SAVANNAH Ga. – One night after their seven-game winning streak came to an end, the Florida Everblades got right back in the win column with a 4-2 victory over the Savannah Ghost Pirates Saturday night in Enmarket Arena. A season-high 37-save effort from goaltender Will Cranley, a two-goal performance by Tarun Fizer and a two-point night from Anthony Romano headlined a strong team performance.
 
A busy first period saw the South Division rivals tied at 1-1 after 20 minutes of play, while combining for 30 shots on goal in the process. Following a couple of early dustups, the Florida defensive corps survived a 4-on-3 disadvantage in the first seven minutes of play.
 
After an injury forced Savannah starting goaltender Michael Simpson to exit the contest midway through the opening frame, business picked up for both sides late in the period. With just over six minutes to play, Zach Berzolla came up empty on a breakaway, but a minute later, Craig Needham went five-hole, burying a pass from Oliver Chau to open the scoring at the 15:21 mark. Romano added an assist on Needham’s sixth goal of the year, extending his point streak to three games.
 
Unfortunately, the Everblades’ 1-0 lead would be short-lived, as Savannah’s Riley Hughes knotted the game at 1-1 with his sixth goal of the year with 1:13 left before the first intermission. Cranley turned aside 16 of 17 shots in the opening frame. Savannah held a 17-13 edge in shots on goal.

The second period belonged to Florida. Romano continued his sizzling play early in the stanza, potting the Everblades’ fifth shorthanded goal of the season on a breakaway that gave the good guys a 2-1 lead at the 2:38 mark. The unassisted tally was Romano’s ninth goal of the campaign.

Florida’s special teams continued to shine as Fizer struck on the power play to extend the Everblades’ lead to 3-1 at 6:04. Berzolla and Jesse Lansdell earned the assists, as Fizer potted a carom off the back wall for his sixth of the year. But just nine seconds after Florida’s Oliver Cooper and Savannah’s Cole Krygier went off for fighting majors at 10:26, Ghost Pirate Josh Davies trimmed the Blades’ lead to 3-2, with his fifth goal of the year at 10:35. Florida doubled up Savannah in the second-period shot department 16-8
 
The Everblades got some much-needed insurance early in the third period, as Fizer struck for the second time at 5:36, gobbling up a loose puck on neutral ice, slipping behind the Savannah defense and restoring the Everblades’ two-goal lead at 4-2 with his seventh goal of the season.

Savannah pulled backup netminder Vinnie Purpura with more than three minutes to play, but neither team managed to tack on another goal. Savannah applied significant pressure to outshoot the Blades 13-7 in the final period and won the overall shots on goal battle 39-36.

The Everblades and Ghost Pirates wrap up their three-game set in Savannah with the rubber match Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. before the ECHL takes its annual holiday break. Following the hiatus, the Blades will welcome the Reading Royals to Hertz Arena for a trio of games December 27-29. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.


---

BLADES BITS
 
The Everblades have earned points in 12 of the last 13 games, posting an 11-1-1-0 record since November 19.
 
Florida’s first three goals of the game were a veritable smorgasbord of scoring, as Craig Needham tallied an even-strength goal, Anthony Romano struck shorthanded and Tarun Fizer cashed in on the power play.
 
Along with making 37 saves, the most by an Everblades goaltender this season, Will Cranley has won seven straight games dating back to a 3-2 overtime win in Wichita on November 1. Over that unblemished 7-0 stretch, Cranley has posted a 1.82 GAA with a .934 save percentage.
 
Tarun Fizer notched his first multi-goal game of the season.
 
With his first period assist, Blades Captain Oliver Chau sits just two assists shy of 100 career helpers.
 
Everblades leading scorer Anthony Romano has points in three straight games (2G, 3A). Romano has collected points in 11 of his last 12 contests (7G, 8A).
 
Satutrday Night’s Scoresheet 

 
JOIN THE FUN
Season ticket plans for the 2025-26 campaign are on sale now! Become a Blades 365 Member for the 2025-26 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. 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.