Blades rally for OT victory
Matt Willows was in the right place at the right time.
Trailing 2-0 after an uninspired first period Friday night, the Florida Everblades rallied, lost a lead, then pulled out an 4-3 overtime victory over the Idaho Steelheads at Germain Arena.
Willows, positioned in front of Idaho goalie Maxime Legace, deflected Ethan Werek’s shot into the net with 2:37 remaining in overtime for the game-winner.
“Werek got over the top and put the shot to the net,” Willows said. “You’ve got to play that goalie in front of the net, redirect the puck. If it’s a straight shot he’ll make the save every time.”
Everblades coach Greg Poss said, “He went to the net, and Werek got the shot in there. He did a good job. Got in front of the goalie, they didn’t have him covered, and he was able to get the stick on it for the deflection.”
It was Willows’s second goal of the night. The first came on a power play that put the Blades up 3-2 in the second period.
“We knew it would be a tough game, the first game back after a road trip is always hard,” Poss said. “For whatever reason. I’m not sure why.”
Goaltender Anthony Peters saved the Blades when he stoned Colton Beck on a shorthanded breakaway with 54.6 seconds left in regulation.
“We have great goaltending and Petey came up big for us,” Willows said. “He gave us an opportunity to get into overtime and get the win.”
“That was huge,” Poss said. “Absolutely didn’t want to turn the puck over there. We could have lost both points. That’s how close it is between winning and losing. Now we’re happy. If they had scored we’d be sad right now. That’s just the way it goes. Peters made a great save.”
The ECHL went to a 3-on-3 format in overtime this season. It’s still something coaches and players are learning.
“You have to play good defense,” Willows said. “You’ve got to take care of your end, and when you get the chances, there’s a lot of open ice so you’ve got to take advantage of it.”
“It’s not easy to have a strategy for it,” Poss said. “As soon as there’s a scoring chance, everything breaks down. I think it’s great to end more games without going to a shootout.”
The ECHL South Division leader, Florida won its fourth in a row to maintain the best record in the league. The Steelheads, who came into the night second in the West Division, remained winless in their last five.
Idaho took an early 1-0 lead on a power-play goal with 8:42 remaining in the first period. Jefferson Dahl fired a short shot past Blades goalie Anthony Peters. Taylor Peters made it 2-0 later in the first.
Florida ratcheted up the intensity to start the second period, and it paid quick dividends – three goals in 6:06.
Matt Marquardt got the Blades on the board two minutes into the second period, grabbing a rebound and beating Philippe Derosiers. It was Marquardt’s fifth goal of the season.
That was just the start.
Brandt Harris scored the equalizer three minutes later on a shot that Derosiers slowed but couldn’t stop. It was Harris’ sixth goal of the year.
The Blades surged ahead shortly thereafter on the power play. Willows fired it home, and sent Derosiers to the bench. Idaho changed netminders, bringing in Legace.
“My confidence is up and I’ve been playing well, feeding off it,” Willows said. “I’ve got two great guys in Werek and (Corey) Cowick,” his linemates. “I give a lot of credit to them. They’re a lot of fun to play with. We work well together.”
Some sloppy play late in the period cost the Everblades the lead.
A scrum in front of Peters wound up with Idaho tying the game at 3-3. Rob Linsmayer scored for Idaho, with Beck picking up his third assist on the night.
“We came on in the second period, got those three goals,” Poss said. “I thought the third period was our best period. That’s when we had the puck the most and put the most pressure on them. I think we really deserved win the game, to get the two points in the end.”
NOTES: The Everblades lost two defensemen to promotions Thursday. Justin Agosta and Mike Cornell were called up to Charlotte of the AHL. Florida signed veteran defender Matt Corrente, whose career includes 34 games with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Idaho defeated the Everblades in six games in the 2004 Kelly Cup Finals. The Everblades wore special camouflage jerseys Friday night. They’ll wear them again Saturday, with the jerseys then being auctioned off after the Veterans Night game. Proceeds will benefit the National Coalition of Patriots.