Re-Cap: Blades vs. Stingrays (11/7/10)

The Blades took on the Stingrays for the final game of their three game series in an early afternoon game in South Carolina.

So far, the Blades have split the series with a team that is, as of yesterday, the worst team in the conference and the second worst in the ECHL. Needless to say, winning is not really an option.

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The first period was flat yet again, both teams had opportunities, but neither could convert. The period ended 0-0.


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The Stingrays came storming back with a goal 18 seconds into the period. Another goal less than a minute later dug the Blades hole just a little bit deeper. The Everblades continued the uninspired play for the rest of the period. End of the period 2-0.

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The beginning of the third period saw more flat play from the Everblades. The Stingrays made it 3-0 around the 12:00 mark.

Then something happened.

A scant 2 minutes later, Matt Pistilli got one past the Stingrays goalie to make the score 3-1. Alex Imbeault added another goal four minutes later to make it 3-2. Shortly after that, a shoving match between the benches led to a Hutchings and a Stingray player heading to the penalty box for mutual roughing penalties. Mere seconds after that a Stingrays player was called for high-sticking.

Poss called a time-out, and when it was over Bobby Goepfert stayed on the bench.

Poss pulled him for the extra attacker on a power play.

Lucky for Poss the wild gamble actually paid off. The newest Everblade, Nick Tarnasky, was able to score with 1.8 seconds remaining on the clock! That tied the game up 3-3, and obviously no one was able to score in the remaining time. The game was headed to overtime!

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After scoring three goals in about 5 minutes it was pretty obvious the Everblades had finally woken up and decided to play some hockey. It was also obvious that the Stingrays had lost the dominance they had for most of the game.

The Stingrays proved this when one of their players was called for boarding 45 seconds into the third period. He tried to argue, but sending a guy headfirst into the boards right in front of the Ref isn't easily explained off.

The Everblades put on major pressure, and it all paid off when Mitch Fadden's slapper found the back of the net. The Everblades have struggled the last few games to convert on the power play. Thankfully, when they needed it the most, they actually succeeded.

The final score was 4-3, you can see the score sheet here.

Cue the celebratory cuteness:


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It was a hard-won game, and after playing three road games in a row the guys really deserved that win. They will now come home for a short break before heading on the road late next week for a series with Greenville.