ESTERO, Fla. – The journey to a sixth Kelly Cup is officially underway.

After raising the organization's ECHL-record fifth Kelly Cup championship banner in front of a sellout crowd of 7,311 of the best fans in the league, the Florida Everblades opened the 2026-27 season in style, beating the Orlando Solar Bears 3-1 Saturday night at Hertz Arena.   

With the energy from a festive pre-game banner raising ceremony still in the air, the Everblades – clad in sharp, new white sweaters – jumped out to a 1-0 lead as defenseman Broten Sabo opened the scoring 10:54 into the contest. Sabo’s first professional goal was a strike from the low edge of the left circle and finished off a flurry of three shots on Orlando netminder Ryan Bednard. Newcomer Devon Paliani and veteran Ryan Sambrook earned the assists. The Blades outshot the Solar Bears 11-6 in the opening frame.

In the middle frame, it took a while for the good guys to double the lead, but thanks to a trio of returning Kelly Cup champions hooking up, Florida pulled ahead 2-0 at the 14:52 mark. Craig Needham connected from the left circle burying a feed from Jesse Lansdell. Cole Moberg also picked up a secondary assist on the insurance goal. Once again, Florida dominated the shot battle, claiming an 11-5 edge in the middle frame.

The Everblades tacked on a final tally at 17:16 of the third period, as Ben Brar went coast-to-coast for a shorthanded, unassisted goal to extend Florida’s lead to 3-0. Orlando thwarted Can Johnson’s bid for his 20th career regular-season shutout as an Everblade, as veteran Aaron Luchuk scored for the Solar Bears at the 19:50 mark.

Besides dominating on offense with 32 shots on goal, the Everblades owned the defensive end as well. Florida’s defensive corps limited Orlando to just 18 pucks on net over 60 minutes. Cam Johnson made 17 saves and earned the victory in goal.

Round two between the Everblades and Solar Bears is slated for Sunday at 5:00 p.m. inside Kia Center in Orlando. The South Division rivals will face off against each other 15 times this season. The Everblades will return to Hertz Arena for a pair of games against the Atlanta Gladiators Friday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m.

Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

 

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BLADES BITS

 

In addition to the 10 returning members of the 2026 Kelly Cup championship squad on the Everblades’ season-opening roster, former captain Oliver Chau, Logan Lambdin and Kyle Neuber were back in Hertz Arena to be a part of the festive pre-game banner raising ceremony.

Broten Sabo’s opening goal was his first as a professional. The Ohio State Buckeye and Alaska-Fairbanks product appeared in one game last season for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Craig Needham’s second-period goal continued his strong play from a year ago. Needham lit the lamp 22 times in the regular season a year ago, tying for second most for the 2026 Kelly Cup champs.

In his fourth professional season, all with the Everblades, Ben Brar has 15 career goals.

 

Saturday’s victory ran the Everblades’ winning streak against the Solar Bears to seven games. Last season, Florida sported a 12-1-1-0 record in 14 games versus Orlando. 

Saturday Night’s Scoresheet

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JOIN THE FUN

Season ticket plans for the 2026-27 campaign are on sale now! Become a Blades 365 Member for the 2026-27 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 on how much your group can raise 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 The Fan on 94.1 FM, 103.3 FM, 105.9 FM and online at Everblades.mixlr.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 X.