Icemen Edge Everblades in Shootout

Written by Jake Wheeler

JACKSONVILLE, FL- The Jacksonville Icemen defeated the Florida Everblades 5-4 in a shootout thanks in part to the play of goaltender Tyler Wall shutting the door in the third period and overtime. Craig Martin finished with three assists and scored the game winning goal in the shootout. 

The game started off with some fireworks, as Icemen forward Travis Howe and Everblades forward Kyle Neuber got into a scrap  just seconds into the contest. and each received five minutes for fighting.

Just six minutes into the game, Florida already had a two-goal lead thanks to two tallies from Jake Jaremko.

Moments later, Jacksonville was able to strike thanks to a point shot from defenseman Jacob Panetta.  The goal was Panetta’s first of his professional career. 

The Icemen were able to tie up the game with a minute left in the period thanks to a great play from Ara Nazarian.  Nazarian skated after a bouncing among all five Florida skaters and emerged out of the pack for a breakaway chance.  Nazarian took his shot that was stopped, but he tracked down his own rebound to tie the game at two apiece.

Nealry eight minutes into the second period the Icemen forward Craig Martin forced a turnover in their offensive zone and forward Luke Lynch was able to make them pay off of a nice cross-crease pass from Martin to give Jacksonville a one-goal lead.

Following the goal, the Icemen had a powerplay, in which they were able capitalize thanks to forward Joey Sides redirecting a pass from the slot set up by Martin again to take a 4-2 lead.

The Everblades were able to score two goals late in the period, including a power play goal by Blake Winiecki with six second remaining to tie the game back up at four goals apiece.

The third period was a defensive period as neither team wanted to make a mistake to cost them the game. Both teams had a powerplay opportunity in the third, but no one was able to score. Overtime was needed to settle this contest. The overtime period was an exciting one, as seven minutes of fast paced action took place as both teams were trying to gain an edge that would help them in winning the game, but, neither team scored in overtime and it would be decided in the shootout.

The Icemen used goals from Derek Lodermeier and Craig Martin while Tyler Wall was great in the shootout stopping both shots faced as the Icemen win the game 5-4 while being outshot 35-31. The Icemen play again on Friday, November 26th at 7 p.mm vs the Florida Everblades.