ESTERO, Fla. — The Florida Everblades earned five of a possible six points in their final non-divisional road series of the season at the DCU Center, posting victories Friday and Sunday against the Worcester Railers before falling in overtime on Saturday. 

Florida’s strong weekend extended its lead atop the South Division to five points with 48 total points. South Carolina sits second, while Atlanta is third, one point behind the Stingrays with four games in hand. 

Defense Leading the Offense

The Everblades’ blueline was pivotal throughout the three-game road swing in Worcester, contributing to 10 of the team’s 11 goals over the weekend. Six of the eight defensemen recorded points in the series against the Railers, with three posting multi-point performances during Friday’s 4–1 victory. 

St. Louis Blues prospect Quinton Burns shined in his two appearances, recording four points before earning a promotion to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds on Sunday. Burns delivered his best performance of the season Friday night, tallying three assists to record the first multi-point game of his professional career. The 20-year-old added an assist Saturday, giving him points in back-to-back games for the first time.

Gianfranco Cassaro was impressive in the final two games of the weekend series against the Railers, notching four points (1g–3a) and paces Florida’s blue line with 17 points. Cassaro contributed to both goals in the overtime defeat Saturday and added a goal and an assist Sunday, giving him back-to-back multi-point performances for the first time this season. His 17 points are tied for 18th-most among ECHL defensemen, and he owns 11 points (1g–10a) in 12 career games against Worcester. 

Road Dominance

Florida continued its dominance away from Hertz Arena last weekend in the Heart of the Commonwealth, improving its road record to 14-3-2-0. The Blades own the second-best road record in the ECHL by win percentage (.736) and are tied for the third-most road games played with 19. Brad Ralph’s group has outscored their opponent 70-36 owning the league’s best goal differential at +34. Florida leads the ECHL in road goals per game (3.86) and goals against per game (1.89), showcasing dominance at both ends of the ice away from Hertz Arena. 

Special teams have also provided Florida a boost behind enemy lines ranking in the top 10 on the powerplay operating at 19.7%. Last weekend Florida converted two of nine opportunities with the extra skater (22.2%) and was the first time since December 20 Florida has scored on the powerplay. The penalty kill continues to set the standard on the road, leading the ECHL at 89.9% and successfully killing off seven of eight shorthanded situations in Worcester.

Standout Performers

Craig Needham – The Massachusetts local extended his point streak to seven games (6g-1a) scoring goals in each of the first two games and recorded an assist in the series finale Sunday. Needham is tied for the team lead with 11 goals and is tied for second on the team with 20 points. 

Gianfranco Cassaro – Cassaro was a steady contributor over the final two games of the series in Worcester, registering four points (1g-3a) while pacing Florida’s blueline with 17 points on the season. The defenseman capped the weekend by scoring the game-winning goal Sunday, snapping a shot from the goal line underneath the crossbar.

Quinton Burns - Burns recorded four points from the blue line over the weekend before earning a promotion to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. The 20-year-old registered the first multi-point game of his professional career Friday with three helpers. 

Anthony Romano – Romano powered Florida’s offense in Sunday’s win, scoring twice in the first period including a power-play goal to snap a five-game scoreless drought. The Blades All-Star selection two-goal effort has him tied for the team with 11 and continues to pace Florida’s attack with 27 points. 

Kyle Betts - Betts recorded three points in two games during his return to the lineup after missing the previous eight contests. The forward is currently riding a four-game point streak (2g–3a).

Will Cranley – Cranley continued his strong stretch in net picking up victories in both his starts extending his win streak to 10 games. The 2020 St. Blues draft pick finished the weekend turning aside 30 of 34 Railers shots and has now surrendered two or fewer goals in 9 of 12 starts this season. 

By the Numbers

Florida leads the ECHL in road wins with 14 earning 30 of a possible 38 points on the road. Since November 28 Brad Ralph’s team has posted a 9-1-1-0 record away from Hertz Arena.

Will Cranley ranks third in the ECHL in goals-against average (1.82) and save percentage (.928) earning victories in 10 straight starts. 

The Blades powerplay scored goals in each of the final two games of the series marking the first time since December 6-7 Florida has converted powerplay goals in back-to-back games. Florida this season is 13-0-1-1 when scoring a powerplay goal. 

The Everblades finished the weekend seven of eight on the penalty kill including a perfect two for two on Sunday. This season Florida owns a 15-2-1-1 record when not allowing their opponent to score on the man advantage. 

Florida scored the game’s first goal in all three meetings in Worcester are now tied for fourth in the ECHL with 19 first goals posting a 15-2-2-0 record when scoring first. 

Weekly Rewind (2-0-1-0)

Friday: Florida 4, Worcester 1 | Game Sheet

Florida opened the three-game series with a strong road effort, scoring three times in the second period on the way to a 4–1 victory over Worcester. After a scoreless first, Craig Needham opened the scoring midway through the second before Florida added two more goals in a 5:28 span to take control of the game. Worcester briefly pulled within one, but Tarun Fizer restored the two-goal cushion just 32 seconds later. Fizer added an empty-net goal in the third to seal the win, while Quinton Burns recorded four assists and Will Cranley turned aside 13 of 14 shots.

Saturday: Worcester 3, Florida 2 (OT) | Game Sheet

Florida earned a point Saturday night but fell 3–2 in overtime as Worcester rallied from a two-goal deficit. After a scoreless first period, the Everblades struck first on the power play early in the second before extending the lead later in the frame. Worcester responded with two goals in the third to force overtime, evening the score less than three minutes into the period. With the Railers on a power play in overtime, Max Dorrington tipped home the game-winner to hand Florida its second overtime loss of the series.

Sunday: Florida 5, Worcester 3 | Game Sheet

Florida rebounded Sunday afternoon to take the rubber match, scoring five times in a 5–3 win at the DCU Center. Anthony Romano paced the Everblades with two first-period goals, including a power-play marker, as Florida carried a 2–1 lead into the intermission. The teams traded goals in the second before Gianfranco Cassaro buried a sharp-angle shot late in the frame to give Florida a 4–2 advantage. Worcester cut the deficit to one in the third, but Florida held firm and added an empty-net goal in the final seconds to close out the victory. The Everblades outshot the Railers 38–20, with Cranley stopping 17 shots in the win.

THE ROAD AHEAD

Florida returns to Hertz Arena Wednesday night to begin a three-game series against the Jacksonville Icemen. Jacksonville enters the series in sixth place in the South Division with a record of 14-15-1 trailing Greenville by one point for fifth. The Blades have faced Jacksonville just once this season falling in overtime 3-2 in Jacksonville November 26 as defenseman Aidan Fulp netted the deciding goal in the extra session. 

Bonus hockey has become the norm of late for Jacksonville, with five of their last six games decided by one goal and three going beyond regulation. The Icemen are 4-5-1 in their last 10 but are coming off a 4-3 overtime win Saturday in Orlando.

Offensively, Jacksonville is led by Bennett MacArthur with 26 points, while Aidan Fulp paces the Icemen’s blueline with 16 points. In goal Scott Ratzlaff and Michael Bullion have each earned five wins this season.

Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday night, with the series continuing Friday at 7:30 p.m. before concluding Saturday with a 7:00 p.m. faceoff.