Everblades Reel in Walleye
March 29, 2025 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release
ESTERO, Fla. - The Florida Everblades returned to the win column and sent a sellout crowd of 7,496 Southwest Florida hockey fans home happy with a wire-to-wire 3-2 victory over the Toledo Walleye Saturday night at Hertz Arena. Saturday's victory earned the Blades a split with the ECHL Central Division leaders.
Colin Theisen staked the Everblades to a 1-0 first-period lead with his 19th goal of the season at the 9:47 mark of the opening stanza.
Florida doubled its lead on Tarun Fizer's 13th marker of the year just over five minutes into the second period. A Brandon Hawkins goal 42 seconds later brought the Walleye back within one, but Colton Hargrove struck on the power play to put the Blades back on top by a pair at 12:43, extending the good guys' lead to 3-2 after 40 minutes.
Hawkins' second goal of the night for Toledo, a power-play marker at 9:07 of the third period closed out the scoring and a 3-2 Everblades victory.
Florida netminder Cam Johnson stopped 25 of 27 shots to earn his ECHL-best 35th win of the season. The Everblades outshot the Walleye 35-27, winning the shots on goal battle in each of the three periods.
Next up for the Everblades is a two-game jaunt to Savannah on April 5-6 before the boys return to Hertz Arena for three games against the Atlanta Gladiators on April 9, 11-12, a final tune-up before the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs get underway. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
---
BLADES BITS
Saturday's crowd of 7,496 was the Everblades' 17th sellout of the season in 33 openings at Hertz Arena.
Three different Everblades scored goals and five other skaters added assists, including Carson Gicewicz and Josh Ho-Sang. Gicewicz got back in the point column after seeing his nine-game point streak come to an end on Friday, while Ho-Sang picked up his first point since rejoining the Blades in time for Friday's game.
Harrison Israels also notched his first professional point with a helper on Tarun Fizer's second-period goal.
The Everblades (45-14-7-1) kept pace with South Carolina (48-14-3-2), a 7-1 winner at Kalamazoo on Saturday. Florida remains in second place, three points out of the South Division lead with five regular-season games left on the docket.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from March 29, 2025
- Sedley, Primeau Score, Royals Drop Middle Match of Weekend Series with Mariners, 5-2 - Reading Royals
- Bison Comeback Falls Short - Bloomington Bison
- Thunder Suffers 4-1 Setback at Kansas City - Wichita Thunder
- Komets Hang On For 3-2 Win Over Bloomington - Fort Wayne Komets
- Swamp Rabbits Sweep Gladiators in Wild Finale - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- Everblades Reel in Walleye - Florida Everblades
- Hawkins Scores Twice in Loss to Florida - Toledo Walleye
- Mavericks Pull Away Late on Racing Night, Top Thunder 4-1 - Kansas City Mavericks
- Admirals Shine In Commanding Victory Against Ghost Pirates - Norfolk Admirals
- 'Clones Fall to Nailers 4-1 - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Army Makes History with Win 148 - Wheeling Nailers
- Mariners Bounce Back, Beat Reading 5-2 - Maine Mariners
- Thunder Shut Down Fuel Again, 1-0 - Adirondack Thunder
- Stingrays Tie Franchise Wins Record with 48th Win of the Season in 7-1 Victory over K-Wings - South Carolina Stingrays
- Wichita Signs Netminder Roddy Ross; Gormley Recalled - Wichita Thunder
- K-Wings Host 5,081 for Pucks N' Paws, Fall to Stingrays Saturday - Kalamazoo Wings
- Railers Fall 4-2 to Lions in Afternoon Game - Worcester Railers HC
- ECHL Transactions - March 29 - ECHL
- Americans Look for the Series Win - Allen Americans
- ECHL Announces Fine, Suspension - ECHL
- Wichita Heads Back on the Road for the Next Three Starting Tonight at KC - Wichita Thunder
- Game Day #64 - Worcester Railers vs. Lions de Trois-Rivières - Trois-Rivieres Lions
- Rush Game Notes: March 29, 2025 at Tulsa Oilers - Rapid City Rush
- Lions Lose in a Playoff-Atmosphere Type Game - Trois-Rivieres Lions
- Knight Monsters Hold on Late in Thrilling 3-2 Win - Tahoe Knight Monsters
- Americans Earn Big 5-2 Win in Utah - Allen Americans
- Steelheads Outshoot Knight Monsters 40-17 But Lose, 3-2 - Idaho Steelheads
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.
