Florida picks up point in overtime loss to Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. — John McCarron registered his first multi-goal game of the season to help the Florida Everblades earn a point in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Orlando Solar Bears on Friday night at the Amway Center.

BOX SCORE

In the second of three straight meetings between Florida (17-6-5-0, 39 pts.) and Orlando (14-11-2-0, 30 pts.), Dylan Fitze scored on a breakaway with 1:57 gone in overtime to give the Solar Bears the additional standings point.

McCarron got the ‘Blades on the board with his first of the night at the 6:30 mark of the opening frame. After defenseman Olivier Dame-Malka’s shot was blocked in the left circle, Blake Winiecki picked up the loose puck and zipped a feed to McCarron, who redirected the pass past Orlando goaltender Martin Ouellette as he crashed the net toward the back post.

The ‘Blades captain then catapulted his squad up by two with just more than five minutes to play in the first. While standing in the low slot, McCarron deflected the initial shot from the perimeter to beat Ouellette with 5:09 remaining in the opening frame.

Orlando’s Mitch Hults continued his recent hot stretch to bring the Solar Bears even, scoring back-to-back power-play goals in the second period to knot the game at two. Hults struck five minutes, nine seconds into the second for Orlando’s Teddy Bear Toss goal to whittle Florida’s lead to one.

Then, with 7:01 left in the middle stanza, Hults scored from the right circle on Orlando’s second power play of the night to tie the score.

Orlando took its first lead of the game with 8:12 remaining in regulation on Trevor Olson’s third goal of the season. Olson received a pass from the left goal line from Chris LeBlanc and lifted the puck over Florida goaltender Jamie Phillips’ outstretched glove to make it a 3-2 game.

But Florida rallied to knot the game at three and force overtime with less than five minutes to play in the third period. Off a pass from Derek Sheppard, Nathan Perkovich managed to bounce the puck off the back of Ouellette and into the back of the Orlando goal with four minutes, 31 seconds showing on the clock.

McCarron’s multi-goal game was his sixth multi-point game of the season and 48th multi-point game of his ECHL career.

Florida returns home on Saturday night to face Orlando for the third straight night. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at Hertz Arena.

—

Single-game tickets for all regular season home games are on sale now!Ticket packages for the 2018-19 season are still on sale! Become part of the Everblades Family with a Partial Season or a Flexible Voucher Package that fits your schedule and budget! All Ticket & Voucher Packages provide savings and special benefits! To view the Ticket & Voucher Package options CLICK HERE.SPECIAL OFFER! Purchase a new ticket package for the 2018-19 season and receive a $20 gift card to Ford’s Garage and an Everblades T-Shirt!Private Arena Tours are also available to select your 2018-19 season seats! Call the Everblades office at 239-948-7825 to schedule your tour today!

The Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes