Augusta finds way by goalie

Tyler MacKay's luck had to run out eventually.

The goaltender won his first three games with the Everblades with a 2.22 goals against average after getting traded from Atlantic City. Two of those wins came against the Augusta Lynx.

In their fourth meeting in the past 11 days, the Lynx finally got the better of MacKay and beat the Everblades 2-1 on Friday at Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center.

It was Augusta's first win since the two teams met in the first of this four-game run Feb. 1 in Estero, Fla. The game also marked the end of the season series, with the Lynx coming out with a 3-3-1 record against Florida (25-15-6, 56 points), which is in third place in the ECHL's American Conference.

MacKay stopped 26 shots and only allowed two goals, with the game-winner bouncing in off his own teammate. With less than 2 minutes to go in the second period, Augusta's Jamie Johnson wrapped around Florida's net and fired what was supposed to be a pass to forward Matt Dzieduszycki. The puck caught a Florida defenseman's skate instead and past McKay for a 2-0 lead.

"That was one of the luckiest goals I've scored in a long time," said Johnson, who extended his scoring streak to eight games. "It's nice to see our team start to get those bounces."

The Everblades got a bounce of their own about a minute later. Goaltender Jason Saal couldn't pick up a puck fired through traffic, and David Lundbohm tipped it into the net to cut the lead to 2-1.

"I don't think (Saal) could have done anything on that goal tonight," Augusta coach Stan Drulia said. "They had some quality chances and he was up to the test for us."

Saal ended up with 26 saves, including 11 in a crucial third period that included two Lynx penalty kills. He and the rest of the Lynx proved they can play consistently throughout an entire game and improved to 16-24-6 with 38 points, which is 10th in the conference.

They are still 10 points out of a playoff spot, though.

"We played for 60 minutes," Saal said. "We had a couple breakdowns here and there, which is going to happen, but the main thing is how we're going to respond when we do have a breakdown, and we responded pretty well."

The Lynx held onto their one-goal lead with two successful third-period penalty kills to snap Florida's streak of six consecutive games with a man-advantage goal. The Everblades went 0-for-5 on the power play and allowed a short-handed goal.

Dzieduszycki intercepted the puck just outside the neutral zone on the Lynx's end and battled two Everblades on a breakaway. Dzieduszycki finally got free enough to flip a shot up and over MacKay for the short-handed goal, tying him for second in the ECHL with four.

STAR OF THE GAME: Lynx coach Stan Drulia needed a strong performance from his goaltender, and Jason Saal gave him one with 26 saves.

TURNING POINT: Jamie Johnson's goal off a defender's skate and past goalie Tyler MacKay turned out to be the game-winner.

PLUS: The Lynx played consistently well for a full game and got a huge game from Saal.

NEXT GAME: 7:05 p.m. Friday, Lynx at Greenville