Game Day: Admirals and Everblades Restart Three-Game Series

Game #18

Admirals (4-12-1-0) vs. Everblades (13-2-0-1)

Scope Arena

7:00 pm

Last Time Out:

The Admirals led 3-1 midway through the third but the Everblades mustered a late comeback, topping Norfolk 4-3 on Wednesday night at Scope. After allowing the first goal of the night just 0:16 into the middle period the Admirals utilized a penalty shot for Darik Angeli to get on the board and even the game at 1-1. Goals from Kenton Helgesen and Grant Besse would follow. Only 0:14 after Besse’s tally put Norfolk up two the Everblades countered, getting on the board for the first time since the opening minute of the second. Florida would get two more goals before Joe Cox scored the game-winner with 3:51 to play in regulation.

Ty Reichenbach, making his third straight start, had 43 saves in the victory.

Head to Head:

Norfolk and Florida meet six times throughout the course of the season with three each happening at Germain Arena and Scope Arena. After the weekends contests the teams will not meet again until March. The Everblades have controlled the all-time series having won six of the previous eight meetings.

Scouting the Everblades:

Florida has featured a time-share in net as both Martin Ouellette and Callum Booth have played eight of the first 16 games. Both netminders rank among the ECHL’s leaders in goals against average (2nd and 3rd respectively) and save percentage. Booth, who started Wednesday’s game, is 6-1-0-1 with a 2.22 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Ouellete (7-1-0-0, 2.14, .921) has one more win than his counterpart, but does not have any shut outs.

Forward Mitchell Heard leads the Everblades and is fifth among ECHL skaters with 20 points (6g, 14a) through 16 games.  Michael Kirkpatrick and Stephen MacAulay are second and third on the team in points, however, the forwards are tied for the team lead with seven goals. Both players netted their seventh of the season in Wednesday’s Everblades victory.

Helgesen Finding the Net:

When Kenton Helgesen joined the Admirals in early October the forward had yet to score a goal this season. The Alberta native has found the back of the net in each of his last two games putting Helgesen two goals away from matching his total from last season. A two-game scoring streak is also the first goal-streak of Helgesen’s career. Twice last season the forward had four-game point streaks, but he has never tallied goals in back-to-back games until the last two games.

Among the League’s Top:

Sixteen points (8g, 8a) so far this season has Grant Besse among the ECHL’s top rookies. The forward is tied with Rapid City’s Dante Salituro in fourth place among all rookies. Besse is only three points behind league-leading rookie Reid Gardiner from Wheeling. The Wisconsin native has already notched a five-game point-streak and a three-game point streak in his inaugural professional campaign.

Multi-Point Nights:

A goal and an assist in Wednesday’s loss for Darik Angeli made the forward the 11th Admiral to have a multi-point night this season. Angeli’s first multi-point game since February of last season, against Norfolk, gives the forward six points in seven games since signing with Norfolk. Prior to joining the Admirals Angeli has three points, all goals in five games with Rapid City.

Other Admirals to net multi-point games this season while in an Admirals uniform are Brodie Dupont, Ben Murphy, Domenic Alberga, Trevor Mingoia, Angelo MIceli, Jordan Abt, Grant Besse, Brady Vail, Michael Young, Joonas Lyytinen, and Tim Daly.