Olivieri's Late Goal Not Enough as Florida Tops Norfolk

Written by Kristopher ClarkESTERO, FL- Jeremy Helvig made 27 saves on 29 shots as the Florida Everblades topped the Norfolk Admirals 5-2 Friday Night at Hertz Arena. Grant Arnold added two assists for the Everblades. Connor O’Neil recorded his first professional point in tonight’s contest. Florida jumped out front first with a goal from Sam Warning. Grant Arnold won a faceoff in the Norfolk end. Arnold gained possession of the puck and fired a pass to Warning in the slot who fired a shot past the stick of Jeremy Brodeur to give Florida a 1-0 lead at 8:08 of the first period. Norfolk tied the game with a goal from Christian Horn. Alex Rodriguez played the puck behind the Florida net for Ben Duffy. Duffy played the puck into the left circle for Horn. Horn skated with the puck from the circle into the center of the ice where Horn’s shot beat Jeremy Helvig over the blocker to tie the game at one goal apiece at 11:54 of the first period. The game would remain tied until 19 minutes of the first period, when Florida re-took their lead. Alex Tonge fed a pass into the left circle for Patrick Bajkov. Bajkov shot the puck towards the net. Brodeur made the initial save, but the puck slid behind him and Tonge knocked the puck into the net to give Florida a 2-1 lead. Florida extended its lead with a goal from Derek Sheppard. The Admirals were unable to clear the puck out of their own zone. Sheppard gathered the puck at the left point. Sheppard skated from the point, through the left circle and in front of the net where Sheppard fired a backhand shot over the glove of Brodeur to give Florida a 3-1 lead at 17:43 of the second period. The Everblades furthered their lead with a goal from Tommy Thompson. Patrick McCarron shot the puck from the center point, which was initially saved by Brodeur. The rebound bounced right to the stick of Thompson who was able to slide the puck past Brodeur to give Florida a 4-1 lead. The Admirals answered the Florida goal with a tally from Don Olivieri. Connor O’Neil gathered the puck in the left corner for Norfolk. O’Neil played the puck to the left point for Eric Roy. Roy shot the puck towards the net which was saved by Helvig. Olivieri found the rebound and backhanded a shot past Helvig to cut the Florida lead to 4-2. Florida added a late goal to win by a 5-2 score. Jeremy Helvig made 27 saves on 29 shots to earn the win for Florida, while Jeremy Brodeur made 43 saves on 48 shots to take the loss for Norfolk. The Admirals play game their last road game of the season in Florida tomorrow night at Hertz Arena. Puck drops against the Everblades at 7:00 p.m.Game Sheet/ Box Score

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