ESTERO, Fla. – A blast from Jordan Sambrook with 1:45 remaining in regulation lifted Florida past Orlando to a 2-1 victory Saturday night at Hertz Arena in front of 6,938 fans.
A penalty to Craig Needham 30 seconds into the contest provided Orlando an early power play chance but failed to score despite registering four shots. The Blades had a chance of their own on the man advantage as Tyler Drevitch was whistled for interference but could not convert on the opportunity keeping the game scoreless. Florida controlled the pace of play despite a scoreless opening frame outshooting the Solar Bears 14-9 including an 11-2 advantage over the final 10 minutes of the frame.
Both sides traded 5-on-3 power play chances in the second stanza but could not capitalize as both Cam Johnson and Connor Ungar continued strong nights in net for their clubs. The Blades continued to dominate the shot count throughout the second period holding a 13-5 shot advantage in the middle frame but the game remain scoreless heading into the third period.
Ethan Szmagaj broke the ice 1:12 into the third period to give Orlando the game’s first goal on a point shot through a screen in front. The goal for Orlando ended a shutout streak of 196:02 for Johnson. Tarun Fizer responded for the hosts 3:41 later to even the score one apiece on a pinballing puck that deflected off the stick of the Orlando defensemen for his 15th of the season.
The score remained deadlocked until Jordan Sambrook unloaded a cannon from the right circle with 1:45 to play in regulation to give Florida their first lead of the night. Orlando pushed late for an equalizer delivering the final three shots of the night, but Cam Johnson denied them all to preserve the win for Florida.
Florida’s win has them 9 points ahead of Atlanta and South Carolina with 82 points for the top spot in the South Division standings.
Florida returns to action Wednesday in Atlanta to open a five-game road trip with the opening faceoff scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET from Gas South Arena.
BLADES BITS
The Blades are 10-1-1 in 12 meetings this season against Orlando including a 5-1-1 mark in Estero.
The Everblades are 4-1 in one-goal decisions against the Solar Bears this season.
Tarun Fizer has nine points (5g-4a) over his last four games against Orlando.
Brad Ralph’s group has won seven straight games on home ice.
Carson Gicewicz returned to the lineup for the first time since November 26.
Game Sheet
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