Everblades Welcome Norfolk Admirals to Town

WHO: Florida Everblades vs. Norfolk AdmiralsWHERE: Hertz Arena – Estero, Fla.WHEN: Wednesday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m.TICKETS: Purchase tickets for Wednesday’s game and all future Everblades games HERE.

PROMOTIONS: Join us at every Wednesday home game for $3 Bud Light’s and $3 John Morrell hot dogs! Also, all college students can purchase a $5 ticket to the game at the Hertz Arena box office with a valid student ID.

BROADCAST: Watch every Florida Everblades game on FloHockey.TV. Listen to the exciting game action on ESPN Southwest Florida on 770 AM, 98.1 FM, 104.3 FM and online athttps://espnswfl.com.

ESTERO, Fla. – The Florida Everblades will welcome ECHL South Division rival, the Norfolk Admirals, to Hertz Arena for the first of a three-game series Wednesday night. Exciting ECHL action in the series opener is slated to get underway at 7:30 pm.  

THE OPPONENT: The Norfolk Admirals, the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, did not compete during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In its sixth season of ECHL competition since moving from Bakersfield, Calif. in 2015, Norfolk is seeking its first ECHL postseason berth. The Admirals opened the 2021-22 season by splitting a two-game, home-and-away series with the Reading Royals. Each team won on home ice, with Norfolk posting a 5-4 overtime victory on Friday and Reading turning the tables on Saturday, 6-4.    

THE SERIES: In 25 all-time meetings with the Admirals, the Blades have dominated the series to the tune of 19-3-3 (.822). Wednesday’s game will be the first of six meetings between the clubs this season, with the current three-game set at Hertz Arena continuing Friday at 7:30 pm and Saturday at 7:00 pm. Looking ahead, Norfolk will return the hospitality as the Everblades visit the Hampton Roads area for three games December 8, 10 and 11. 

SCOUTING THE ADMIRALS: Through games on Tuesday, Norfolk forward Alex Tonge leads all ECHL skaters with six points. The Kingston, ON native and former Everblade has tallied three goals and three assists in just two games. Teammate Chase Lang is right behind Tonge on the team leaderboard with two goals and a pair of assists in Norfolk’s first two games, while Karl El-Mir has also registered two goals in two games.

BLADES FALL IN OPENER: Robert Carpenter picked up his first Everblades goal, while Jake Jaremko and Michael Neville each logged an assist, but it was not enough as the Blades suffered a 5-1 setback to the Jacksonville Icemen in Saturday’s season opener at Hertz Arena. Carpenter’s tally at the 18:02 mark knotted the score at 1-1 and lifted 5,830 Everblades faithful into a frenzy, but four unanswered goals over the final 21:14 sealed the deal for Jacksonville. Cam Johnson registered 26 saves for Florida.

LAST SEASON: In 2020-21, the Everblades rolled to a 42-19-5-3 record and finished first in the ECHL’s Eastern Conference before advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. 

RALPH ON THE RADAR: Everblades veteran head coach Brad Ralph is closing on both his 400th win as a professional head coach and 250th victory behind the Blades bench. The veteran leader enters Wednesday’s game with a 366-147-47 (.696) career mark in 12 seasons and a 234-82-28 tally in his sixth season guiding the Everblades.

--JOIN THE FUNBecome a member of the Florida Everblades family by securing a great seat location and big savings with a Blades 365 Membership!

Purchase a new Voucher 12 package that allows you to use 12 tickets in any quantity during the 2021-22 season to earn the exclusive benefits of being a Blades 365 Member! To view the Blades 365 Membership savings, benefits and options click HERE.

Everblades put the FUN in FUNdraising! There is no handling of money or tickets and no limit to the amount of money your group can make with the Everblades easy-to-run online Fundraiser! For more information, or to reserve a Fundraiser Night at an Everblades regular season home game, call or text (239) 948-7825.

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Watch every Florida Everblades game on FloHockey.TV. Listen to the exciting game action on ESPN Southwest Florida on 770 AM, 98.1 FM, 104.3 FM and online athttps://espnswfl.com.

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The Florida Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Nashville Predators and the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals.

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