The Battle Ground Set For First Place DME Swamp Rabbits vs Florida Eels Premier Teams.

 

It is all going to come down to the final whistle so to speak. Last night the two top teams in the Florida Division went to battle. The war was fought along the boards in front of the creases and high-flying Arial attack by forwards flying up the 3 zones. The goalies dueling as they kick saved butterflied the stops and cat like gloves swatting the pucks out of thin air.

 

In Daytona on Friday night we saw why these two teams are amongst the best in the league. The players were explosive and lightning fast. The shots were direct and punishing.

 

In the first period the Eels opened up the scoring with a goal from Stephan Sizov assisted by Hayden Haldane and Jacob Handfast. Head Coach Frankie Scarpaci was very pleased as this was the balanced scoring he was looking for. From all of his lines. This team is deep and Sizov’s goal was a clear example of this balanced attack.

 

DME responded with one of their own in the 1stperiod so the score at the end of the 1stperiod was dean even. 1-1. In the 2ndperiod the Eels Euro connection which is the hottest line in junior hockey struck again with a goal from Demeed Podrezov assisted from Gabe Hemstrom and Nikita Pinimyasov elevating the Eels lead to 2-1. Then Hayden Haldane got his scoring touch back with the Eels 3rdgoal of the night assisted by Lukas Aaw and Jacob Handfast.

 

DME would not go away and scored their 2ndof the night midway through the 3rd. Then DME pulled their goalie and the Eels scored and they thought they had the game won with a 2-goal lead but the referee called it back saying the Eels were off side. The Eels coaches contested the call but to no avail. DME managed to get the puck deep into the Eels defensive zone and drove to the crease and with 7 seconds remaining stunned the Eels with a net presence goal. OMG the game went into OT. This has been the scenario all to often between these two clubs.

 

In OT JS Robidoux scored assisted by Colton Crabtree and Lukas Aaw to put things to rest and a win for the Eels

 

In Net for the Eels was Viktor Paulsson who turned away in excess of 30 shots. Another fine performance by Eels goalie.

 

With this win the Eels now are in sole possession of first place. The two teams face off on Sunday at 1:30 pm at the Fort Myers Skatium immediately after the conclusion of the Elite team’s games against DME.