Oliver Chau scored the first and last goals Thursday night to propel Florida to victory over the Icemen.
Florida Everblades goaltender Cam Johnson came into Thursday’s contest in Jacksonville allowing two goals or fewer in six of his last seven games.
That trend held up against the Icemen, as the ECHL Goaltender of the Month for November stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced for a 3-2 win. The two teams combined for all five goals in the second period, with Oliver Chau's two goals making the difference.
It was a scoreless first period in which Jacksonville outshot the Everblades 11-9. Chau wasted little time once the second frame got underway, wrapping around Icemen netminder Matt Vernon just 32 seconds in for a 1-0 Florida lead.
Jacksonville tied the game 1-1 at the 5:24 mark off a Davis Koch rebound save by Johnson. It was Koch’s fifth tally of the year.
The Everblades would take the lead later in the frame on a nice triangle formation. The puck bounced off Jesse Lansdell and into the back of the net, with Kyle Betts and Jordan Sambrook picking up assists.
Jacksonville refused to give up, however. The Icemens’ captain, Christopher Brown, leveled the score at 2-2 with a shot from the slot on a wraparound similar to Chau's minutes later.
Late in the middle frame, Chau bookended his night by scoring the eventual game-winner on a power play after creating room in the crease and chipping in a Kade Landry feed for a 3-2 Everblades lead. Jacksonville entered the night ranked third in the league on the penalty-kill at 91.4%. Zach Jordan received four minutes of time in the box for tripping and cross checking.
The third period belonged to the goaltenders, with Vernon making 25 saves for the game in the loss.
The two teams will meet again Friday in Jacksonville before heading back to The Swamp to complete the three-game series on Saturday.