PREVIEW: Florida guns for sweep of Stingrays on Saturday

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — With an opportunity to establish a season-high for consecutive wins, the Florida Everblades (20-8-2-2, 44 pts.) aim for a series sweep of the South Carolina Stingrays (23-3-3-1, 50 pts.) on Saturday at North Charleston Coliseum.  

VITALS:Game 33: Everblades at South Carolina StingraysWhen: 6:05 p.m. ETWhere: North Charleston ColiseumWatch: ECHL TVListen: WJBX (101.5 FM, 104.3 FM, 770 AM)Social: Twitter | Instagram

Last time outTom McCollum stopped 24 shots to earn his first shutout of the season, and Justin Auger scored the only goal of the game to push the Everblades to a 1-0 win over the Stingrays on Friday at North Charleston Coliseum. In the first road game against South Carolina this season, Florida scored halfway through the second period to take the lead and withstood two penalty kills in the third period to earn its eighth win in its last 10 games. RECAP | BOX SCORE

Series At A GlanceSaturday is the sixth meeting of the season between Florida and South Carolina and the second of six matchups this year at North Charleston Coliseum. The two teams will meet for the 200th time on Saturday night, with the 'Blades holding a 106-71-22 record (.588%) against the Stingrays. Florida finished with a 3-2-0 record in South Carolina last season.  

Players to WatchHunter Garlent (FLA) - Another one of the Everblades rookies who has picked up the offensive pace lately, Garlent has points in five of his last seven contests, with six points (3g-3a) in that stretch. The Thorold, Ontario, native notched his first career multi-goal game last Saturday with a pair of tallies in a 6-1 win over the Jacksonville Icemen. He has two multi-point games this season and has 13 points (5g-8a) in total. 

Parker Milner (SC) - Arguably the best goaltender in the ECHL so far this season, Milner has yet to drop a game in regulation and holds an 11-0-2-1 record through 15 appearances this year. A seventh-year pro, Milner has posted a 3-0-0 record in three starts against Florida this season and has yielded only two total goals in those three starts. He leads the league with a 1.86 goals-against average and five shutouts and is fourth with a .927 save percentage. 

Shooting GalleryThe matchup between Florida and South Carolina features two of the best teams in the ECHL when it comes to dominating shots on goal. Friday was only the seventh time this year that South Carolina has been outshot by its opponent. Florida has also been outshot only seven times, a figure that is tied for the league-low with the Stingrays and Tulsa Oilers.

Opening StatementThe Everblades scored the first goal in just seven of their first 23 games but have had a decisive edge in that category lately. Although the Everblades' first goal was the only goal of the game on Friday, it was the eighth time in the last nine contests that the 'Blades have struck for the initial tally. Florida improved to 11-3-0-1 overall and an impressive 6-1-0-1 in road games when scoring first. 

Blank SlateIn shutting out South Carolina on Friday, the 'Blades held one of the league's best offenses without a goal. In fact, the Stingrays had scored at least two goals in each of their 29 games this season before going without a goal in the series opener. South Carolina entered the series averaging the sixth-most goals per game in the ECHL (3.59). 

Next UpFlorida still has one game remaining on the docket this weekend, as it travels to Greenville, South Carolina, for a matchup with the Swamp Rabbits on Sunday at 3 p.m. 

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