Blades nail 15th win
BOISE, Idaho – Ethan Werek scored twice while ECHL Goaltender of the Month Daniel Altshuller stopped 32 shots Wednesday night to earn the Florida Everblades (15-7) a 4-1 victory over the Idaho Steelheads.
Altshuller (9-1) received the award on Tuesday for posting a 5-0 record with three shutouts, a 0.80 goals-against average and a save percentage of .968 in five appearances during the month. Altshuller allowed two goals or less in all five of his November starts and recorded two shutouts against Idaho and Colorado.
The win keeps the Blades (15-7) in first place in the ECHL’s South Division standings with a six-point cushion over South Carolina (11-9). They face the Steelheads (6-15) again Friday and Saturday nights before returning home to Germain Arena next Wednesday to start a three-game set against the Reading Royals (9-9).
The Everblades struck first at the 3:39 mark of the opening period. Matt Willows took advantage of the traffic surrounding Steelheads goaltender Philippe Desrosiers and fired a shot that found the back of the net.
At the 9:41 mark of the second period, the Blades extended the lead when Willows found Mark Nemec who fired a shot that Werek deflected into the goal.
Werek retaliated from the left wing circle for his second goal of the night.
Entering the third period up 3-1, the Blades continued a solid defensive effort until Maxime St. Cyr buried an empty-net goal with just under two-minutes remaining to seal the victory.