WORCESTER, Ma. – A three-goal second period and a four-point night from Quinton Burns powered the Blades to a 4–1 win over the Worcester Railers, taking Game 1 of the three-game series.
 
The opening period was scoreless, with the lone highlight coming from a fight between Florida’s Oliver Cooper and Worcester’s Adam Samuelsson, earning both players five-minute major penalties. Will Cranley turned aside all five shots he faced, while Tristan Lennox stopped six through 20 minutes.

The Blades wasted no time in the second period as Quinton Burns and Jordan Sambrook set up Craig Needham for a gritty goal at the 6:46 mark, beating Lennox to put the Blades on the board. Florida kept the momentum rolling just under six minutes later when Burns fired a shot from the left circle that deflected off the post, setting up Logan Will for a shot to extend the Blades’ lead. Sean Allen picked up the secondary assist on the play.

The Railers responded with their first goal of the night when Drew Callin tipped a shot past Cranley on the glove side, cutting into the Blades’ lead. Michael Suda and Anthony Hora recorded the assists to put the home team on the scoreboard. Despite having their lead cut in half, the Blades answered just 32 seconds later as Burns sent a pass off the boards to Tarun Fizer, who ripped a shot to restore Florida’s two-goal advantage and make it 3–1 before the end of the second period. The middle frame ended with the Blades having a total of 20 SOG and the Railers with 12.

The third period was scoreless until Fizer sealed the outcome with an empty-net goal, bringing the final score after 60 minutes to a 4–1 victory for the Blades over the Railers. Burns finished the night with four points, tallying two primary assists and two secondary assists. Fizer added a two-point performance with a pair of goals. In net, Cranley turned aside 13 of 14 shots, while Lennox faced 26 shots and allowed three goals.

The Blades will face Worcester again tomorrow night, Saturday, January 10, with puck drop set for 6:05 p.m. as the teams continue the second game of the three-game road series.
 
Friday Night’s Gamesheet 

Blades Bites
 
Cranley has now won eight straight starts.
 
Needham extended his goal scoring streak to five games, and is now tied with Hudson Elynuik for the team lead in goals with ten this year.
 
Burn's four-assist night ties the franchise record for most assists in a single game.

 
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