ESTERO, FL – Derek Lodermeier’s goal at 3:45 into overtime lifted the Jacksonville Icemen to a 4-3 victory over the Florida Everblades in Game 3 of the South Division Semifinals at Hertz Arena Wednesday night.
Lodermeier grabbed the first goal of the game at 4:30 of the opening period when he shoved in the rebound from a Chris Grando shot to give the Icemen a 1-0 lead.
Moments later, the Icemen stuck again, as they moved the puck effectively around the zone and fed the puck to Garrett Van Wyhe at the center point. Van Wyhe flexed a shot that cleanly beat goaltender Cam Johnson to put the score at 2-0.
The 2-0 score held into the midway point of regulation when Florida’s Sean Josling finished off a 3-on-2 rush slipping a wrist shot past Icemen netminder Matt Vernon.
Seconds later, the Icemen reclaimed a two-goal edge when Craig Martin delivered a shot that was stopped by Cam Johnson. However, the rebound deflected sharply off the skate of Damien Giroux crashing the net and deflected into the net for the tally to make it a 3-1 game.
Florida stormed back in the final six minutes of the second period when Joe Pendenza put back a rebound, while Jordan Sambrook scored to even the game at three.
The Icemen outshot Florida in third 12-4, but Johnson managed to turn them all aside to force overtime. In the extra session, Derek Lodermeier skated the puck behind the net. Johnson’s initially turned to his right and Lodermeier seized an opportunity to stuff the puck in on the opposite post. After two taps at the puck Lodermeier managed to steer the puck in for the wining marker for the 4-3 win and give the Icemen a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The two teams will meet in Game 4 on Friday at 7:30 p.m. from Hertz Arena.
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