Short Week Headlined by Everblades vs. Solar Bears Boxing Day (Dec. 26) Matchup

ESTERO, Fla. – The ECHL will play a limited schedule the week of December 20 as there are just two single games on tap league wide before the holiday weekend, but the Florida Everblades will ramp things up on Sunday, December 26 with a 7:00 pm contest at the Orlando Solar Bears. The Sunday tilt follows an eight-day break for the Everblades.Sunday’s game is part of a home-and-home affair between the two clubs that spans parts of two calendar weeks, as the Blades and Bears will square off at Hertz Arena on Wednesday, December 29 at 7:30 pm. When the boys return to town on Wednesday the 29th, be sure and mark your calendar so you can join us. As is the case for every Wednesday home game, join us 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.Read more about the Blades’ busy promotional schedule and great deals HERE. 

ON ICE THIS WEEK

Sunday, December 26 Everblades at Solar Bears Amway Center 7:00 pm

NEWS AND NOTES

LOOKING BACK ON A BIG WEEK: In the final full week of action before an eight-day hiatus, the Florida Everblades took two of three games from the visiting Atlanta Gladiators. The Blades opened the series with a 3-1 victory on Wednesday before Atlanta captured a 2-1 triumph on Friday. In the end, Florida would come away with bragging rights, as the Everblades took Saturday’s rubber game by a 5-1 tally. While taking two of three games from visiting Atlanta, 12 different Everblades factored into the scoring, with six different Everblades scoring goals and nine different Blades tallying assists in the three-game set. Jake Jaremko led the pack with four points (1 G, 3 A), followed closely by the three-point trio of Kody McDonald (2 G, 1 A), Blake Winiecki (1 G, 2 A) and John McCarron (3 A). Nathan Perkovich and Alex Aleardi each scored two goals, while Levko Koper pitched in with two assists. Devin Cooley came up big in net, posting a 2-1-0-0 record with a 1.36 GAA and a .954 save percentage on 83 saves.ONE WIN AWAY FROM 1000: With Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Atlanta, the Everblades are just ONE win away from the franchise’s 1000th victory. Dating back to the beginning in 1998, over 24 seasons, the Everblades have compiled a 999-495-54-113 all-time record (.652).THIS WEEK’S FOE: The Orlando Solar Bears enter the week in third place in the ECHL South Division with a 13-10-1-0 record.  Last week, the Solar Bears headed west for a couple of matchups against teams in the Mountain Division of the ECHL’s Western Conference. Orlando routed the Allen Americans by a 6-2 tally on Friday and topped the Tulsa Oilers 5-2 on Sunday. The Solar Bears are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.THE SERIES:  The Everblades and Solar Bears have faced off twice at Hertz Arena this season, with both teams picking up a win. Orlando claimed a 3-2 win on November 10, while the Everblades returned the favor, winning 3-2 on November 17.  All-time, the Everblades sport an 87-34-10 (.702) advantage in meetings between the two clubs.SURVEYING THE SOUTH STANDINGS: The Everblades have slipped back into second place in the ECHL South Division at 13-7-2-3 overall.  With 31 points, the Blades are one point behind Jacksonville (15-8-1-1, 32 pts), winners of six straight games. Orlando (13-10-1-0, 27 pts) sits in third place, three points ahead of Atlanta (11-11-2-0, 24 pts). Greenville (9-10-3-1, 22 points) is in fifth, followed by Norfolk (10-14-0-1, 21 pts) and South Carolina (9-12-2-0), both with 20 points and six straight losses apiece.SIX PACK FOR JAREMKO: Jake Jaremko picked up a pair of assists Saturday night to extend his point streak to six straight games, the second longest active point streak by an Everblade.  Over the past six games, Jaremko has collected eight points on three goals and five assists. SEVEN UP FOR THE CAPTAIN: John McCarron made it seven straight games with at least one point on Saturday, as he earned an assist on Blake Winiecki’s game-winning goal in the opening period. Captain Everblade has tallied at least one point in each of the seven games he has played this month. Over those seven games, McCarron has collected eight points on two goals and six assists.THE CAPTAIN IS HOT: In addition to his eight-points-in-seven-games December, Captain John McCarron continues to approach several peaks in the mountain range known as the Everblades record book.  With 353 career points in an Everblades sweater, including playoffs. Captain John McCarron is now just 12 points shy of Reggie Berg’s franchise record of 365. In regular-season games, McCarron’s 307 career points ranks third, three out of second place (310, Tom Buckley) and 12 short of the franchise mark (319, Reggie Berg).  In the goals and assists category, with 131 regular-season goals and 176 regular-season assists, McCarron is 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.EYE ON THE COACH: Everblades veteran head coach Brad Ralph is three wins away from his 500th win as a head coach. In his 12th season as a head coach, Ralph sports a 497-213-69 (.682) career record. Breaking it down, Ralph sports a 449-193-65 (.681) mark in the pro ranks, a 378-159-58 (.684) ledger in the ECHL, and a 246-95-38 (.699) mark with the Blades, just four wins shy of 250 in Southwest Florida.

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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 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.

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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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