Blades Meet Nailers for Second Matchup

WHO: Florida Everblades vs. Wheeling Nailers

WHERE: Hertz Arena - Estero, Fla.

WHEN: Friday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m.

TICKETS: Find tickets for tonight’s gameHERE.

PROMOTIONS: Enjoy 239 Fridays! Get two premium seats, two slices of pizza, two sodas, and two autographed programs for only $39! Take advantage of the 239 Fridays online only offer at FloridaEverblades.com/239. Kids 12 and under eat free with purchase of an adult entree at Breakaway Sports Pub, located inside Hertz Arena. All frontline/essential workers receive a buy one, get one free ticket offer for all remaining Friday regular season home games. Find the Frontline Fridays ticket offer HERE. 

BROADCAST: Watch every Florida Everblades game on FloHockey.TV. Listen to tonight’s exciting game action on ESPN 99.3 FM and online at993espn.com.

GAME NOTES

ESTERO, Fla. -  The Florida Everblades (27-10-0-2) look to right the ship against the Wheeling Nailers (10-21-5-0) at Hertz Arena tonight in the second meeting of the week between the two clubs. Tonight marks only the second-ever matchup between Head Coach Brad Ralph’s Everblades and the Nailers. The teams will square off again tomorrow at Hertz Arena in the final meeting of the season.

Last Time Out: The Everblades fell 6-2 to the Nailers on Wednesday night at Hertz Arena. Wheeling jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period until Florida’s Luke Nogard answered back with his fourth goal of the year. The Blades could never catch up after the first period and eventually wound up on the wrong side of a four-goal deficit. Wheeling scored twice on the power play and once shorthanded. 

Scouting the Nailers: Wheeling is led by the 24 points (11g-13a) of Cody Sylvester. Rookie forward Matt Alfaro has also been impressive for the Nailers with his nine goals and 14 assists. Wheeling is the youngest team in the ECHL with an average age of 24. Florida is the most experienced team in the league with Everblades players combining for over 3600 ECHL games played.

Top Guns: With a hat trick last Sunday against Greenville, Michael Huntebrinker took sole possession of the league lead in goals with his 18th, 19th, and 20th of the season. Huntebrinker passed teammate John McCarron for the top spot. McCarron is currently tied with Indy’s Nic Pierog for second place in the ECHL with 18 tallies on the season. Despite the fact that the Everblades have scored the most goals of any team in the league this season (140), Huntebrinkers three goals on Sunday marked the first hat trick of the season for Florida and the first since Tommy Thompson’s three goals on Mar. 27, 2019.  Sunday marked the third hat trick of Huntebrinker’s career. The forward achieved the feat in both 2017 and 2018 with the Reading Royals.

Emergence of Sissons: One of the key additions for Florida has been 23-year-old Colby Sissons. Loaned to the Everblades from the New Jersey Devils (NHL) in late February, Sissons has racked up three goals and seven assists in 12 games with Florida so far. Sissons assisted on Joe Pendenza’s power-play score last Saturday against Greenville and also potted the game-tying goal with 16 seconds left in regulation. 

Blades Lead the Way: Despite Wednesday’s loss, the Everblades still lead the Eastern Conference and the entire ECHL with a .718 points percentage. Florida sports the most prolific offense (3.64 goals for per game) and second stingiest defense in the league (2.51 goals against per game). The Blades also feature the league’s top penalty kill at 88.3%. Florida’s penalty kill shut down 16 of 17 Greenville power-play chances last weekend in upstate South Carolina. 

--

JOIN THE FUN 

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

Purchase a new Ticket Package or Flexible Voucher Package for the Blades 2020-21 and/or 2021-22 season and receive a $20 gift card to Ford’s Garage along with an Everblades tote bag! To view the Blades 365 Membership savings, benefits and options click HERE.

2020-21 Kelly Cup Playoff Packages are now on sale. To view the Kelly Cup Playoff Package options click HERE. 

Discounted Group Packages are also available for Groups of 10 or more! To reserve your group for an upcoming home game, call or text the Everblades Front Office at (239) 948-7825.

Make it a Suite Night with the Everblades! A Luxury Suite and Party Suite are available at a limited number of Everblades home games this season. For the latest availability on Suites, call or text the Everblades Front Office at (239) 948-7825.

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.

JOIN THE BROADCASTS

Watch every Florida Everblades game on the new home for ECHL hockey atFloHockey.TV.Listen to the exciting game action on WJBX News, Talk & More on 104.3 FM, 101.5 FM and AM 770, plus online at wjbxnewstalk.com. In addition, some Blades Broadcasts can be heard on 99.3 ESPN or online at993espn.com.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Stay up to date by following the Florida Everblades on Social Media with all the latest news, scores and promotions on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tiktok, and Twitter. 

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

###