SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Savannah Ghost Pirates, proud ECHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers, rallied with three unanswered goals to defeat the Florida Everblades 3–2 on Friday evening at Enmarket Arena.
A high-energy first period saw neither team find the back of the net, though Florida held a 15–10 edge in shots.
The Everblades opened the scoring 4:48 into the second period when Jesse Lansdell found Tarun Fizer in the right circle, where Fizer snapped a shot past the goaltender to make it 1–0.
Florida doubled its lead later in the frame as Zach Berzolla carried the puck into the zone and dropped a pass to Anthony Romano, who fired it into the top-left corner to give the Everblades a 2–0 advantage.
Savannah answered quickly, cutting the deficit in half when Evan Nause poked the puck ahead to Nicholas Zabaneh, who ripped a shorthanded shot into the top-right corner to make it 2–1.
The Ghost Pirates weren’t finished. With 2:28 remaining in the second, Nause blasted a shot from the top of the zone to tie the game at 2–2. Dennis Cesana and Cristophe Tellier recorded the assists as the teams headed to the third period even.
Savannah completed the comeback with 5:20 left in regulation when Ryan Sullivan buried a one-timer from the right circle on the power play to give the Ghost Pirates a 3–2 lead. Tellier and Bryce Brodzinski picked up the helpers on the game-winning goal.
Vinnie Purpura earned his second consecutive victory, stopping 35 of 37 shots. Cam Johnson took the loss for Florida, turning aside 30 of 33.
The Ghost Pirates are back at Enmarket Arena on Saturday for game two of the three-game series against the Florida Everblades. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Fans can stream the game live on FloHockey or listen on Mixlr. For tickets and more information, visit ghostpirateshockey.com.
— GHOST PIRATES —
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