The fast skating Florida Everblades took a pair of games from the Pensacola Ice Pilots on the road Friday and Saturday night at the Pensacola Civic Center.

Friday night was a bit of a barn burner, with 12 goals being scored for the announced crowd of 4,335, with the Blades coming out on top 7-5.

Pensacola took the early lead when Dallas Steward score shorthanded at 9:16 of the first. The Blades answered back with two power play goals, both off the stick of Brent McDonald with assists going to Ryan Van Buskirk and Chris Lee.

For Van Buskirk, his first game back in a Blades uniform would prove to be very productive as picked up four assists on the night.

Brent Peterson made it 3-1 Blades, again on the power play with Mario Joly in the box on a high sticking major. Mike Wrill got an even strength goal to end the first period, getting the Pilots back in the game.

Pensacola tied it up just 41 seconds into the second stanza, their first power play tally of the night, coming off the stick of DWayne Hay. Blades captain Ryan Brindly was in the box, sitting out an interferance infraction from the end of the first period.

The Blades took the lead back on a shorthander by Panther prospect Dustin Johner, but Pensacola again tied the score, Rob Rankin putting the puck in the net. Netminder Michael Ayers picked up an assist on that goal.

Franklin MacDonald, also a Panther prospect, put the Blades up by one, again on the power play, while McDonald netted an even strength goal to finish off the second.

The Pensacola fans were feeling a bit beaten down by referee Jonathan Peterson, but on the whole the game was called fairly evenly with Pensacola gaining 12 power play opportunities to the Blades 11. The diffence was the Blades were making the man advantage work for them, converting on 5 of their advantage situations.

The two teams traded goals in the third, with Adam Taylor scoring for the Pilots and Johner for the Blades.

Panthers second round draft pick David Shantz turned back 35 Pilots shots, to run his record to 7-2-0, while Ayers made 37 saves in the losing effort.

Blades outscore Ice Pilots, 7-5
Everblades edge Ice Pilots, 7-5; teams set for rematch tonight
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Pensacola would come out gunning on Saturday night, looking for a spot of revenge. Wrill got the only tally in the opening period on a wrist shot off the face off circle.

The Blades would tally three times in the second period, with Michael Angelidis tying up the game with an assist to Brent McDonald. Franklin MacDonald blasted a shot past Ayers from the top of the right face off circle to give the Blades their first lead of the night. It was MacDonald's second goal of the season since being demoted from the AHL Rochester Americans.

Travis Lisabeth pushed a goal past Carolina's Craig Kowalski to tie the game again, Wrill assisted on the goal. Chris Dyment took the lead back for the Blades going into the locker room for the break going into the third.

There would be no rest for the Blades though as Pensacola came back to tie the game with Rob Rankin netting his seventh goal of the season. Brad Zancanaro answered right back though, scoring the game winner by banking a shot off Ayers and into the goal.

Kowalski made 27 saves on the night, improving his record to 7-5-0, while Ayers made 31 saves, to drop to 2-5-1 on the season in the Pilots net.

The Blades now make a road swing up to Gwinett for an afternoon game against the Galdiators, a team considered by most to the Everblades biggest rivals.

The Gladiator are 13-6-4 on the season with 30 points, good for second place in the South Division. The Blades trail them by two points with two games in hand.

Everblades win second straight in 4-3 effort over Pensacola
Game Summary
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Trenton Titans left wing Mike Pandolfo is the In Glas Co ECHL Player of the Week for Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2006. Pandolfo netted his first professional hat trick in a 4-3 shoot out loss at Johnston and then tallied short handed and convered on his shoot out attempt the following night for a win over the Toledo Storm.

Pandolfo was a 3rd round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres in the 1998 entry draft, but is currently playing in the Devils system under contract to Lowell of the American Hockey League. Pandolfo has a four-game goal streak (7g) and a 10-game scoring streak (9g-6a) and has had three multiple-goal games and six multiple-point games. He leads the Titans and is fifth in the ECHL with 13 goals while his team-leading 23 points in 16 games ties him for 17th in the league.

Las Vegas Wranglers netminder Kevin McKenna is the RBK ECHL Goaltender of the Week. He becomes the first two-time winner having captured the award for Nov. 13-19 and was runner-up for the award last week. A sixth round draft pick of the Nashville Predators in 2002, McKenna when 2-0-0 and stopped 83 shots while helping Las Vegas sweep a three-game series at West Division leading Idaho, allowing the Wranglers to remain atop the ECHL with 31 points (12-1-7). He has won his last six starts to help Las Vegas extend its ECHL season-high winning streak to eight games and its league season-high road winning streak to seven games.

McKenna is 8-1-1 and tied for the league lead with two shutouts while his .925 save percentage ties him for fourth and his 2.36 goals-against average is fifth.

Two Texas Wildcatters carried off the Monthly honors. Kevin Baker was named the CCM TACKS ECHL Player of the Month for November. The 27-year-old led the ECHL last month with 12 goals and seven power-play goals and was second in scoring with 21 points. He scored in each of his 12 games in November to extend his scoring streak to a league-high 16 games which through the first six weeks of the season was every game he played for the Wildcatters.

Matt Yeats was named the RBC Financial Group ECHL Saver of the Month for November. He won his last five starts to finish the month at 8-1-2 with a goals-against average of 3.16 and a save percentage of .918, helping the record-setting start that has the Wildcatters sitting in first place in both the South Division and the American Conference.

He begins December with a 10-2-2 record and goals-against average of 3.05 and a save percentage of .908, tied for the league lead in wins while ranking fifth with 788 saves.

Reading forward James Hiebert was finded an undisclosed amount as a result of his actions at the conclusion of ECHL Game #237 against Cincinnati on Dec. 6. After the game had ended, Hiebert was assessed a major penalty and a Game Misconduct under Rule 61 – Slashing. Hiebert is fined under Rule 29 – Supplementary Discipline.

Idaho's Marty Flichel was suspended for two games as a result of his actions in ECHL Game #236 on Dec. 6 against Phoenix. Flichel was assessed a major penalty and a Game Misconduct under Rule 50 – Kneeing. He missed Saturday's game Phoenix (Dec. 9) and will sit out Wednesday's game at Utah (Dec. 13).

Former Everblades netminder Marc Magliarditi signed a contract with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights of the American Hockey League on Thursday. Magliarditi, the ECHL's all-time leader in shutouts, had been on the 30-day injured reserve with the ECHL's Las Vegas Wranglers and was activated then loaned to Omaha, leaving Carolina's Kevin Nastiuk and McKenna as the Wranglers' two goalies.