Everblades to Visit Jacksonville for Three Games This Week

ESTERO, Fla. – After posting a 1-0-0-1 record last week at Hertz Arena, the new week will see the first-place Florida Everblades hit the road once again for a three-game set in North Florida versus the Jacksonville Icemen. Following these three games, the Blades will say goodbye to a November which featured nine of 12 games away from Southwest Florida. 

The Everblades will return to Hertz Arena on Wednesday, December 1 at 7:30 pm for the first game of a three-game set with the Trois Rivières Lions. The Blades will face off against the Lions again on Thursday, December 2 at 7:30 pm and conclude the series on Saturday, December 4 at 7 pm. The December 4 game is the annual Teddy Bear Toss along with the return of the Florida Skunk Apes. 

Read more about the Blades’ busy promotional schedule and great deals HERE.

ON ICE THIS WEEK

Wed., Nov. 24 - Florida at Jacksonville @ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, 7:00 pmFri., Nov. 26 - Florida at Jacksonville @ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, 7:00 pmSat., Nov. 27 - Florida at Jacksonville @ VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, 7:00 pm

NEWS AND NOTES

LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK: The Florida Everblades made a short two-game pitstop at Hertz Arena against familiar South Division foes, posting a win over Orlando and a shootout loss to Jacksonville. On Wednesday, the Blades claimed a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Orlando, as Joe Pendenza snapped a 2-2 tie with just under four minutes to play. On Saturday, Florida played Jacksonville to a 2-2 tie before falling in a shootout. Blake Winiecki became the first ECHL player to score 10 goals this season, while Alex Aleardi registered two points, tallying a goal and an assist. 

JOURNEY TO JACKSONVILLE: This week, the first-place Everblades (7-3-1-2) will be able to focus on one opponent, as they leave The Swamp for three games against the Jacksonville Icemen at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.  The ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack, Jacksonville (5-6-1-1) enters the week tied for fourth place in the South Division with 12 points. The Icemen are led by Christopher Brown, who has scored a team-best four goals, while James Sanchez has collected a team-high seven assists. Both players have 10 points, tops among Jacksonville skaters. While Jacksonville holds a regulation win and a shootout win over the Everblades in two meetings this season, Florida holds a 36-11-8 (.727) advantage in 55 all-time matchups.

SAMPLING THE SOUTH: The Everblades (7-3-1-2) enter the week in first place in the South Division with 17 points, two points ahead of second-place Norfolk (7-4-0-0) which has 14 points. Orlando (6-5-1-0) sits in third place with 13 points, one point ahead of both Atlanta (6-3-0-0) and Jacksonville (5-6-1-1) which both have 12 points in a deadlock for the number four spot. South Carolina (5-5-0-0) finds itself in sixth place with 10 points, while Greenville (4-6-0-0) brings up the rear in seventh place with eight points.

WINIECKI WINS ECHL RACE TO 10 GOALS: Blake Winiecki remains red hot, as his current point streak has reached nine games.  The Lakeville, Minn. native has tallied at least one point in each of the Everblades’ nine November contests, registering nine goals and six assists over that span. Winiecki currently leads the ECHL with 10 goals and is tied for fourth with 17 points.

LEADERS AMONG US: Parker Gahagen and Cam Johnson are ranked sixth and ninth, respectively, in goal against averages, with Gahagen sporting a 1.93 GAA and Johnson not too far behind at 2.01. Jake Jaremko is tied for the league lead with three power-play assists. Amon ECHL blueliners, defenseman Jake McLaughlin is tied for 15th with eight points. 

DON’T FORGET THE CAPTAIN: Among the ECHL point leaders, Everblades captain John McCarron is hot on Winiecki’s heels with 15 points, tied for seventh in the ECHL. McCarron ranks second among Everblades skaters with seven goals and eight assists. League-wide, McCarron stands second in plus-minus rating with a plus-14, just one off the ECHL lead.

SPEAKING OF THE CAPTAIN: Everblades captain John McCarron continues his ascent towards the top of the Everblades’ career leaders list. In a Blades sweater, McCarron has 129 career regular-season goals, third-most in franchise history. The captain is just 16 goals shy of Reggie Berg’s all-time mark of 145. He also ranks fourth in Blades history with 170 regular-season assists, just 37 shy of Tom Buckley’s team record of 207. Including playoff games, Captain Everblade has tallied 147 goals and is three shy of Matthieu Roy who sits in second place with 150, while his 198 assists are three behind Berg’s 201 for second place.

WRECKING IT WITH RALPH:  Everblades veteran head coach Brad Ralph is zeroing in on both his 500th win as a head coach and 250th victory behind the Blades bench. The veteran leader sports a stellar 491-209-67 (.683) career mark in 12 seasons and a 240-91-36 (.704) tally in his sixth season guiding the Everblades.

--

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 Voucher 12 package that allows you to use 12 tickets in any quantity during the 2021-22 season to earn the exclusive benefits of being a Blades 365 Member! To view the Blades 365 Membership savings, benefits and options click HERE.

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 CONVERSATION

Watch every Florida Everblades game on FloHockey.TV. Listen to the exciting game action on ESPN Southwest Florida on 770 AM, 98.1 FM, 104.3 FM and online at https://espnswfl.com.

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.

###