Blades’ Peters stuffs Stingrays 2-1
Anthony Peters turned aside 26 of the 27 shots faced Friday night to help pace the Florida Everblades to a 2-1 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays at Germain Arena.
Florida extends its win streak to five games.
The Stingrays (20-15) struck first, with a power play tally at 5:44 of the opening frame. Colton Saucerman hammered a shot from the left wing circle that was stopped off the pad of Florida goaltender Anthony Peters. The rebound jumped right to Rob Flick at the right of the crease and Flick immediately tapped the puck into the net to give the Stingrays a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes of play.
In the second period, Florida (25-11) tied the game on a power play goal of its own. During a 5-on-3 advantage, Akim Aliu delivered a blistering one-timed shot that ripped past South Carolina goaltender Parker Milner to even the game at one.
Exactly one minute later, Florida claimed the lead. Matt Berry executed a perfect no look pass between his legs to Clark Bishop at the top of the crease. Bishop batted the puck into the net for the game-winning marker.
In the final stanza, Peters took control and turned aside all 11 shots faced in the period to preserve the 2-1 victory. Peters earns his 16th win of the season.
Florida’s Brant Harris saw his point streak end at 13 games. The streak tied a league best this season, previously set by Atlanta’s Justin Buzzeo in November. Harris registered 17 points (7g, 10a) during the 13-game streak which began back on December 10.
The teams meet again Saturday night at Germain Arena in the series finale.