Florida Everblades Defeat Texas Wildcatters 4-2

MLN - THE RAW FEED - www.mlntherawfeed.com - ESTERO, FL - The Florida Everblades (38-25-8) rode 25 saves by  goaltender David Shantz and two points each by Derek Damon and  Kenndal McArdle to a 4-2 win over the Texas Wildcatters (52-8-11) on  Friday night at Germain Arena in front of an energized crowd of 6,526.
 
 The Everblades put up an inspiring fight in the first period against  the ECHL South division title holders. Although neither team scored  in the first, the teams maintained symmetry with two penalty kills  apiece. The Everblades out-shot the Wildcatters 8-7. Shantz had some  very impressive goaltending with a couple of quick grabs of the  puck. Despite strong efforts by both teams, the teams headed into  the second period scoreless.
 

ADVERTISEMENT  Early in the second period, the Everblades broke the scoreless tie  by registering a power play goal. With Wildcatter David Schulz in  the penalty box for boarding, the Everblades took advantage of  their power play when David Cornacchia scored the first goal of the  game by lifting the puck into the net from the left side of the  crease past Texas goalie Kris Tebbs. Cornacchia's 9th goal came at  3:11 with the assists going to Kenndal McArdle and Mike McLean.
 
 The Wildcatters responded by tying up the score at 6:50 when forward  Kevin Baker raced into the offensive zone down the left side. After  dancing past Everblades defenseman Brett Peterson, Baker's shot was  stopped by Shantz, but the big Texas forward chased down his own  rebound before slamming the puck into the net and put the score at  1-1.
 
 Not willing to settle for a tied score, Florida quickly bounced back  and took advantage of an abandoned Texas net. With Tebbs handling  the puck behind the goal, the Wildcatter net-minder inadvertently  turned it over to McArdle, who was barely recovering from a hard hit  against the boards just minutes earlier, and boosted the puck into  the open net. The goal came less than a minute after Texas tied the  score and put the Everblades back on top 2-1. McArdle garnered his  3rd goal of the year with an assist by Brandon Roach, his 22nd of  the season.
 
 Texas once again tied the game when Jordan Morrison raced down the  left boards and snuck the puck past Shantz from the left circle to  tie it 2-2 at 13:32. A fast-paced second period came to a close with  the Everblades out-shooting Texas 19-13 in the frame, and the teams  even on the scoreboard.
 
 Just coming off a power play in the third period, the Everblades  took the lead once again when Preston Callander scored at 6:05.  Callander notched his 24th goal of the year by digging the puck free  from the right corner and walking to the top of the crease, where he  unleashed a wrist shot that found the top corner of the net. Damon  and Peter Aston notched the assists.
 
 Determined to add to their lead rather than have Texas tie it up  again, the Everblades found some breathing room when Damon stole the  puck in the neutral zone, weaved toward the goal and punched the  puck into the net from the top of the crease. Damon, who was just  named a member of the Second Team All-ECHL, lifted his goal tally to  25.
 
 Despite their best effort, Texas was unable to come back as the  Everblades held strong to maintain their 4-2 lead for the win.
 
 In net Shantz improved to 8-2-2 in his last 12 starts and to 11-5-5  overall. Tebbs took the loss after allowing the four goals on 34  shots, dropping his record to 13-4-3.
 
 On the power play, the Everblades closed out night 1-for-6 while  Texas went 0-for-3.

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