PREVIEW: Florida faces Orlando, pursues fourth straight home win

ESTERO, Fla. —  Seeking to push their home winning streak to four games, the Florida Everblades (6-3-0-0, 10 pts.) meet the Orlando Solar Bears (3-5-0-1, 7 pts.) for the second game of a two-game set between the in-state rivals on Friday at Hertz Arena. 

VITALS:Game 10: Everblades vs. Orlando Solar BearsWhen: 7:30 p.m. ETWhere: Hertz ArenaTickets: TicketmasterWatch: ECHL TVListen: WJBX (101.5 FM, 104.3 FM, 770 AM)Social: Twitter | Instagram

Last time outFacing a 2-1 deficit with less than five minutes left in the third period, Florida scored twice in just 34 seconds to surge ahead of Orlando and earn a 3-2 victory on Wednesday at Hertz Arena. John McCarron posted three points, the highest single-game point total by a ‘Blades player this year, and factored into all three of Florida’s goals. Ben Masella tied the game at two with 4:21 left in the third and Justin Auger won it with his team-best fifth goal of the season.RECAP | BOX SCORE

Series At A GlanceFriday marks the fourth of 14 total matchups between the Everblades and Solar Bears this season. Eight of the 14 meetings will take place at Hertz Arena. Florida is 2-1-0-0 against the Solar Bears this season and has a 63-25-7 all-time record against Orlando. Including the postseason series between the two teams last season, Florida and Orlando have played 12 games decided by one goal over the last two campaigns. Oddly enough, Wednesday's matchup was the first time out of 20 total matchups over the last two years that a game between the South Division foes has been decided by one goal in regulation. The other 11 one-goal affairs were all decided in overtime or shootout fashion. 

Players to WatchJohn McCarron (FLA) - Florida's captain played a key role on Wednesday and tabbed his first multi-point game of the season with his three-point affair. McCarron has had at least 15 multi-point games in each of the last two seasons and now has 58 multi-point games in his ECHL career.

Michael Brodzinski (ORL) – The native of Ham Lake, Minnesota, scored one of Orlando's two goals on Wednesday. The blueliner had 11 points (3 G, 8 A) in 11 games against Florida last year, including three multi-point games. He finished last season with 29 assists, a franchise record for defensemen.

Midweek SuccessMidweek games have treated the Everblades well over the last two seasons and especially so on home ice. With Wednesday's win, Florida is now 12-4-0-0 overall on Wednesdays and 9-0-0-0 at Hertz Arena. 

That Was Fast!Florida's two-goal burst in 34 seconds on Wednesday was the fastest it has scored consecutive goals this season. The 'Blades previous best was two goals in one minute, 58 seconds against the Norfolk Admirals on Oct. 19. Last season, Florida scored twice in just seven seconds against Rapid City on Jan. 16, 2019. 

Nick of TimeWednesday's win was only the third time in the last two seasons that Florida has scored in the last five minutes to tie or win a game. The Everblades scored twice in the last five minutes just once last year, as they netted three scores in less than two minutes to beat Jacksonville, 4-2, on Nov. 9, 2018. The other late comeback was against Orlando on Dec. 22, 2018, when John McCarron scored with 1:28 left in the third period to force overtime in an eventual 6-5 victory for Florida. 

​​​​​​Next UpFlorida finishes the weekend with a Saturday night matchup against the Jacksonville Icemen. Saturday is Military Night presented by National Coalition for Patriots. 

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