Bobo and Cam Lead Blades Past Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears might have scored first, but four unanswered goals, two off the stick of Bobo Carpenter, and a 34-save effort by Cam Johnson lifted the Florida Everblades to a 4-1 victory Wednesday evening at Amway Center.

The South Division rivals each picked up a goal in the first period, with Orlando striking early and the Everblades beating the buzzer with the equalizer. Steve Jandric got the Solar Bears on the board 5:02 after the opening draw, getting credit for a goal after the puck bounced off a Florida player and found the net for Orlando’s only score of the night.

The Blades drew even in the final second of the opening frame as Carpenter registered his team-high sixth goal of the year, scoring at 19:59 from the left post off a feed from Patrick Holway with Wilmer Skoog grabbing the secondary assist.

Last-minute magic was the story of the second period, as the Everblades regained the lead as Blake Murray stole the puck at center ice and scored his second goal of the campaign on a breakaway at the 19:45 mark to put Florida on top 2-1. Murray’s second goal of the ECHL season was his first as an Everblade.

Joe Pendenza’s fourth goal of the year early in the third period would give the Everblades some insurance in the form of a 3-1 lead. The Blades’ veteran swatted the puck out of the air right in front of Orlando net at the 1:58 mark with Kai Schwindt notching his first professional point with an assist, joining Oliver Chau in the helper column.

Carpenter fired his second goal of the night into an empty net to extend the Blades’ lead to 4-1. Skoog picked up his second assist of the game, while Will Reilly added the secondary assist.

Despite Orlando outshooting the Everblades 35-22, Johnson (3-4-0-0) picked up his second-straight win, while topping the 30-save mark for the fifth time in seven starts. Colten Ellis (2-3-0-1) registered 18 saves and suffered the loss for Orlando.

Fresh off a four-game road trip which saw the good guys post a 2-1-1-0 mark, the Everblades will return home for a two-game set with the Atlanta Gladiators at Hertz Arena on Friday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 18 at 7:00 p.m. On Friday, welcome the Blades back to The Swamp for a 239 Friday and pick up two tickets, two nacho bowls and a souvenir program for the special price of $39. Saturday will be an extra special day as we celebrate Swampee’s Birthday with a Kelly Cup pennant giveaway and a special tailgate party complete with live music and bounce houses. There’s something for everybody! Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets. 

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BLADES BITS

• The 4-1 victory helped the Everblades improve to 4-2 versus the Solar Bears this season and snapped a two-game losing streak to the Blades’ rival from Central Florida, with three of the four victories coming at Amway Center.
• In the season’s first 10 games, the Everblades had not scored a goal in the final minute on a period, but on Wednesday night, the boys in green did so twice. Bobo Carpenter’s team-leading sixth goal of the season beat the buzzer at the end of the first period, while Blake Murray’s first goal in an Everblades sweater came with 15 seconds to play in the middle frame.
• Carpenter found the net for the second-straight game and extended his point streak to five straight contests (4 G, 2 A). With his five-game point streak, Carpenter has notched points in eight of 11 games this season, tallying seven goals and two helpers for nine points, passing Logan Lambdin for the squad lead.
• Joe Pendenza’s third-period goal was his first marker since he potted two in the Everblades’ 4-2 setback to Orlando at Hertz Arena on November 4. Three of Pendenza’s four goals this season have come against the Solar Bears.
  
  Wednesday Night’s Scoresheet

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