ESTERO, Fla. – Isaac Nurse snapped a 1-1 deadlock with eight minutes left in the game as the Florida Everblades scored three unanswered goals to knock off the South Carolina Stingrays 3-1 before 7,075 spirited Southwest Florida hockey fans Saturday night at Hertz Arena. 

Two teams with no love lost between them lived up to that billing throughout the first 20 minutes of play. An early tussle between Florida’s Jesse Lansdell and South Carolina’s Luke Prokop just over four minutes into the contest set the stage as each team collected 13 minutes in penalties on five infractions in a physical, but scoreless first period. Both teams mustered six shots on goal and went 0-for-2 on the power play in the frame.

Both teams would get on the board in the second period. South Carolina drew first blood on a goal by Aaron Gaffney in the opening minute to take a 1-0 lead. That deficit would be erased late in the frame as Ben Brar tipped in a Tiernan Shoudy blast for his third goal of the year at the 16:31 mark, knotting the game at 1-1. The Blades outshot the Stingrays 10-9, with neither team capitalizing on two power-play shifts in the middle period.

Matters would be settled in the third period. With just over eight minutes left in the game, Nurse cashed in from the low slot for a power-play tally that gave the Everblades their first lead of the contest. Nurse converted a feed from Broten Sabo off a pass from Maleek McGowan to put the Blades ahead 2-1. The goal was Nurse’s fourth of the season.

Mark Senden closed out the scoring with a shorthanded, empty-net goal at the 18:41 mark that extended Florida’s lead to 3-1.

The Everblades limited South Carolina to just two shots on goal in the final period, winning the shot battle 21-17. Goaltender Cam Johnson recorded 16 saves and earned his ECHL-leading eighth win of the year. 

The homestand continues Wednesday, November 18 as the Orlando Solar Bears skate into Hertz Arena for a 7:30 p.m. tilt. Following that midweek matchup, the Everblades will host the Savannah Ghost Pirates for a pair of games on Friday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

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BLADES BITS

Isaac Nurse scored after a four-game string without a goal. He had last scored goals in back-to-back games at Greenville on October 30-31.

Ben Brar’s second-period goal snapped a three-game streak without a point. Brar’s last goal opened the scoring in the Blades’ 2-1 overtime win at Jacksonville on November 6.

 

Tiernan Shoudy has assists in back-to-back games, while Jordan Sambrook has collected helpers in three of the last four games.

Both teams ended the game with nine penalties and 21 minutes in penalties. The Everblades went 1-for-5 on the power play, while shutting down all five South Carolina power plays. 

Over the last five years, the Everblades have compiled a 29-10-3-2 against the Stingrays.

Saturday Night’s Scoresheet

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