everblade.

Brad Ralph’s group continued to pressure looking for the go-ahead goal, but Cameron Rowe remained poised in net turning away a bevy of quality chances including a late Florida skater advantage opportunity with under four minutes to go in regulation.  Florida’s power play did not last the full time as Patrick Kyte was forced to take a penalty attempting to slow down Craig Martin who was in on a shorthanded chance. 

Adam McMaster made Florida pay, capitalizing on the power play burying a rebound that bounced off the pads of Johnson into the right circle for McMaster with 1:06 remaining in regulation. Looking for a late tying goal Florida pulled Johnson for the extra attacker in the final minute but were unable to strike as Rowe made a pair of stops late to preserve the victory for Jacksonville.

Florida returns to action Wednesday night in Orlando for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff from the Kia Center to conclude the five-game road trip. 

Game Sheet

Blades Bites

Oliver Cooper scored his first goal since March 6.

Ross MacDougall scored his first goal in an Everblades uniform. 

The Everblades outshot Jacksonville 30-21 marking the second time Florida has been defeated at VyStar Memorial Arena despite outshooting their opponent. 

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