Roy's big night helps pave way to Florida's 7th straight win

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Cam Johnson turned away 33 shots, and Hugo Roy put up a team-high three points (1g, 2a) in a 4-2 win for the Florida Everblades over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Friday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

BOX SCORE

Florida (29-11-2-2, 62 pts.) scored the first two goals of the game and then added two more in the second period against Greenville (23-22-1-1, 48 pts.) to pick up its seventh straight win, a season-high.

It was a pair of defensemen that put the ‘Blades up 2-0 in the opening period. Florida blueliner Cody Sol converted after a strong shift in the offensive zone to make it 1-0 with eight minutes left in the first. Zach Magwood dropped the puck along the right-wing wall with Cam Maclise. From the corner, Maclise zipped a pass to the back post for Sol, and he lifted it upstairs past Greenville goaltender Jeremy Helvig.

With 2:08 left in the first, Logan Roe then increased Florida’s lead to two. Following a stop by Helvig on Roy’s shot in the right circle, Roe tracked down the rebound and shelved it short side past the glove of Helvig.

It took a five-on-three power play for Greenville to finally solve Johnson, as Michael Pelech punched in a rebound with 13:52 gone in the second period.

Florida had two quick answers to grab its largest lead of the game. With the ‘Blades still on a penalty kill after Pelech’s goal, Roy forced a turnover inside Florida’s defensive zone and went coast to coast to strike shorthanded, punching in a rebound from his initial chance only 74 seconds later.

Less than two minutes later, Justin Auger moved the advantage to three on his team-leading 19th goal of the season. Battling a stick check behind the net, Auger managed to drag the puck into the left circle and squeeze a shot between the legs of Helvig with 3:01 left in the second.

Greenville trimmed its lead back to two on a goal by former Everblades forward Nathan Perkovich. Florida initially blocked the shot, but Perkovich picked it up in the slot and went over the glove of Johnson with 4:57 gone in the third.

But Johnson and the 'Blades locked down the Swamp Rabbits in the rest of the third period to pick up their fifth win in seven matchups with Greenville this year. 

'BLADES BITES

• Florida led 4-1 after the second period and is now 23-0-0-0 when leading after 40 minutes this season. 
• The 'Blades improved to 5-2-0-0 against Greenville this season, including a 3-1-0-0 mark at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. 
• Florida is now 9-1-0-1 when scoring first on the road. 
• Johnson's win was his fourth straight on the road, establishing a new season-high for consecutive road wins by a 'Blades netminder. 
• Roy tied his career-high with a three-point game. He also tabbed three points (1g, 2a) on Dec. 28 vs. Jacksonville.   

NEXT UPFlorida finishes off the weekend with a matchup in North Charleston, South Carolina, against the Stingrays. Faceoff is set for 6:05 p.m. ET on Saturday. 

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The Florida Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Nashville Predators and AHL's Milwaukee Admirals