Re-Cap: Everblades vs. T-Devils (11/23 & 11/24)

I have to apologize for not posting the re-cap sooner. I may or may not have completely forgotten that neither night was done.

I have to say, I wasn't completely surprised by how Tuesday went. Every time the T-Devils have come to town it's been a boring affair. The Blades were dominant for much of the first period. Mitch Fadden notched the first goal on the power play. It was the lone goal of the period.



Unfortunately, the Everblades continued their flat play in the second, and this time it cost them. The Devils notched a short handed goal and the flood gate opened. When the buzzer sounded at the end of the period the T-Devils had scored three goals in a seven minute time frame.



The Everblades did wake up a little in the third. They even managed to score thanks to Alex Imbeault (someone tell me why he doesn't have an AHL contract) to make it a one goal game. As you may expect, the T-Devils shut it down. They clogged up the neutral zone and the Blades couldn't get through. When the final buzzer the score was 3-2. The final game sheet is here.

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The following day there was a lovely post on the Blades' Blog with some terribly juicy quotes from President and GM Craig Brush.

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Now, I have to admit that I seriously considered not going to Thursday's game. Thank goodness I decided to go. I think Ross Carlson is happy I went too.



The Blades looked much more dominant in the first period. They were rewarded about a quarter of the way through the period when Matt Pistilli notched his ninth goal of the year. The Blades ended the period with the same tenuous lead they had in Tuesday's game. I was definitely not getting my hopes up.

Then, the second period, and Jared Staal came along. At the 3:44 mark Staal collected a pass from David Fischer and drove to the net with Francis Lemieux.



It was his first of the year and you could tell it was a relief. You could also see a little flicker of swagger developing...



Six minutes later, Elgin Reid scored a beauty to make it 3-0.



The Everblades held off some strong surges from the Devils and goalie Bobby Goepfert stood on his head whenever they slipped. In the end there was nothing the Devils could do to solve Goepfert or overcome the Everblades solid play. The game sheet is here.

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Both games were about as opposite from each other as you can get. Tuesday's was flat and boring and Wednesday's was dominant and aggressive. If the Everblades can keep up Wednesdays dominant play, and with the talent they have there is no reason not to, they should do pretty well as they head out for a week long road trip that includes stops in Reading, Elmira, Kalamazoo, and Cincinnati.