ESTERO, Fla. — The Florida Everblades earned three of a possible six points in their three-game series with the Atlanta Gladiators, a matchup featuring the two top teams in the South Division. 

After a slow start to the series that saw Florida drop a 2–0 decision in the opener and fall 5–4 in overtime Friday, the Blades responded with a crucial 5–1 victory in the finale to maintain their position atop the South Division. 

Entering the first week of February, Florida holds a three-point lead in the South Division with 58 points, ahead of both Atlanta and South Carolina, who sit tied at 55. The Everblades also own a three-point cushion for first place in the Eastern Conference over Atlanta, South Carolina, and Wheeling, who are all tied with 55 points. 

Romano Rolling 

Anthony Romano has maintained his All-Star form to begin the second half, serving as the engine of Florida’s offense. The Richmond Hill, Ontario native paces the Everblades with 40 points through 38 games operating above a point per game pace. Romano’s production ranks ninth in the ECHL, placing him among the league’s most consistent offensive threats. 

On Friday, the Blades forward delivered a pair of critical early third-period goals to help Florida collect a vital point in the standings. Romano also added an assist on Craig Needham’s first-period goal, finishing the night with three points and earning second-star honors. Following the performance, Everblades assistant coach Kyle Mountain summed up Romano’s impact: “Total game-changer — and the second one was a total snipe. That guy has the ability to change the game at any given moment.”

The 25-year-old forward made his presence felt once again in the series finale, contributing on both of Florida’s power-play goals. Romano opened the scoring to jumpstart Florida’s attack and later set up Needham’s goal in the final minute of the second period. In total, Romano capped off a successful weekend with back-to-back multi-point performances, finishing the series with five points (3g–2a) and leading the Everblades with 12 multi-point games this season.

Finding a Way

Despite being limited to five healthy defensemen over the final four periods of the series, the Everblades leaned on depth, discipline, and collective buy-in to find a way against Atlanta and earn critical points in the standings. On Saturday, Florida dressed an unconventional lineup featuring 13 forwards and five defensemen in the series finale.

Veteran forward Kyle Neuber stepped into the lineup and provided an added level of emotion and intensity in his fifth game of the season. Florida responded with one of its strongest starts of the year, outshooting Atlanta 13–5 in the opening period and building an early 1–0 lead. 

Florida carried that momentum throughout the night, skating to a dominant 5–1 victory. Following the win, forward Sean Allen credited the group’s approach, saying, “I just think we kept things simple tonight and we played a full 60.”

Head coach Brad Ralph echoed that sentiment, pointing to the group’s response under adversity: “The guys stuck with it. We played a great game the night before and didn’t get the result, but they followed through tonight. The power play was clicking, the penalty kill did a great job, and being short with five defensemen, I thought all five D played really well. It was a good team effort, and I was happy to see the guys get rewarded.”

The performance marked the first time this season the Gladiators surrendered four or more goals in consecutive games, entering the series as the league’s stingiest defensive team at under two goals allowed per game. Florida also received key offensive contributions from its depth, as both Sean Allen and Isaac Nurse found the back of the net for their second goals of the season. 

Standout Performers

Craig Needham - Needham continued his breakout season, scoring goals in each of the final two games of the series to remain tied for the team lead with 17 goals. The forward opened the scoring in Friday’s contest before adding a power-play goal in Saturday’s series finale, providing timely offense in key moments for Florida.

Zach Berzolla – Berzolla stepped up on the back-end Saturday, recording a pair of assists and finishing with a plus-one rating while skating in a shortened five-defenseman rotation. The defenseman was active offensively throughout the series, leading Florida with seven shots in Friday’s contest.

Logan Lambdin – Lambdin delivered his first multi-point performance of the season Saturday night, notching a pair of assists and earning second-star honors. The forward was heavily involved offensively over the weekend, finishing second on the team with six shots in Friday’s game.

Cam Johnson – Johnson earned the win in Saturday’s series finale, turning aside 24 of 25 shots to collect his 12th victory of the season. The netminder closed out the weekend with a .935 save percentage and a 1.53 goals-against average, providing steady play behind a shortened defensive group.

