Blades' Special Teams Are Special in 6-3 Win at SC
Published on January 25, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
Florida Everblades forward Anthony Romano (left) and defenseman Zach Berzolla
(Florida Everblades)
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.- Anthony Romano registered two goals and an assist, Zach Berzolla and Oliver Chau both notched a goal and an assist, and Ben Brar snapped a 3-3 tie in the third period to lead the Florida Everblades to a 6-3 victory over the South Carolina Stingrays in a spirited game between the top two teams in the ECHL's South Division Sunday afternoon in North Charleston Coliseum.
The Everblades' special teams units came up big, striking twice on the power play and once while shorthanded.
Berzolla opened the scoring for the Everblades just 1:38 into a busy and physical first period. His second goal of the season came after a shot was stopped by South Carolina goalie Mitchell Gibson but deflected into the net off a Stingray player to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.
The good guys' early lead was short-lived, as Simon Pinard tied the contest for the Stingrays at 4:57 with his second goal in as many games. Pinard's 14th goal came just 27 seconds after his team failed to score despite holding a two-man advantage. Everblades netminder Will Cranley faced five shots on goal during a frantic two-minute stretch.
Both teams took 12 shots on goal in the opening frame, which ended with a pair of scraps in the closing minute and after the final whistle. All told, the bitter rivals ended the frame with 26 combined penalty minutes on 13 total infractions.
While pleasantries continued throughout the second period, the Everblades' special teams took over in the middle frame. Romano's shorthanded goal off the post at 4:18 and Chau's power-play marker at the 11:16 mark lifted Florida to a 3-1 lead. Romano's tally was the Blades' eighth shorty of the season and gave the ECHL All-Star 13 goals, while Chau's man-up marker was the captain's sixth.
South Carolina's Josh Wilkins cut into the Everblades' lead with his second goal of the series, making it 3-2 at 14:31 of the second frame, as the Blades' lead held into the final period. Nine infractions in 34 minutes lit up the scoreboard in the middle 20 minutes, headlined by a 10-minute misconduct and a game misconduct on South Carolina's Bryan Moore at the 10:16 mark.
The Stingrays pulled even for the second time in the contest at 6:24 of the third period, as Pinard's second goal of the afternoon, his 15th this season, knotted the game at 3-3.
For a third time on the afternoon, the Everblades took the lead- this time for good. Brar blasted home a picture-perfect feed from Kyle Penney for his fifth goal of the year- and second in two games- as the Blades pulled ahead 4-3 with 7:19 to play. Two goals in the final two minutes, an empty-netter by Jesse Lansdell and a power-play tally by Romano, his second of the game, closed out the 6-3 victory.
Florida won the shots on goal battle 32-26, with Cranley (13-2-0-0) making 23 saves to get back in the win column.
With only one minor penalty on South Carolina in the final period, the teams ended play with 62 penalty minutes on 23 total infractions. The host Stingrays accounted for 13 penalties and 42 minutes, compared to 10 penalties and 20 minutes for the Everblades.
The Everblades will return home to open a three-game series versus the Atlanta Gladiators on Wednesday, January 28. Puck drop at Hertz Arena for the midweek tilt is slated for 7:30 p.m. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
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BLADES BITS
With the game-winning goal, Ben Brar scored goals in back-to-back games for the second time this season, matching the feat he originally accomplished December 7 in Norfolk and December 12 versus Orlando.
Anthony Romano's shorthanded goal gave the Everblades eight shorties on the year, second-best in the ECHL. With two goals and an assist, Romano extended his point streak to four games.
Oliver Chau and Zach Berzolla both scored their first goals since finding the net in the Blades' series at Norfolk on December 5 and 7, respectively. Berzolla added an assist for his first two-point game since that December 7 tilt.
With Sunday's victory, the Everblades improved to 3-0-1-0 vs. South Carolina and captured the first win by the visiting team in the season series. This series marked the last regular-season trip to North Charleston and the Palmetto State. The Stingrays will visit Hertz Arena for games on April 10 and 11.
Images from this story
 Florida Everblades forward Anthony Romano (left) and defenseman Zach Berzolla |
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