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.

YouTube Tuesday: Re-Cap Edition

Here's a video re-cap of last Wednesday's game against Trenton for your enjoyment. I think our videos are starting to get really classy, hopefully it starts to rub off on the blog...



Maybe it's the cold medicine talking, but the Everbabes don't annoy me that much anymore. Either I'm actually beginning to like their performances or mixing blogging and Nyquil should be discouraged.

Blades Win One, Lose One (5-4 & 6-3)

(These pictures are from Wednesday, they were too good not to use!)

The Everblades continued their home stand against the Trenton Devils Friday and Saturday.  The Blades had to play without goalie Barry Brust (who is still leading the ECHL in GAA) and defenseman Matt Duffy, who were called up to the Aeros and Amerks respectively. Lucky for the Blades Milan Gajic has been making up for all the time he lost while he was injured. He managed to net two goals and an assist in Friday's win, and two goals Saturday.

Fridays game came down to the wire, with the Devils scoring with 13 seconds to go. The Blades did manage to come out on top with the final score being 5-4 (you can find the gamesheet here. You'll notice that once again it was a penalty filled affair, with 20 seperate penalties being handed out. Shea Guthrie, Phil Paquet, and Ernie Hartlieb all notched tallies for the Blades on top of Gajic's two. That win made the Blades record against the Devils 3-1-0 for the season.

There really is only way to describe Saturdays game... Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh. The Blades ended up losing 6-3 to the Devils (game sheet here). An interesting scuffle did break out with Hartlieb and Olson mixing it up at the same time. Gaijic notched two more goals, and Brandon Buck netted the third.

There was a silver lining to this series. Of the 9 goals scored by the Blades this series, 5 were power play goals. This is something the Blades have been struggling with this year. Perhaps they've found the key to taking advantage of the man advantage.

Unfortunately, there is a possible grey cloud. With Barry brust in Houston, and Mike Morrison in Albany, Chris Beckford-Tseu is the de facto starting goaltender for the Blades. He has been struggling with consistancy and I don't think we can look forward to him preforming like he did against the Nailers. I might be wrong (it wouldn't be the first time), and maybe the upcoming road trip is what he, and the rest of the guys, need to get back on to the winning track.

The Blades will be in Charlotte next week taking on the Checkers. After that, they return for a Tuesday/Wednesday series against the Gladiators. They then leave for South Carolina to take on the Stingrays Friday/Saturday and the Gladiators Sunday. For now, enjoy the last of the awesome pictures from Wednesdays game...

Devils Defeat Blades (2-1)

The Trenton Devils came to town and had some revenge, ending the Blades five game win streak. The Blades downfall seemed to come not just from their sloppy play), but from a solid game from the Devils goaltender Gerald Coleman.

You can find the game sheet for the game here. I really do recommend checking it out, the fact that Brusty received 4 PIM is an indication of what kind of game it was. The Devils were obviously out to get him off his game, rushing him and crowding him every chance they got. One of the rushes early in the first led to him being nailed in the head by an elbow, or knee (I can't seem to recall now). Complaining to the Ref got nowhere (I'm pretty sure remember the Ref from past "stupid/incorrect penalties all night" games). Add to that the fact that Elgin Reid was injured in the first. He was in some intense pain on the bench, on they hustled him off the ice the first chance they got. To me, it looked like it was either his right hand or wrist. There hasn't been any move on the transaction wire, or the teams website roster. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as it lookes (I'm really crossing my fingers for that).

There really isn't much else to say about the game. Mathieu Roy took on one of the Devils, and the Blades did manage to score at the 16:14 mark when Mike Bayrack (who is quickly becoming my favorite acquisition this year) got one past Coleman. Unfortunately, pulling Brusty for the extra attacker did not pay off, and the Blades lost their first game in six. I did manage to remember my camera, and got some of these lovely pictures from the game...

(Wet Wednesday means trash can pong and dirty old men hitting on me)

I'm also slowly collecting a picture of every player...

