Blades Head to Playoffs with Hardware in Hand
June 6, 2021 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
ESTERO, Fla. - The Florida Everblades will meet the South Carolina Stingrays for Game 1 of the opening round of the 2021 Kelly Cup Playoffs on Monday, June 7 at 7:05 p.m.. The first two games of the series will take place in South Carolina, while Games 3, 4, and 5 will be played at Hertz Arena. The Everblades and the Stingrays finished the COVID-shortened 2019-20 ECHL season tied for first in the league with 92 points apiece. Florida enters this year's first-round series as the top seed in the Eastern Conference, while South Carolina holds the fourth ranking.
The Everblades met the Stingrays 13 times during the regular season, and Florida skated to a 10-1-1-1 advantage in the season series. Find ticket packages for the 2021 Kelly Cup Playoffs HERE. Single game tickets can be found HERE.
Blades Claim Brabham Cup: The Everblades clinched the 2020-21 Brabham Cup championship on Saturday by virtue of their 4-3 win at Orlando. The Brabham Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the ECHL team that finishes with the best record in the regular season. The recipient is guaranteed home-ice advantage throughout its participation in the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
With the win, Florida improved its record to 42-19-5-3 for a .667 points percentage and captured the ECHL regular-season title for the fourth time in team history. The Everblades previously earned the Brabham Cup in 1999-2000, 2008-09 and 2017-18. The four Brabham Cup titles are the second most in ECHL history, behind the Alaska Aces, who won the regular-season title five times.
McCarron and Hildebrand Named to All-ECHL First Team: John McCarron and Jake Hildebrand were both selected to the 2020-21 All-ECHL First Team per the league on Tuesday, June 1. The Everblades were the only team to be featured twice on the First Team slate.
McCarron's 30 goals paced the ECHL circuit at the time of the league announcement. The Everblades captain will finish the season on at least a point-per-game average. Up until the All-ECHL selection, the forward had posted 67 points (30g-37a) in 65 games with Florida. McCarron's goal, assist, and point totals this season are all career highs.
Hildebrand was named the top goaltender in ECHL during the regular season thanks to a 23-10-1-3 record, the league's fourth best goals-against average (2.41), and the fourth best save-percentage (.924) in the ECHL leading up to his selection. Hildebrand is the only ECHL goaltender at the time of the league announcement to rank within the top four in wins, goals-against average, and save percentage.
McCarron Named Plus Performer of the Year: The ECHL on Sunday announced that Florida Everblades' forward John McCarron is the recipient of the AMI Graphics Plus Performer of the Year award after finishing the season with a plus-minus rating of +29. It is the fourth straight season a member of the Everblades has won the award, following Ben Masella in 2019-20, Joe Cox in 2018-19 and Logan Roe in 2017-18.
McCarron, who last week earned a spot on the All-ECHL First Team, was even or better in 52 of his 68 this season. The 29-year-old led the league this season with 31 goals and was tied for third with 68 points.
ECHL Stories from June 6, 2021
- Indy Fuel Open Kelly Cup Playoffs Tuesday at Home - Indy Fuel
- Blades Head to Playoffs with Hardware in Hand - Florida Everblades
- ECHL Transactions - June 6 - ECHL
- Aaron Luchuk Wins ECHL Scoring Title - Orlando Solar Bears
- Orlando's Luchuk Wins ECHL Scoring Title - ECHL
- Florida's McCarron Is AMI Graphics/ECHL Plus Performer of the Year - ECHL
- Gerard & Gahagen Lead Utah to 6-0 Victory - Utah Grizzlies
- How the West Was Won - Allen Americans
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
