The Florida Everblades defeated the Jacksonville Icemen 2-1 in overtime Friday at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena. Jacksonville overcame a 1-0 deficit to force the extra period, but Florida scored on a two-on-one rush to secure the win. The loss ended Jacksonville’s run of three consecutive overtime victories.
Bennett McArthur scored Jacksonville’s only goal with just over 20 seconds remaining in regulation. With the goaltender pulled and traffic in front of the net, the Icemen captain fired from the right-wing circle and beat Florida goaltender Cam Johnson short side. It was McArthur’s second goal of the season and tied the game at 1-1.
Jacksonville created several quality opportunities on the power play early, but Florida scored late in the first period after a bounce off the referee helped set up a tic-tac-toe play. The second period featured back-and-forth action before Jacksonville carried the play in the latter half. The Icemen outshot the Everblades 12-9 in the period but entered the third trailing 1-0.
Jacksonville earned the better opportunities in overtime, including a chance by Jaden Condotta that deflected wide of the net. Florida then converted its two-on-one rush for the winning goal. Chase Wutzke made 22 saves for the Icemen, who entered the game with a 3-2-3 record against the defending Kelly Cup champion Everblades, who came in at 6-1-0.
Saturday rematch
Jacksonville will play Florida again Saturday night at 7 p.m. The rematch gives the Icemen an immediate opportunity after their late regulation rally forced overtime. Jacksonville will look to turn that comeback into a different result in the second meeting.
FSB Take
McArthur’s late equalizer prevented Jacksonville from being held scoreless and extended the game against a Florida team that entered with a 6-1-0 record. The Icemen also generated enough second-period and overtime pressure to create chances after falling behind early. Saturday’s rematch will test whether Jacksonville can sustain that response for a complete game.
Source: Original report