Florida Eels Premier and Elite returned to the ice this weekend as they took on cross town rival Florida Jr. Blades. The Eels faced off against the Florida Jr. Blades on home ice on Saturday, and traveled down to Hertz Arena Sunday morning.
Premier Recap
Saturday
With Russ Decoste, between the pipes for the Florida Eels, staring in his 18th game of the season, the Eels lined up for their 7:00 pm puck drop against the Florida Jr. Blades. It was game time and the Eels were determined to light the lamp first. At 12:14 Eels Xavier Charron, assited by Viktor Gogh and Ian Dracoulis grabbed the Eels first point of the game. Shortly after it was Eels newcomer, Gino Indelicato, assisted by Matthew Cunningham and Anthony Zebley grabbed the Eels second goal. At the end of the first the Eels closed the period leading 2-0 over the Jr. Blades.
With a two goal lead over the Jr. Blades, the Eels continued to increase their presence and fire power around the net. At 15:06 in the second period, Yiorgos Bikakis, assisted by Blake Becker and Ian Dracoulis grabbed the Eels third goal of the game. At 19:38 in the third, Eels struck again with Viktor Gogh lighting the lamp assisted by Brendan Dohan and Xavier Charron. The Eels now had a 4-0 lead over the Jr. Blades at the close of the second period.
The Jr. Blades got on the board, with .35 seconds in the third period, when they scored their first and only point of the game. However, at 15:34 Eels Captain Anthony Zebley scored his first goal of the game the Eels fifth goal, assisted by Derrick Pedersen. At 17:29, Eels Captain Anthony Zebley strikes again with this second goal of the game, assisted by Alex Cochran. The Eels win 6-1 over the Florida Jr. Blades.
Sunday
Florida Eels return to the ice Sunday morning at 11:45 am, in Estero Florida to take on the Florida Jr. Blades in Game 2 of the weekend series. This time its goaltender Noah Van Herik, staring in his 16th game of the season, between the pipes as the Eels lined up for puck drop.
The Eels focused and dialed in ready to bring home another win, after their impressive 6-1 victory the night before, battled for the first point of the game. It was Eels Own Blyth, assisted by Blake Becker and Teddy Feng who put the Eels on the board at 13:04 in the first. With the lone point, the Eels closed the period with a 1-0 lead over the Florida Jr. Blades. The blades continued to try to find the back of the net in the second period. However, it was the Eels who found the net at 9:19 in the second, when Matthew Cunningham, assisted by Anthony Zebley and Gino Indelicato, grabbed goal two. The Eels closed the second period with 2-0 lead over the Jr. Blades.
Still holding their 2-0 lead, the Eels stepped out onto the ice in the third period, not finished not ready to back off. At 9:19 it was Eels Robin Kuusik, assisted by Ian Dracoulis and Seth Morris who grabbed goal three for the Eels. At 16:59 the Jr. Blades responded with their one and only goal of the game. At 18:48, Eels Gino Indelicato grabbed another goal for the Eels, assisted by Robin Kuusik and Anthony Zebley. The Eels capturing another victory over the Jr. Blades, this time winning 4-1.
Elite Recap
Saturday
Florida Eels Elite faced off first with a 4:00 pm puck drop against the Florida Jr. Blades. With Landon Blaine between the pipes staring in his 8th game of season, play was under way. Both teams battled to grab the first point of the game; however, neither team was able to light the lamp and at the end of the first period, the game remained scoreless.
It was the Florida Jr. Blades who grabbed the first point in the second period at 2:27. They found their second point of the game at 17:46 in the second period, and at the end of the second period, Florida Jr. Blades held a 2-0 lead over the Florida Eels Elite.
A newly invigorated Eels Elite team stepped foot on the ice at the start of the third period, ready to respond to the Jr. Blades 2-0 lead. At .27 seconds into the third period, William Torrone, assisted by Sam Kleiman-Lee and Filip Nyberg grabbed the Eels first goal. The Eels were finally on the board, and they had a fire power ready to show. It was Eels Filip Nyberg, assisted by William Torrone and Stepan Kuznets who grabbed the Eels second point of the game at 8:01 in the third. The Eels and the Jr. Blades were now tied 2-2-it was anybody’s game. The Eels grabbed the first lead of the night at 9:14 in the third when Carmen D’Ambrosio lit the lamp assisted by Etienne Cartier and goaltender Landon Blaine. Eels Stepan Kuznets quickly grabbed the Eels insurance goal at 9:37 with an assist from Jackson Carnes and Carment D’Ambrosio. The Eels now lead 4-2 over the Jr. Blades. However, they were not done yet, William Torrone again lit the lamp assisted by Sam Kleiman- Lee and Filip Nyberg at 12:02 in the third. The Eels solidifying a three goal lead over the Jr. Blades, and grabbing a 5-2 win.
Sunday
Eels Elite returned to the ice at 9:00 am on Sunday morning at Hertz Arena, in Estero. After an impressive 5-2 win the night before, they were ready to bring home the series win. This time it was Filip Vitanov between the pipes, staring in his 19th game of the season.
This time it was the Eels who grabbed the first point of the game-at 2:26 in the first Eels Stepan Kuznets, assisted by Jackson Carnes. The Eels were now on the board. At 7:08 in the first Sam Kleiman-Lee unassisted grabbed the Eels second goal. Stepan Kuznets, assisted by Jackson Carnes and Zayn Haddon-Harris, grabbed his second goal of the game and the Eels third game goal at 9:32 in the first. The Eels now had a 3-0 over the Florida Jr. Blades. At 16:52 the Florida Jr. Blades, captured their first goal of the game. The Eels closed the first period with a 3-1 lead over the Jr. Blades.
The Second period although a battle, remained scoreless for both the Florida Eels and the Jr. Blades. However, the Jr. Blades closed the lead gap by one when they scored their second goal of the game, at 2:28 in the third period. Paxton Campbell, scored the Eels fourth goal, assisted by Dominic Doyle at 3:56 in the third. The Jr. Blades responded at 19:21, scoring their third goal of the game. However, as the time ticked out, the Eels claimed a 4-3 win over the Jr. Blades and pulled a series win.
Both the Eels Premier and Elite were able to maintain the title of champion among the cross town rivals this weekend as they both closed the weekend with double wins. The boys return to the ice tomorrow, this time for practice as they gear up for their trip to Jacksonville this weekend to take on Bold City Battalion.
