| Thanks to their 6 goal margin in the previous contest against
the Columbia Cyclones, Drew and his Jr. Everblades teammates would
find themselves in fourth place in the Greater Orlando Tournament,
and scheduled for a rematch against the first place Pineville
Falcons Black team. These two teams faced off in the opening contest
of the tournament, with the Everblades suffering a 7-1 loss. With
the way the Falcons stormed through the tournament, this was looking
like it was going to be a tough contest... The first period was
played pretty evenly, as the two teams traded scoring chances and
generally kept up with each other. Unfortunately for the Everblades
it was the Falcons who were able to convert their chances into the
only goal of the period, on a wrap around that snuck past the
Everblades goaltender, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
The Everblades came out fast in the second period, scoring two
quick goals (one a tip-in, the other a 1 on 1 breakaway) to grab a
2-1 lead less than two minutes into the period. The ice tilted in
favor of the Falcons after that, as they dominated the puck and
shots on goal, but weren't able to find the back of the net on any
of those shots. Thankfully the period ended, and the Everblades were
surprisingly on top by a goal.
The Everblades would add to their lead partway through the third
frame, widening their lead to 3-1 thanks to a spinning effort that
snuck the puck past the Falcons goalie. Less than 30 seconds later
the Falcons would negate that goal with one of their own, as a
floater got by the Everblades goaltender, which I'm sure he'd like
to have back. The Everblades would get that goal back a couple
minutes later, taking a 4-2 lead on a wrister. As time was winding
down, the Falcons would pull their goalie to gain a man advantage.
They would make use of their extra man on the ice, as they would
score on a tap-in with just 1:18 left on the clock to narrow the
lead to 4-3. A second goal with the man advantage followed just 30
seconds later, making it a 4-4 tie. Thankfully the Everblades were
able to stop the onslaught for the remainder of the period, and the
game would come to it's normal end with the two teams knotted up at
4 goals apiece.
Being a tournament playoff game, overtime would follow. The
Everblades would have their fair share of chances in the extra time,
but couldn't take advantage of them. The Falcons would wrap up their
comeback with a backhand shot with five and half minutes remaining
in the extra frame, sending them to the championship game and the
Everblades home, having suffered a 5-4 defeat.
Although this wasn't the outcome that anyone wanted, it was nice
to see the team fight through their previous defeat to battle hard
in this contest. Despite not get the "W" today, it was a battle that
they can be proud of. Way to go Everblades! |
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