Everblades Bring Perfect Road Record to Atlanta

WHO: Florida Everblades at Atlanta GladiatorsWHERE: Gas South Arena (Atlanta, Ga.)WHEN: Sunday, November 14 at 3:00 pmBROADCAST: Watch every Florida Everblades game on FloHockey.TV.ESTERO, Fla. – The Florida Everblades conclude a three-game road trip with a Sunday afternoon affair against South Division foe, the Atlanta Gladiators. The daytime contest will get underway at 3:00 pm puck drop inside Gas South Arena.

THE OPPONENT: The ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and the AHL’s Belleville Senators, the Gladiators enter Sunday’s contest in fifth place in the South Division with a 4-1-0-0 record.

THE SERIES:  Entering Sunday’s matchup, the Everblades hold an impressive 104-54-15 (.645) edge in the all-time series with Atlanta. The teams did not meet in 2020-21, as the Gladiators did not compete last season. Saturday game will be the first of 13 matchups between the division rivals this season. Looking ahead, the Blades and Gladiators will next meet December 15, 17 and 18 in Hertz Arena.   

BLADES MOVE INTO FIRST PLACE: With Saturday’s thrilling 5-4 come-from-behind victory at Greenville, the Everblades (6-3-0-1) moved into sole possession of first place in the ECHL South Division, taking advantage of Norfolk’s 4-0 loss to Reading, as the Admirals fell to the Royals for the second consecutive game and dropped the rubber game of their three-game series.

LAST TIME OUT: In Saturday’s win, five different Everblades scored goals and 10 different good guys tallied at least one point as Florida improved to a perfect 5-0-0-0 on the road. After entering the third period down 4-2, the Everblades strung together an impressive three-goal third period, while completely stifling the Greenville attack, to seal the victory.

After spotting the Swamp Rabbits two goals in the first 5:32 of play, the red-hot tandem of Blake Winiecki and John McCarron ignited the Blades with goals 38 seconds apart late in the period, but the Swamp Rabbits regained a 3-2 lead before the first intermission. Greenville would extend its lead to 4-2 with the only goal of the middle frame.

The third period was all Everblades, as Florida registered a 9-1 edge in shots on goal over the match’s final 20 minutes. Ben Masella trimmed the deficit to 4-3 just over four minutes in, before Xavier Bouchard knotted the score at 4-4 at the 5:19 mark. Dylan Vander Esch proved to be the hero, as he banged home the game-winner from the blue line at 12:58 of the third. 

WINIECKI STAYS HOT: Blake Winiecki, the reigning Inglasco/ECHL Player of the Week, ran his point streak to six consecutive games with a goal and an assist in Saturday night’s win. The Lakeville, Minn. native has factored into the scoring in each of the Everblades’ six November contests, registering seven goals and three assists over that span. Winiecki is tied for the ECHL lead with eight goals and comes in tied for second with 13 points.

CAPTAIN EVERBLADE KEEPS CLIMBING: With a goal and two assists in Saturday night’s victory, Everblades captain John McCarron now has 13 points on six goals and seven assists this season, continuing his ascent towards the top of the Everblades’ career leaders list. While donning a Blades sweater, McCarron has 128 career regular-season goals, third-most in franchise history. The captain is just 17 goals shy of Reggie Berg’s all-time mark of 145. He also ranks fourth in Blades history with 169 regular-season assists, just 38 shy of Tom Buckley’s team record of 207. Including playoff games, Captain Everblade has tallied 146 goals and is five shy of Matthieu Roy who sits in second place with 150, while his 197 assists are four behind Berg’s 201 for second place.BACK HOME ON WEDNESDAY: The Everblades will return home on Wednesday, November 17 for a showdown with the Orlando Solar Bears. Join us at every Wednesday home game for $3 Bud Light drafts and $3 John Morrell hot dogs! Also, all college students can purchase a $5 ticket to the game at the Hertz Arena box office with a valid student ID. The action begins at 7:30 pm and tickets can be purchased HERE. 

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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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