Everblades Meet Nailers for First Time

WHO: Florida Everblades vs. Wheeling Nailers

WHERE: Hertz Arena - Estero, Fla.

WHEN: Wednesday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m.

TICKETS: Find tickets for tonight’s gameHERE.

PROMOTIONS: Enjoy Hump Day Deals at Wednesday’s game! $3 Bud Light Drafts, $3 Barefoot Wine, $3 John Morrell Hot Dogs, and $4 New Amsterdam and Pink Whitney Vodka! Calling all College Students – Show your College ID at the Hertz Arena Box Office and receive $5 tickets at every Blades Wednesday Night home game!

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 (27-9-0-2) meet the Wheeling Nailers (9-21-5-0) for the first time this season at Hertz Arena tonight. Under Coach Brad Ralph, the Everblades have never played the Nailers. The last time Florida matched up with Wheeling was in the first round of the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs, and the Nailers won the series four games to two. Florida and Wheeling’s last regular season meeting was on Nov. 21, 2015. 

Last Time Out: The Everblades won 5-1 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Sunday against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (16-11-8-2). Forward Michael Huntebrinker recorded the first hat trick of the season for Florida, and Blake Winiecki added two goals as well. Goaltender Jake Hildebrand earned his 13th win of the season by stopping 26 of 27 Greenville shots.

Scouting the Nailers: Wheeling has struggled this season and sits in last place in the Eastern Conference. On Sunday against the Wichita Thunder (23-10-4-1), the Nailers led 4-2 heading into the third period and eventually surrendered four goals in the final frame to fall 6-4. Wheeling is led by rookie Matt Alfaro’s 23 points (9g-14a). 

Top Guns: With a hat trick on 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.

Dominant Hildebrand: Florida goaltender Jake Hildebrand moved to 13-3-0-2 after three wins last week. The 27-year-old picked up a shutout on Tuesday against Orlando and won two of three against Greenville over the weekend. Hildebrand has won six of his last seven starts and has posted a 1.58 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage in that stretch. The Everblades netminder ranks first in the two major statistical categories in the ECHL with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage.

Blades Lead the Way: After three wins last week, the Everblades lead the Eastern Conference and the entire ECHL with a .737 points percentage. Florida sports the most prolific offense (3.68 goals-for per game) and the stingiest defense in the league (2.42 goals-against per game). The Blades also feature the league’s top penalty kill at 89.0%. Florida’s penalty kill shut down 16 of 17 Greenville power-play chances last weekend in upstate South Carolina. 

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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.

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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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