ESTERO, Fla. — The Florida Everblades kept the good times rolling to open the month of March, extending their season-long winning streak to nine games. Florida recorded shutout victories over Greenville on Wednesday and Friday by scores of 3-0 and 4-0 before finishing the week with a 2-1 triumph over Orlando. 

Florida’s dominant run over the past few weeks has propelled the club to the top of the South Division standings with 82 points, holding a seven-point advantage over South Carolina and a nine-point lead over Atlanta. The Everblades also sit comfortably atop the Eastern Conference with 16 games remaining. 

Johnson Finding Another Gear 

The Everblades netminder earned Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors helping lead Florida to a perfect 3-0-0-0 week. Johnson went 3-0-0 with two shutouts, a 0.34 goals-against average and a save percentage of .984 in three appearances last week.

“It doesn’t surprise any of us,” said Everblades Head Coach and General Manager Brad Ralph. “CJ is a gamer, and we love watching him play. It was nice to get him some run support. Earlier in the year we weren’t scoring as many goals when he was playing, so it’s great to see him having success and our team helping him out as well.”

The 31-year-old recorded back-to-back shutouts - stopping 27 shots in a 3-0 win against Greenville on Wednesday and 16 shots in a 4-0 victory over the Swamp Rabbits on Friday - before making 20 saves in in a 2-1 win against Orlando on Saturday. Johnson has moved into a tie for third place in ECHL history with 20 career shutouts.

The Troy, Michigan native is 22-7-7 in 36 appearances with the Everblades this season. He leads the ECHL in wins, goals-against average (1.85) and minutes played (2,187) while he is tied for third in shutouts (3) and tied for ninth in save percentage (.921). 

Johnson has started 12 consecutive games for the Blades posting a 10-0-1-1 record during this stretch along with a .955 save percentage and 0.98 goals-against average. During this stretch he has allowed one goal or fewer in eight of his 12 outings. 

Bolstering the Back End

Florida’s recent success has also been fueled by a strengthened blue line, with several defensemen stepping into key roles and contributing on both sides of the puck during the club’s nine-game winning streak.

Cole Moberg has made an immediate impact since returning to Southwest Florida. The two-time Kelly Cup Champion recorded an assist in his second game back with the Everblades on Saturday and has registered eight shots over his first two games, helping fortify Florida’s defensive corps.

Gianfranco Cassaro has also been effective since returning from injured reserve, tallying four points over his last nine games while posting a +9 rating. Meanwhile, Patrick Kyte has paired well alongside Jordan Sambrook since being acquired in a trade with Greensboro on February 4. Kyte has recorded seven points in 14 games with Florida along with a +10 rating, including three assists over his last two outings.

The addition of Kyte has also helped spark increased production from Sambrook, who has recorded 16 points during the stretch, including four of his five goals this season while posting a +18 rating.

Florida’s improved play on the back end has helped the club control games early as well, with the Everblades scoring first in seven of the nine contests during the current winning streak, including six games with a goal in the opening period.

Standout Performers

Craig Needham – Opened the scoring just 44 seconds into Wednesday’s game and added an assist on Anthony Romano’s late first-period goal to help lead Florida past Greenville, earning third-star honors. 

Anthony Romano - Matched Needham with his team-leading 20th goal of the season Wednesday against Greenville, recording his 13th multi-point performance of the year. The Richmond Hill, Ontario native finished the week with three points (1g, 2a).

Isaac Nurse - Delivered his best performance of the season Friday against Greenville, powering Florida’s offense with his first multi-point outing of the year with a goal and two assists. Nurse earned second-star honors and provided valuable depth scoring as each member of his line recorded at least a point in the victory.

Jordan Sambrook - Sealed Florida’s ninth consecutive win Saturday against Orlando, scoring the game-winning goal with 1:45 remaining in regulation. The 27-year-old defenseman also added two assists in Wednesday’s victory over Greenville and finished the week with a +6 rating.

By the Numbers

Florida has outscored opponents 34-8 during their nine-game winning streak.

The Everblades have won seven straight games on home ice dating back to February 18 and are tied for the second most home wins with 18. 

Florida continued their excellent form this season when donning specialty uniforms posting a pair of victories in their Pink the Rink jerseys with a 4-0 shutout win over Greenville Wednesday and a thrilling 2-1 triumph against Orlando Saturday improving their record to 13-0-2-2 when wearing specialty jerseys.

