What’s Up Doc? Bunnies Visit Swamp for First of Three

WHO: Florida Everblades vs. Greenville Swamp RabbitsWHERE: Hertz Arena (Estero, Fla.)WHEN: Wednesday, March 2 at 7:30 pmTICKETS: Purchase tickets for Wednesday’s game and all future Everblades games HERE.PROMOTIONS: Every Wednesday home game at The Swamp features some awesome Hump Day deals, including $3 John Morrell hot dogs and Bud Light drafts. Also, college students can show a valid student ID at the box office to purchase their student ticket for only $5. Students can also purchase tickets online HERE.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. – The Florida Everblades return to Southwest Florida to open the team’s longest homestand of the season, a seven-day stretch that will keep the Blades on Hertz Arena ice through Saturday, March 19. The long homestand starts with three games against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and comes at an opportune time, as the Everblades have won six straight games and have picked up at least one point in nine consecutive contests. 

THE OPPONENT: The Greenville Swamp Rabbits will visit Hertz Arena for the first time this season. One day removed from a 3-2 overtime win in Orlando, Greenville enters play comfortably in fifth place in the ECHL South Division, sporting an 18-22-4-3 overall record which is good for 43 points and an all-important .457 points percentage. The Swamp Rabbits have registered a 4-6-0-0 record in their last 10 games.

THE SERIES: This season, the Everblades and Swamp Rabbits have squared off seven times, with each of those contests taking place in the Palmetto State. The Blades are 4-3-0-0 in those seven meetings, while leading in goals scored 22-20. Florida won the first three games between the rivals this season, sweeping a two-game set November 12-13 and claiming another victory on January 14. Greenville followed with three straight wins of their own, picking up victories on January 15, 28 and 29, before the Everblades pulled ahead in the series in the teams’ last meeting, earning a 6-5 overtime win on January 30 after falling behind 4-2.

THEY LIKE BUNNIES: In games against the Swamp Rabbits, Captain Everblade John McCarron leads the squad with eight total points, scoring three goals dishing out a team-high five assists. The consistent duo of Joe Pendenza and Blake Winiecki are next in line with six points apiece as both have torched Greenville for three goals and three assists. Dylan Vander Esch has scored a team-high four goals. In between the pipes, Parker Gahagen has drawn the start in six of the seven meetings against Greenville and has tallied a 3-3-0-0 record with a 2.36 GAA and a .914 save percentages. 

LAST TIME OUT: A pair of second-period goals from Nathan Perkovich, a record-tying goal from John McCarron and a fourth straight win by goaltender Parker Gahagen lifted the Everblades (30-15-4-4) to a 3-1 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays (17-28-6-0) Sunday afternoon at North Charleston Coliseum. The victory extended the Everblades winning streak to six straight games and marked the ninth straight game in which the red-hot Blades earned at least one point in the standings. In those nine games, the Blades have assembled a 7-0-1-1 record, good for 16 of a possible 18 points.

FORT GAHAGEN IS ROCK SOLID: Everblades netminder Parker Gahagen extended his personal winning streak to four straight games, earning the W against South Carolina on Sunday. Gahagen (12-7-1-1) has shot up to third place in the ECHL with a 2.33 GAA, while his .920 save percentage ranks fifth in the league. Since being pulled after allowing two goals in just over six minutes in an eventual 3-2 shootout loss to Jacksonville on February 16, Gahagen has been impenetrable, making four starts, going a perfect 4-0 with a 1.44 GAA and a stellar .955 save percentage. With his impressive 3-0-0-0, .96 GAA and .972 SV% last week, Gahagen was named as the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week. 

CAPTAIN RECORD BOOK STRIKES AGAIN: On Sunday, John McCarron scored his 145th regular-season goal in an Everblades uniform, matching the franchise career record that Captain Everblade now shares with Reggie Berg (1999-2007). Also the franchise’s career leader with 383 points in the regular season and playoffs combined, McCarron netted his 23rd goal of the year with a blast from the left circle. The assists went to Blake Winiecki and McLaughlin as a three-on-two opportunity materialized at 17:17 of the second period. 

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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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