Blades Reunite With Icemen For Round One, Game One

ESTERO, Fla – The Back-to-Back Kelly Cup Champion Florida Everblades begin the hunt for a three-peat Thursday afternoon when they begin first-round play against the Jacksonville Icemen. Game 1 of the South Division Semifinals will be on Thursday, April 18 at 7:00 p.m. at Vystar Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum.

In the regular season, Florida was 2-7-2 against Jacksonville. However, those two Everblade wins came in the final weeks of play. First, on Mar. 6, Florida won 2-1 in overtime over Jacksonville. A month later on April 10, the Everblades won a crucial game 5-2 to cap off the regular season schedule between the two teams. Both of Florida’s wins came at Hertz Arena, as the Blades are 0-4-2 in Duval County. 

Virtually every game between the Blades and Icemen in 2023-24 was a tight contest, as five of the 11 team meetings were decided by one goal, with three of those matchups requiring overtime. Nine of the 11 contests were decided by two goals or less. Oliver Chau has been the top Everblade versus Jacksonville this season, tallying team-highs with 11 points and eight assists. Logan Lambdin and Joe Pendenza lead the Blades with three goals in the season series. Sean Josling (1G, 3A) joined Chau (3G, 8A) and Pendenza (3G, 2A) as the only Everblades to play in all 11 games against the Icemen this season. Three Blades – Cole Moberg (2G, 4A), Mark Senden (2G, 1A), and Will Reilly (1G, 2A) saw action in ten of the 11 games. 

The Everblades defeated Jacksonville in the 2022 and 2023 South Division Finals, winning four and six games, respectively. Florida leads the all-time regular-season series 45-23-16 while also holding a 12-4 edge all-time in postseason games en route to a perfect 3-0 mark over the Icemen in the Kelly Cup Playoff series.

Last postseason, Florida eliminated Jacksonville in six games in the South Division Finals. Three of the Everblades’ four wins in that series occurred in Jacksonville. At home, Florida was 1-2 against the Icemen.

Defense and goaltending have been a huge piece of both teams’ game plans this regular season. At the close of the calendar, Florida was first in goals against average at 2.58, and Jacksonville was second at 2.71. Those numbers are lifted by the two star netminders. Cam Johnson led the ECHL in games played (49) and wins (27), while Jacksonville’s Matt Vernon was named to the 2024 ECHL All-Rookie and All-Second Team this year. 

The South Division semifinals arrive at Hertz Arena next week on Wednesday, April 24 for Game 3, Friday, April 26 for Game 4, and Saturday, April 27 for Game 5 if necessary. Be sure to visit floridaeverblades.com for all your game-day information!

BLADES BITS 

THE ROAD TO HISTORY: The Everblades are looking to make history in more than one way this year. Florida has the opportunity to win an unprecedented third consecutive Kelly Cup, a league-first. A cup victory would also mark the fourth time in franchise history that the Blades have earned the league's highest honor, a feat no other team has been able to accomplish. The only other team in the ECHL with three Kelly Cups, the South Carolina Stingrays, did not make the postseason. Last season, netminder Cam Johnson became the first player in league history to win back-to-back playoff MVP awards. 

FINISHING ON FIRE: With six straight victories, the Everblades have closed out the regular season with the team’s longest winning streak of the season. The Blades bested the five-spot they put up from January 12-24 when they defeated Savannah four straight times and tacked on a win over Atlanta to close out the streak. 

TOP LINE LEADS THE WAY: Bobo Carpenter finished the regular season as the Everblades’ leading goal scorer, picking up his 28th tally on Florida’s first goal in Saturday night’s regular-season finale. Oliver Chau earned his 34th assist on Caprenter’s goal, as he claimed the team’s regular-season assist lead. Chau heads into the postseason with a team-high 60 points, two ahead of Captain Joe Pendenza who earned a much-deserved night off in Saturday’s game. 

THERE’S SOME HISTORY HERE: The Everblades defeated Jacksonville in both the 2022 and 2023 South Division Finals, winning those series in four games and six games respectively. Florida leads the all-time regular-season series 46-23-16, while also holding a 12-4 edge all-time in postseason games en route to a perfect 3-0 mark over the Icemen in the Kelly Cup Playoff series. 

JOIN THE FUN 

Tickets for home games of the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs presented by Lexus are available now, as are 2024 Kelly Cup Playoff Packages, which include games in all four rounds. To learn more, please click HERE.

Season ticket plans for the 2024-25 campaign are on sale now! Become a Blades 365 Member for the 2024-25 season and enjoy incredible savings and benefits! To view the Blades 365 Membership savings, benefits, and options click HERE. 

Group Packages are available for a group of 10 or more! Everblades put 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. 

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! 

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, or online at espnswfl.com or everblades.mixlr.com. Stay up to date by following the Blades on social media with all the latest news, scores, and promotions on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Twitter.