ESTERO, Fla. – The Florida Everblades scored the first three goals of the game and rolled to a 4-1 victory over Adirondack Thunder before a sold-out crowd of 7,010 enthusiastic Southwest Florida hockey fans on Canadian Night Friday at Hertz Arena. The victory was the Everblades second-straight win over the Thunder, which came into Estero riding a 17-game point streak that Florida snapped on Wednesday.
The Everblades rode loads of momentum from Wednesday night’s impressive 6-3 victory. Just 15 seconds after the opening faceoff, Zach Uens set the stage, burying a blast from the far edge of the left circle, that staked the good guys to a quick 1-0 lead. Logan Lambdin and Sean Josling picked up the helpers on the blueliner’s first goal of the year.
Not to be outdone, Nathan Staios connected at 9:05 of the frame and doubled Florida’s first-period lead to 2-0. For Staios, the bullet from the left circle was his ninth goal of the year with Luke Santerno and Cam Darcy picking up the helpers.
Florida’s offense continued to click into the second frame, as Oliver Chau converted a shorthanded breakaway for his 13th goal of the season at the 6:37 mark, extending the Everblades’ lead to 3-0. Adirondack temporarily stopped the bleeding as Brayden Crowder got the Thunder on the board at 13:37 and trimmed the Blades’ lead to 3-1 heading to the third period.
Mark Sendin nailed a power-play goal at 11:27 of the third period to restore the Everblades’ three-goal lead. Sendin’s seventh tally of the season came off assists from Lambdin and Josling, the second helper on the night for each, closing out the scoring with Florida on top 4-1.
The Everblades outshot the Thunder 32-29, with Cam Johnson (14-9-3-1) turning aside 28 of 29 shots in a winning performance. Tyler Brennan (4-3-0-1) made six saves for Adirondack before giving way to Jeremy Brodeur after 10:55 of play, with Brodeur registering 22 stops.
The four-game homestand continues with one more meeting the against Adirondack Thunder on Saturday, February 10 at 7:00 p.m., headlined by a Skunk Apes jersey giveaway courtesy of Arthrex and another always-popular Saturday Night Tailgate with live music! Looking ahead, the Orlando Solar Bears will be in town for a 7:30 p.m. game on Wednesday, February 14. The Valentine’s Day meeting with be Margaritaville Night, complete with $3.00 hot dogs, $3.00 Labatt beers, a Cooler Bag giveaway courtesy of Mollie Moo’s Ice Cream, and live music from DJ Matty Chiuch.
Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
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BLADES BITS
With consecutive victories over North Division leading Adirondack, the Everblades have handed the Thunder
back-to-back regulation losses for just the second time this season. In both instances, the second loss came against Florida.
Potting two goals in the first period, the Everblades made it four straight periods with two goals to open the series against Adirondack.
Zach Uens’ first-period goal was his first of the season and gave the defenseman his 10th point of the campaign. Over the last three games, Uens has registered five points on a goal and four helpers. Last year, Uens tallied four points on three goals and an assist in 35 ECHL regular-season games, while tacking on five helpers in 21 postseason contests.
Nathan Staios’ ninth goal of the season gave him three goals in the last four games, while Cam Darcy’s assist on that goal gave him a helper for the third consecutive contest.
Luke Santerno extended his point streak to three games, as he has picked up a point in every game since joining the Everblades before the team’s February 3 game in Savannah. After scoring a goal in his Blades debut, Santerno has assists in back-to-back games.
Oliver Chau became the first Everblade to score two shorthanded goals this season. His breakaway tally gave him a goal for the second straight game.
Mark Sendin scored for the second straight game, while Logan Lambdin and Sean Josling teamed up for the assists on two different goals in the victory.
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JOIN THE FUN
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Grab the newest and hottest Everblades merchandise by checking out the entire collection that is available online by visiting shop.floridaeverblades.com or at the Hertz Arena Pro Shop!
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