EVERBLADES MELT ICEMEN 4-2

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Four different goal scorers combined with a solid 24-save performance in goal by Evan Fitzpatrick was the right formula, as the Florida Everblades picked up a 4-2 victory over the Jacksonville Icemen Friday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, avenging Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout setback. 

Joe Pendenza tallied his team-leading fifth goal of the season just over two minutes into the game, staking the Everblades to a quick 1-0 lead. Jacksonville’s Ara Narazian knotted the game at 1-1 with a shorthanded goal at the midpoint of the frame, but Oliver Chau regained the lead for Florida at 2-1 with 1:21 to play before the first intermission.Blake Winiecki added an insurance goal at 5:52 of the second period to put Florida ahead 3-1.In the third period, Nazarian’s second goal of the game at 16:34 of the third period trimmed the Blades’ lead to 3-2, but Ben Masella closed out the scoring at 17:32 with an unassisted empty-net goal.

Fitzpatrick won his third straight game for the Everblades and improved to 4-1 this season. Jacksonville’s four-game winning streak came to a halt.

Chau (1 G, 1 A) and Leif Mattson (2 A) both posted two-point games, while Dominic Franco was credited with an assist to extend his point streak to seven games, tops by an Everblade this season. Chau and Pendenza saw their point streaks reach four games, as both have registered two goals and three assists in the last five contests.The Everblades (9-3-1-1) will close out the road trip Saturday night in Orlando. Winless in their last five games (0-3-1-1), the Solar Bears were idle on Friday, but Orlando (4-8-2-1) holds a 1-0 advantage in the season series. The puck is slated to drop inside Amway Center at 7:00 p.m.

SCORING SUMMARY – Click for full box score   1st Period2:02 Florida J. Pendenza 5 (L.Mattson, O. Chau)9:53 Jacksonville A. Nazarian 7 SH (C. Brown)18:39 Florida O. Chau 4 (S. Leblanc, L. Mattson)2nd Period5:52 Florida B. Winiecki 3 (D. Franco, C. Morrison)3rd Period16:34 Jacksonville A. Nazarian 8 (B. Harris, L. Henault)17:32 Florida B. Masella 2 EN (unassisted)GOALTENDERSFlorida – Evan Fitzpatrick, 24 SavesJacksonville – Olof Lindblom, 21 SavesTEAM STATISTICSShots on Goal – Florida 25, Jacksonville 26Power Plays – Florida 0-5, Jacksonville 0-4Shorthanded Goals – Florida 0, Jacksonville 1Penalties (Minutes) – Florida 5 (10), Jacksonville 8 (24)

NEWS AND NOTES

• With Friday’s victory, the Everblades picked up the first win by the visiting team in the season series with Jacksonville. Florida stands 4-0-0-1 in five games versus their South Division rivals from Northern Florida.  
• The Everblades lit the lamp with the team’s quickest goal of the young season, as Joe Pendenza collected his team-high fifth goal of the season just 2:02 into the contest. Leif Mattson picked up his first ECHL assist while both Pendenza (2 G, 3 A) and Oliver Chau (2 G, 3 A) extended their point streaks to four games.  
• Chau’s first-period goal sealed his first two-point game since he picked up a goal and two assists in the season’s second game, a 5-3 win at Atlanta on October 22.  
• For Mattson, the two-assist performance was his first multi-point game with the Everblades. In 10 games with Quad City of the SPHL this season, Mattson logged two assists on three different occasions, giving him multiple helpers in four of 12 total games.  
• Florida surrendered a shorthanded goal for the first time in six games, as the Icemen’s Ara Nazarian’s opening-period shorty was Jacksonville’s first of the season. With the tally, Nazarian became Jacksonville’s all-time leading scorer with 45 goals.  
• Dominic Franco extended his Everblades’ season-best point streak to seven games, as he picked up the apple on Blake Winiecki’s third goal of the season, putting the Blades ahead 2-1. In those seven games, Franco has notched three goals and five assists. Franco leads the Everblades with eight assists.

• Evan Fitzpatrick picked up the win in his first meeting with Jacksonville this season. With Greenville last year, Fitzpatrick was a hard-luck loser in each of his final four outings versus the Icemen last season. In those four contests, the Swamp Rabbits managed just six total goals in support of Fitzpatrick, who was 1-5 with a solid 2.54 GAA in six total games vs Jacksonville a year ago.

NEXT GAME 

With the two-game series at Jacksonville in the rearview mirror, the Everblades will make a Saturday night stop in Central Florida to skate against the Orlando Solar Bears at 7:00 p.m. The Blades and Bears will be facing off for the second time this season, as Orlando posted a 3-2 victory at Amway Center on November 8. Ryan Calisti and Lukas Kälble picked up goals for the Everblades in that contest. 

Following the quick detour to Orlando, the defending Kelly Cup Champion Florida 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 don 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 or everblades.mixlr.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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