Blades win 6th straight
If there were a mercy rule in professional hockey, the Florida Everblades’ 6-3 demolition of the Gwinnett Gladiators at Germain Arena Wednesday night would have been the perfect time to enact it.
From the opening faceoff the Everblades seemed on a mission to prove they are the best team in the ECHL, getting off to hot start and never looking back, enjoying a lead of 6-1 entering the final period.
“That’s what we’ve been working on these last two games, working on our starts,” said Blades team captain Kevin Baker, whose two goals made him the first player in team history to reach the 100-point mark for a season.
The Blades (47-17-5) got their hot sticks going less than four minutes into the game when Mark Lee took a pass from Ross Carlson, and beating Gwinnett goaltender Joe Fallen (20 saves).
Eleven minutes later, on a power play, Andrew Sweetland scored his eighth of the season to put the Blades up 2-0.
Gwinnett (30-34-6) did manage to halve the score to 2-1 just before the end of the opening period when Dirk Southern beat net minder Kyle Gajewski (21 saves).
The Blades put on an offensive show in the second period. Led by Baker’s two goals, Florida scored four times and dominated all phases.
The Everblades allowed Gwinnett to score two meaningless goals in the third period, but still won their sixth straight game.
The Everblades wrap up the regular season Friday and Saturday nights with two games against the Mississippi Sea Wolves at Germain Arena.