By the Numbers

Florida’s power play scored multiple power play goals in the same game for the first time this season in the same game Saturday against the Gladiators and is operating at 27.8 percent over its last five home games.

The Blades penalty kill is second best in the ECHL successfully defending 87.4 percent of their penalties this season and has allowed one goal against over its last five games (15//16).

The Everblades are 17-0-1 this season when scoring four goals or more in a game and 19-0-1 when leading after two periods. 

Jordan Sambrook ranks fourth among ECHL defenseman with a +24 rating and finished the series against Atlanta with a +4 rating. 

Gianfranco Cassaro and Zach Berzolla ranks in the top five among ECHL defensemen in shots on goal with 104 and 102 respectively this season. 

Sean Allen matched his point total of 15 with his goal Saturday night from last season in 27 fewer games. Allen has now recorded 15 points in a season for the third time in his career. 

Weekly Rewind (1-1-1)

Wednesday: Atlanta 2, Florida 0 | Game Sheet

Florida opened the three-game series with a 2–0 loss Wednesday night at Hertz Arena. Atlanta struck early, as Nolan Orzeck found space through traffic to open the scoring in the first period. The Everblades were unable to generate offense on four shots in the opening frame while Atlanta capitalized on one of its seven.

Both teams traded chances in a scoreless second period, with Florida holding a slight 12–11 edge in shots. Atlanta doubled its lead midway through the third on a shorthanded goal by Jack O’Brien. Florida finished the night with a 22–20 shot advantage but could not solve Atlanta goaltender Ethan Haider, who earned his first shutout of the season.

Friday: Atlanta 5, Florida 4 (OT) | Game Sheet

Florida earned a point Friday night but fell 5–4 in overtime to the Gladiators in front of 7,061 fans at Hertz Arena. Craig Needham opened the scoring during four-on-four play, and Reid Duke added a power-play goal later in the first period as Florida built a 2–1 lead after 20 minutes.

Atlanta responded with three goals over the final two periods, twice taking the lead before Anthony Romano answered each time with a pair of third-period tallies to force overtime. Isak Walther ended the contest in the extra session, sealing the overtime win for Atlanta. Florida and Atlanta combined for 12 minutes of penalties in the opening period, while the Everblades were outshot 14–10 in the second frame.

Saturday: Florida 5, Atlanta 1 | Game Sheet

The Everblades closed the series with a decisive 5–1 victory Saturday night at Hertz Arena. Anthony Romano ignited Florida’s offense with a power-play goal late in the first period, and the Everblades controlled play early, outshooting Atlanta 13–5 in the opening frame.

Florida broke the game open in the second period with three goals in a 56-second span, including tallies from Sean Allen, Jett Jones, and Craig Needham. Isaac Nurse capped the scoring early in the third period after Atlanta briefly cut into the deficit. Florida finished the night 2-for-3 on the power play and held Atlanta to one goal, while Cam Johnson turned aside 24 of 25 shots in the win.

THE ROAD AHEAD

The Everblades return to action tomorrow night in Duluth, Georgia, for their first meeting of the season at Gas South Arena against the Atlanta Gladiators, concluding a stretch of four consecutive games between the two clubs. Florida is 1-2-1-0 in four meetings against Atlanta this season, all played in Estero, while the Everblades went a perfect 3–0 on the road against the Gladiators last season.

Atlanta defenseman Chad Nychuk has been the hot hand offensively, recording seven points in four games against Florida this season, while Anthony Romano has tallied five points over his last two games versus the Gladiators. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.

The Blades continue their three-game road swing in Georgia with back-to-back matchups against the Savannah Ghost Pirates on Friday and Saturday at Enmarket Arena. Florida is 4–1 in five meetings against Savannah this season and won two of three games in Savannah during the December 19–21 series, taking the final two contests by 4–2 and 3–2 scores. The Ghost Pirates enter the week tied for fourth in the South Division standings with 41 points. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on both nights.