Anthony Romano’s 50 points this season has him tied for 11^th in ECHL scoring with 20 goals and 30 assists.

Jordan Sambrook paces Florida’s blue line with 35 points which is tied for 11^th among defenseman this season and is a career high for points in a season while his +43 rating second best in the ECHL. 

The Blades penalty kill is 21/22 (95.5%) over their current nine-game winning streak and has allowed just one power play goal over its last 13 games successfully defending 35 of it last 36 opportunities (97.2%). This season Florida ranks second in the ECHL operating at 89 percent on the penalty kill. 

Weekly Rewind (3-0-0-0)

Wednesday: Florida 3, Greenville 0 | Game Sheet

A 27-save shutout from Cam Johnson propelled the Florida Everblades to a 3–0 victory over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Wednesday night at Hertz Arena. Florida wasted little time opening the scoring as Craig Needham buried his 20th goal of the season just 44 seconds into the contest before Anthony Romano doubled the lead late in the first period, finishing off a rebound from a Jordan Sambrook point shot following a faceoff win by Needham.

Greenville pushed back in the second period with 15 shots on goal, but Johnson stood tall to keep the visitors off the board. The Everblades tightened defensively in the third period, limiting the Swamp Rabbits to just four shots before Hudson Elynuik sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 23 seconds remaining as Florida extended its winning streak.

Friday: Florida 4, Greenville 0 | Game Sheet

Cam Johnson recorded his second consecutive shutout as the Everblades defeated the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 4–0 Friday night at Hertz Arena. After a scoreless opening period, Tarun Fizer broke the deadlock 1:54 into the second frame with a power-play goal on a seam pass from Hudson Elynuik before Oliver Cooper doubled the advantage moments later, finishing a feed from Isaac Nurse.

Florida continued to apply pressure in the middle stanza as Kyle Penney redirected a shot from Nurse to extend the lead before Nurse capped the scoring in the third period by jamming home a loose puck in the crease. The Everblades locked things down defensively the rest of the way, holding Greenville to just five shots in the final period while Johnson stopped all 16 shots he faced to earn his league-leading 21st win of the season.

Saturday: Florida 2, Orlando 1 | Game Sheet

Jordan Sambrook’s blast with 1:45 remaining in regulation lifted the Everblades to a 2–1 victory over the Orlando Solar Bears Saturday night. Neither side scored through the opening 40 minutes despite Florida controlling the pace of play and outshooting Orlando throughout the contest.

Orlando struck first early in the third period as Ethan Szmagaj fired a point shot through traffic to give the visitors the lead, ending Cam Johnson’s shutout streak at 196:02. Florida responded just minutes later when Tarun Fizer evened the score on a deflection in front before Sambrook stepped into a shot from the right circle late in regulation to secure Florida’s ninth straight win.

THE ROAD AHEAD

The Blades return to action tomorrow, Wednesday, March 11 on the road against the Atlanta Gladiators to open a pivotal two-game set. Puck drop is set for 10:30 a.m. ET tomorrow and 7:10 p.m. ET Thursday at Gas South Arena.

Florida is 2-3 against Atlanta this season, with the most recent meeting coming February 4 in Atlanta, the lone matchup between the two clubs at Gas South Arena this year. Two of the Gladiators’ three wins in the season series have come via 2-0 shutouts. 

Entering the week, Atlanta sits third in the South Division with 73 points, trailing South Carolina by two points and Florida by nine with two games in hand. The Gladiators have dropped their last two contests and are 4-4-1-1 over their last 10 games. 

Offensively, Atlanta is led by defenseman Chad Nychuk, who has totaled 46 points in 53 games, the second-most among ECHL defensemen. In net, T.J. Semptimphelter and Ethan Haider have split the goaltending duties and have each recorded a shutout against Florida this season. Both netminders rank among the league leaders in goals-against average, with Semptimphelter carrying a 2.14 mark while Haider owns a 2.44 goals-against average.

The Everblades will conclude the week with a pair of games in Jacksonville on Saturday and Sunday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET Saturday and 3:00 p.m. ET Sunday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. 

Florida is 5-1-1 in seven meetings against the Icemen this season, including a 1-0-1 mark in Jacksonville, and has won each of the last three games in the season series. 

Jacksonville sits sixth in the South Division with 48 points holding a one-point edge over Orlando. The Icemen are 1-4-1-1 in their last 10 and enter the week off a 4-1 defeat Sunday in Kalamazoo.