Blades top Stingrays 3-2
With the defending Kelly Cup Champion South Carolina Stingrays in town for three games this week, the Florida Everblades know victories aren’t going to come easy. The first one came Wednesday night in a hard-fought 3-2 Everblades win at Germain Arena.
“They are a good hockey team, but we found a way to grind it out,” said Blades coach Malcolm Cameron.
In the entertaining, back-and-forth game, the Blades were the first to score 10 minutes into the opening period. Earnie Hartlieb stuffed the puck past Stingrays net minder Braden Holtby.
“I try to work every game like (I have),” said Hartlieb. “Fortunately, good things have been happening for me and I’ve gotten a couple of goals and helped us get a win (tonight).”
The Blades carried the one-goal lead into the second period when South Carolina tied it up just 46 seconds in as Keith Johnson beat Florida goaltender Mike Morrison (30 saves).
The tie didn’t last long, just six minutes later Mattieu Roy beat Holtby to put Florida up by a goal again. The back-and-forth play continued. South Carolina made it 2-2 with less than four minutes to play in the second.
“We played a good first period, bad second period, good third period,” said Cameron. “(In the second) we gave up two easy goals. One was a tap-in on an empty net and the second we failed to clear the puck on an empty zone with three minutes to go.”
Unlike last year, Florida’s second period poor play didn’t carry over into the third. They came out hard and fast in the third, pressing Holtby (32 saves) relentlessly firing 12 shots at the goalie.
First-year Blade Brandon Buck scored the game-winner with 5 1/2 minutes left. Rob Hennigar fired a perfect pass that Buck fired home to give the Blades the victory.
“We expect nothing less from (the Stingrays),” says Hartlieb of the Stingrays, who the Blades face twice more on Friday and Saturday. “They have a good hockey team and they want to beat us just as bad we want to beat them. I think it’s going to be great hockey against them all year – nobody is going to take or give an inch.”