ESTERO, FL – The Florida Everblades rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Jacksonville Icemen 3-2 in overtime Wednesday night at Hertz Arena. Despite the loss, the Icemen earn a point in the standings.
Captain Christiopher Brown opened up the scoring following a faceoff win in the offensive zone. Brown cut below the right circle and stuffed the puck on the short side past Florida goaltender Cam Johnson to give the Icemen a 1-0 lead.
In the second period, Chris Grando scooped up a loose puck in the slot and hurled a shot low into the Florida net to extend the JAX lead to 2-0.
Moments later, the Everblades were awarded a 5-on-3 power play opportunity for a full two minutes and they used it to their advantage when Oliver Chau ripped a shot into the net from the left wing to pull Florida within one.
The Icemen held off a barrage of shots for most of the third period, but the Everblades again received a late power play and with the goaltender pulled, Florida used a 6-on-4 man advantage to even up the game in the final two minutes of regulation. Carson Gicewicz snapped a shot in from the right circle to tie the game at two and force overtime.
In the extra session, Brendan Harris broke toward the goal for a scoring chance but it was negated by an apparent interference penalty that wasn’t called. The result would lead to a 2-on-1 rush for the Everblades. Chau led the rush on the right wing and as he approached the net, he patiently waited for Lansdell to set up on the back door. Chau floated the pass to Lansdell who tapped it in for the game-winner to give Florida the 3-2 win.
Despite the loss, the Icemen collect a road point and their magic number to secure a top three spot in the first round of the playoffs is now down to four.
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