ECHL hockey: Stingrays beat Blades in 2 OT in Game 1

ESTERO -- If Game 1 was any indication, the South Division Finals of the Kelly Cup playoffs figure to be a fiercely competitive series. It took two overtimes for the South Carolina Stingrays to edge the Florida Everblades 3-2 on Friday night.at Germain Arena.

Domenic Monardo's shot off the blocker of Florida goalie Anthony Peters hopped over the shoulder and landed behind Peters, sliding into the net. There was 55 seconds left in the second overtime.

"I thought it was a bit of a feeling-out process," South Carolina coach Ryan Warsofsky said. "For two teams that play each other so often, it was kind of who was going to dictate the game tonight. I thought we grinded the game out in kind of a greasy road win. They're a good team of hockey. There's no question about it."

Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is Saturday night at 7 at Germain Arena.

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The Everblades scored the first two goals -- on the their first two shots. Team captain Brant Harris had his fingerprints on both of them, scoring the first courtesy of a centering pass from forward Levko Koper. Harris flipped the puck to the top shelf for the lead less than four minutes in.

Four minutes after that, it was Harris' turn to do the feeding. Center Michael Kirkpatrick took a pass from Harris at the top of the crease and buried it with a backhander, making it 2-0.

Meanwhile, the Florida defense was stout. The Stingrays did not land a shot on goal for the first 10 minutes and only managed three in the first period.

"The first period was a physical battle," Everblades coach Brad Ralph said. "It was tight-checking hockey. I thought we were in control of that game."

The Everblades had a chance at a goal in in the first minute of the second period when, after a face-off in the South Carolina zone, forward Stephen MacAulay picked off a Joey Leach pass. MacAulay quickly gave the puck to Mike Ferrantino on the left side and he fired a one-timer, but it went right into South Carolina goalie Parker Milner.

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That started a period that included the Everblades with a more prolific attack than the first with nine shots on goal, but this time none went in.

The first penalty of the game gave the Stingrays the power play and their first goal. Forward Stephen McParland was at the top of the crease as the puck bounced nearby. He reached for it and swiped just past Peters into the left side of the net.

The Stingrays tied the game at 2-2 later in the period when Monardo fired a shot from near the blue line. There was plenty of traffic in front of the net, but the puck made it through.

"Just play," Warsofsky said. "That's kind of been our motto is we're going to keep grinding and keep playing, play with our structure, just trying to outcompete and outwork our opponent."

A puck that flipped over Peters in the closing seconds of the period nearly gave the Stingrays the lead. But the goal came off its mooring, and an official immediately signaled no goal.

Both teams went at each other's net feverishly during the third period, but the stalemate held, sending the game into overtime.

"We had our opportunities to win that game, and they hung around long enough," Ralph said.

The first overtime included numerous scoring chances on both sides of the ice. Leach almost had an open net on a rebound, but the puck was just out of his reach. At the other end, the Everblades had a 3-on-2, but Milner made a glove save. Then Cherniwchan had a breakaway attempt the other way, but he could not get a shot off. The Everblades had a breakaway of their own when Koper skated free, but Milner stopped his shot.

"Everyone was digging in," Ralph said. "They didn't want the mistake on their watch. I thought our guys battled hard tonight."

In the second overtime, the shots were tantalizingly closer. Peters gloved a Monardo shot from point-blank range. South Carolina defender Danny Federico slid in front of a shot. MacAulay had a shot that just missed, hitting the crossbar.

"It felt like nobody was going to score for a while," Warsofsky said.

STINGRAYS 3, EVERBBLADES 2, 2 OT

South Carolina 0 2 0 0 1 - 3
Florida 2 0 0 0 0 - 2

1st Period-1, Florida, Harris 4 (Koper, Kamrass), 3:23. 2, Florida, Kirkpatrick 3 (Harris), 7:30. Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-3, South Carolina, McParland 1 (Devin, Cherniwchan), 4:41 (PP). 4, South Carolina, Monardo 3 (Weinstein, Archambault), 16:31. Penalties-Wesley Fla (tripping), 2:58; Baker Fla (slashing ), 10:56; Baker Fla (tripping), 16:52.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Weinstein Sc (high-sticking), 3:59; Cherniwchan Sc (holding), 9:10; Wesley Fla (high-sticking), 16:40; served by Arnold Sc (bench - too many men), 17:58.

OT Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Kirkpatrick Fla (hooking), 15:50.

2nd OT Period-5, South Carolina, Monardo 4   19:05. Penalties-No Penalties

Shots on Goal-South Carolina 3-10-3-7-6-29. Florida 5-9-8-7-7-36.
Power Play Opportunities-South Carolina 1 / 5; Florida 0 / 3.
Goalies-South Carolina, Milner (36 shots-34 saves). Florida, Peters (29 shots-26 saves).
A-2,993
Referees-Mike Sheehan (11), Tyler Puddifant (28).
Linesmen-James Johnstone (37), Charlie O'Connor (43).

South Division Finals

Everblades vs. South Carolina Stingrays

Game 1 -- South Carolina 3, Florida 2, 2 OT

Game 2 -- Saturday, Germain Arena, 7 p.m.

Game 3 -- Monday, May 1, at South Carolina, 7:05 p.m.

Game 4 -- Wednesday, May 3, at South Carolina, 7:05 p.m.

Game 5 -- If necessary, Thursday, May 4, at South Carolina, 7:05 p.m.

Game 6 -- If necessary, Saturday, May 6, Germain Arena, 7 p.m.

Game 7 -- If necessary, Monday, May 8, Germain Arena, 7:30 p.m