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ECHL Florida Everblades

Everblades Return Home Looking to Eclipse Solar Bears

November 17, 2021 - ECHL (ECHL)
Florida Everblades News Release


ESTERO, Fla. - After splitting four games in a grueling five-day stretch which included a successful 2-0-1 road trip, the first-place Florida Everblades return to Southwest Florida to take on the Orlando Solar Bears in a key ECHL South Division battle Wednesday night at 7:30 pm.

THE OPPONENT: The ECHL affiliate of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the AHL's Syracuse Crunch, third-place Orlando comes to town for the final stop of a five-game road trip. A 6-3 win at South Carolina on Sunday snapped the Bears' two-game losing streak. Riding a 10-game point streak, Aaron Luchuk tops all Orlando players with eight goals and 10 assists, good for an ECHL-best 18 points.

THE SERIES: Florida sports an 86-34-10 (.700) all-time record against Orlando, despite the Solar Bears winning the only matchup of the teams this season. Last Wednesday, the teams faced off for the first time in 2021-22, and Orlando claimed a 3-2 victory despite the Blades getting a goal and an assist from Levko Koper and a 28-save showing from Tomas Vomacka. The longtime Sunshine State rivals met 27 times during the 2020-21 season and the Everblades came away with a 17-8-1-1 advantage.

BLADES LEAD THE SOUTH: Saturday's thrilling 5-4 come-from-behind victory at Greenville allowed the Everblades to move into sole possession of first place in the ECHL South Division. With a 6-3-1-1- record, Florida has earned 14 points and sits two points ahead of Norfolk (6-4-0-0) in the South. Across the entire ECHL, only the Newfoundland Growlers (8-2-0-0) have more points than the Blades, as the current North Division leader sports 16 points on the year.

TEAM COMPARISON: The Solar Bears and Everblades rank 12th and 13th, respectively, in scoring offense among the 27 ECHL clubs. Orlando is averaging 3.30 goals per game, while Florida is right behind them at 3.18 goals per contest. On the defensive end, the Everblades rank fifth, allowing just 2.64 goals per game, while the Solar Bears stand T-17th with 3.30 goals surrendered per game.

WINIECKI STAYS HOT: Blake Winiecki currently sports a seven-game point streak. The Lakeville, Minn. native has tallied at least one point in each of the Everblades' seven November contests, registering seven goals and four assists over that span. Winiecki is tied for the ECHL lead with eight goals and ranks fifth with 14 points.

CLIMB, CAPTAIN, CLIMB: Everblades captain John McCarron now has 13 points on six goals and seven assists this season, continuing his ascent towards the top of the Everblades' career leaders list. While donning a Blades sweater, McCarron has 128 career regular-season goals, third-most in franchise history. The captain is just 17 goals shy of Reggie Berg's all-time mark of 145. He also ranks fourth in Blades history with 170 regular-season assists, just 37 shy of Tom Buckley's team record of 207. Including playoff games, Captain Everblade has tallied 146 goals and is five shy of Matthieu Roy who sits in second place with 150, while his 198 assists are three behind Berg's 201 for second place.

RALPH ON THE RADAR: Everblades veteran head coach Brad Ralph is zeroing in on both his 500th win as a head coach and 250th victory behind the Blades bench. The veteran leader sports a stellar 490-210-65 (.683) career mark in 12 seasons and a 239-92-34 (.701) tally in his sixth season guiding the Everblades.

PREVIEW: Florida Everblades vs. Orlando Solar Bears

WHO: Florida Everblades vs. Orlando Solar Bears

WHERE: Hertz Arena (Estero, Fla.)

WHEN: Wednesday, November 17 at 7:30 pm

TICKETS: Purchase tickets for Wednesday's game and all future Everblades games HERE.

PROMOTIONS: Join us at every Wednesday home game for $3 Bud Light drafts and $3 John Morrell hot dogs! Also, all college students can purchase a $5 ticket to the game at the Hertz Arena box office with a valid student ID.

BROADCAST: Watch every Florida Everblades game on FloHockey.TV. Listen to the exciting game action on ESPN Southwest Florida on 770 AM, 98.1 FM, 104.3 FM and online at https://espnswfl.com.

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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.

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