Everblades to Meet Gladiators in First of Three

WHO: Florida Everblades vs. Atlanta Gladiators

WHERE: Hertz Arena (Estero, Fla.)

WHEN: Wednesday, December 15 at 7:30 pm

TICKETS: Purchase tickets for Wednesday’s game and all future Everblades games HERE.

PROMOTION: Every Wednesday home game at The Swamp features some awesome Hump Day deals, including $3 John Morrell hot dogs and Bud Light drafts. Also, all college students can purchase a $5 ticket to the game at the Hertz Arena box office with a valid student ID or HERE with a valid .edu email.

BROADCAST: 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 athttps://espnswfl.com. 

ESTERO, Fla. – Fresh off a three-game sweep of the Norfolk Admirals, the first-place Florida Everblades return to Hertz Arena and look to keep rolling as the Atlanta Gladiators come to town for a three-game series that begins Wednesday night at 7:30 pm. The series continues Friday at 7:30 pm and wraps up Saturday at 7:00 pm.THE OPPONENT: The ECHL affiliate of the NHL’S Ottawa Senators and the AHL’s Belleville Senators, the Atlanta Gladiators are currently 10-9-2-0 and find themselves in fourth place in the ECHL South with 22 points. Cody Sylvester and Luke Nogard lead Atlanta with 16 points, while Hugo Roy tops the Gladiators with 12 goals. Nogard sports a team-high 14 assists. Most recently, the Gladiators split a two-game home-and-home series with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Atlanta claimed a 6-4 victory at Greenville on Saturday, but fell 3-2 on home ice the following day.THE SERIES: This season, the Everblades and Gladiators have met once, with Atlanta claiming a 3-2 overtime victory on Sunday, November 14. Jake Jaremko and Jake McLaughlin scored the opening and game-tying goals, respectively, while Tomas Vomacka logged 30 saves for Florida. The loss came on a Sunday afternoon as the Blades were heading back to Southwest Florida following back-to-back wins at Greenville on November 12 and 13. In the all-time series, the Everblades hold a mighty 104-55-15 (.641) edge.LAST TIME OUT: The Everblades served up a 4-0 whitewashing of host Norfolk on Saturday to close out a three-game sweep by a combined 15-5 margin. In the victory, John McCarron, Joe Pendenza, Jake Jaremko and Alex Aleardi scored goals, Pendenza and Ben Masella led the playmakers with two assists apiece and Cam Johnson registered 17 saves in his first shutout of the season.CHECKING OUT THE STANDINGS: Buoyed by a stellar 9-0-2-1 road record, the Everblades sit in first place in the ECHL South Division at 11-6-2-3 overall. Florida’s 27 points have them in front of second-place Jacksonville (12-8-1-1, 26 pts), with Orlando (11-10-1-0, 23 pts) one point ahead of Atlanta (10-9-2-0, 22 pts) in the race for third place. 

THESE BOYS ARE ON FIRE: A whole host of Everblades remain scorching hot, but several have strung together especially blazing streaks. Blake Winiecki, who posted a 10-game point streak from November 5-24 is on a seven-game scoring streak that has seen him compile two goals and six assists dating back to November 27. Alex Aleardi is riding a four-game point streak over which he collected eight points on four goals and four assists. John McCarron also sports a four-game streak in which he has notched five points on two goals and three assists, despite not dressing for two contests last week. Joe Pendenza has strung together a three-game point streak, picking up eight points on four goals and four assists over that stretch.CLIMB, CAPTAIN… CLIMB!!!: On Saturday, Everblades Captain John McCarron reached the 350 career point plateau in an Everblades sweater, including playoffs. McCarron is now just 15 points shy of Reggie Berg’s franchise record of 365. In regular-season games, McCarron’s 304 career points ranks third, six out of second place (310, Tom Buckley) and 15 short of the franchise mark (319, Reggie Berg). In the goals and assists category, with 131 regular-season goals and 173 regular-season assists, McCarron is shy of several key franchise milestones by single-digits: one assist shy from second-place all-time in regular-season assists and two goals away from second-place all-time in regular-season goals. Additionally, with 149 career goals in all games including playoffs, McCarron is one goal away from second place all-time in that category.FOUR FIGURES APPROACHING: The Blades are just three wins away from the franchise’s 1000th victory. Dating back to the beginning in 1998, over 24 seasons, the Everblades have compiled a 997-494-54-113 all-time record (.652).

GIVE ME FIVE!: Everblades veteran head coach Brad Ralph is five wins away from his 500th win as a head coach. In his 12th season as a head coach, Ralph sports a 495-212-69 (.682) career record. Breaking it down, Ralph sports a 447-192-65 (.866) mark in the pro ranks, a 376-158-58 (.692) ledger in the ECHL, and a 244-94-38 (.704) mark with the Blades, just six wins shy of 250 in Southwest Florida. 

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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. 

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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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