(Captain, Ross Carlson)

(Elgin Reid)

(Chris Capraro, wearing a different number than the Blades list him under)

(Ernie Hartlieb)

(A.J. Thelen)

(Carlson is on the left (I think), and Mike Bayrack is on the right)

(Barry Brust and Thelen)

(Chris Beckford-Tseu)

You may remember I was planning on going up to breakaways to get some scribbles on my jersey. That didn't go well, and my jersey still has the same number of scribbles as it did before. The problem? I'm kind of a huge chicken, I froze every time one of the guys walked past. So, I missed Becks (which I was most upset about), Zanon, Olson, and Hotham. The other part was that some of the guys took some back stairs to leave, eliminating my chance to get some cajones. Hopefully, I can work up some courage before the next Wet Wednesday.

Gladiators Go Down (3-2 & 5-1)

(unfortunately I don't have the pictures from last night's game at this time, I will try to post the pictures soon)

The Blades continued their winning ways against the Gladiators, extending their streak to 5 games.

(The Blades Express is starting to really roll!)

Friday's game was a lot tamer than Saturday's, that didn't make it any less of a nail biter though (The game sheet is here). The Glads opened up the scoring 24 seconds into the first period. The Blades were able to answer back with a goal by captain Ross Carlson. No one was able to break the tie until the second period when Colin Nicholson and Chris Capraro gave the Blades a two goal lead. A third period onslaught by the Gladiators allowed them to slip one by Barry Brust, narrowing the Blades lead to one goal. At the 19:40 mark Ernie Hartlieb mixed it up with a player from the Gladiators, and they were both sent off the ice. The game came down to the wire, but the Blades managed to come out on top 3-2.

Saturdays game was much more physical (game sheet here). The first period was relatively quiet with no one scoring. During the second period the Blades exploded scoring four goals in the second period. Ross Carlson, Mike Bayrack, and Milan Gajic all scored, with Bayrack notching two of the four goals.Goalie Barry Brust had his shut-out ruined by the Gladiators lone tally in the second. Benn Olson traded punches with one of the Gladiators late in the second. This clearly gave the Blades the energy they needed to overcome the Gladiators as two of the Second periods goals were scored after the fight. Brandon Buck was able to score the only goal of the third with an amazing buzzerbeater that is officially listed as having happened at the 19:59 mark.

It looks like the Blades have found whatever it was they were missing. They have been playing some really great hockey lately and the streak has allowed the Blades to tie the Walleye for third place in the American Conference. Next week the Trenton Devils come to town for a three game series. The Blades finished up their roadtrip by sweeping their series with the Trenton, with the Devils coming to town maybe the Blades can gain some space in the standings heading into the last half of the season.

Double Devils Defeat (4-3 & 3-1)

(I really have a terrible sense of humor, I'm sorry)

The Blades managed to follow up their shoot-out victory in Reading with back-to-back wins in Trenton, extending their winning streak to three games. Fridays game (gamesheet here), had some exciting moments culminating in a shoot-out that saw both Carlson and Baker slip one past the Devils Goalie. Brust did his best "Great Wall of Brusty" to clinch the Blades, and himself, a second straight shoot-out victory. The goals in regulation were provided by Hartlieb, Duffy, and Baker.

Saturdays game (gamesheet here) saw Brusts third start in a row, and the first win in regulation for their last four wins. Trenton was able to draw blood first, but the Blades responded mere seconds later, with Bayrack getting his first goal as an Everblade. From then on it was the Blades game, with Jordan Morrison scoring a Power Play goal, and Roy  making an empty netter to slam the door on any hope the Devils had. They also made sure the Devils weren't able to use this very much...



(I'm not sure why but I really really hate the Bro Hymn)

The Blades managed to come out on top in six of their eleven games and have now pulled into second in the division. They will now come home, and after a short break for the all-star game, will be hosting the Gladiators this Friday.