DARCY’S GAME-WINNER AND WINIECKI’S TWO GOALS LIFT BLADES TO 3-2 WIN

ESTERO, Fla. – In front of 7,315 fans, Blake Winiecki’s two goals paced the way for the Florida Everblades in a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Gladiators at Hertz Arena on Saturday night.Winiecki scored both of his goals in the final minute of a period, the first and second respectively. Cam Darcy scored the game winner early in the third period, while Dominic Franco’s two helpers stretched his point streak to six games.Cam Johnson stopped 26 of 28 shots for the win.Florida has wins in back-to-back games for the first time since Nov, 4 and 5 against the Jacksonville Icemen. The Everblades will look to keep winning when they head to Jacksonville to battle the Icemen Wednesday, Nov. 23rd.

SCORING SUMMARY – Click for full box score   1st Period7:13 Atlanta C. Sylvester 5 (M. Pelech, E. Neiley)19:43 Florida B. Winiecki 1 (C. Darcy, D. Franco)2nd Period19:26 Atlanta E. Neiley 4 PP (D. Topatigh, B. Schultz)19:41 Florida B. Winiecki 2 (D. Franco, C. Darcy)3rd Period1:33 Florida C. Darcy 2 (J. Pendenza, O. Chau)

GOALTENDERSAtlanta – Tyler Parks, 27 SavesFlorida – Cam Johnson, 26 Saves

TEAM STATISTICSShots on Goal – Atlanta 28, Florida 30Power Plays – Atlanta 1-5, Florida 0-3Shorthanded Goals – Atlanta 0, Florida 0Penalties (Minutes) – Atlanta 5 (10), Florida 7 (14)NEWS AND NOTES

• With five matchups in the books and Florida holding a 3-2 advantage in the season series, the Everblades and Gladiators won’t face each other until March 29, when the South Division rivals meet in the Peachtree State for three games in five days. Atlanta will return to Hertz Arena for the final two regular-season games of the year on April 14-15.  
• Atlanta struck first for the fourth time in five games between the clubs, as the Gladiators’ Cody Sylvester picked up his third goal in two nights and fifth point of the three-game series.  
• Dominic Franco extended his point streak to a team-best six games, picking up a helper on Blake Winiecki’s first goal of the season with 17 seconds to play in the opening frame. The combo teamed up again on Winiecki’s second score of the night with 19 seconds to play in the second period. Cam Darcy also assisted on both goals, while adding a goal of his own, the second straight night he earned at least one point.  
• Darcy’s game-winner at 1:33 of the third saw assists from Joe Pendenza and Oliver Chau, the same duo that teamed up on Darcy’s goal in Friday’s 5-4 overtime victory.  
• Despite the Everblades’ victory, Kobe Roth saw his four-game point streak come to an end.  
• The spirited crowd of 7,315 was the second biggest of the season at Hertz Arena, just shy of the 7,395 fans who watched the 2022 Kelly Cup Championship banner get raised prior to the Blades’ 2-0 win over Orlando in the October 29 home opener.

NEXT GAME 

With the three-game home series against Atlanta in the books, the Everblades will take to the road for three in-state away contests. First up will be a pair of games at the Jacksonville Icemen that will bookend the Thanksgiving holiday on Wednesday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 25, before a pit stop in Central Florida to skate against the Orlando Solar Bears on Saturday, Nov. 26. Action in each of the three road games will get started at 7:00 p.m.

The defending Kelly Cup Champion Everblades will return to Hertz Arena for two games against the Kalamazoo Wings on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday’s contest will feature the popular Hump Day Deals with $3.00 Bud Light drafts and $3.00 hot dogs. On Saturday, get into character with us as your Blades will be suited in specialty Scooby Doo jerseys for DC Comic/Warner Bros. character night! Themed intermission games and activities will transform Hertz Arena for the night. Following the game, fans are able to skate with the players on a first-come first-served basis. And don’t forget, we will also have live music for our Saturday Tailgate party!

JOIN THE FUN

Purchase a new Voucher 12 package that allows you to use 12 tickets in any quantity during the 2022-23 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.

Calling all Everblades fans! Be among the first hockey fans in Southwest Florida to show off your pride in the newly-crowned Kelly Cup Champion Florida Everblades! Grab the newest and hottest merchandise by checking out the entire collection that is available online by visiting shop.floridaeverblades.com or at the Hertz Arena Pro Shop!

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.

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The Florida Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Florida Panthers and the AHL's Charlotte Checkers.

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