Everblades Ready to Bounce Back on Saturday

WHO: Florida Everblades vs. Greenville Swamp RabbitsWHERE: Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville, SC)WHEN: Saturday, January 29 at 7:05 pmBROADCAST: 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 athttps://espnswfl.com. 

ESTERO, Fla –  Following a 4-3 loss to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in the opening game of a three-game series on Friday, the Florida Everblades will look to knot the series at one game apiece when the squads do it again on Saturday.  The puck drops at 7:05 pm. 

THE OPPONENT: Following Friday night’s 4-3 victory, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits improved their record to 12-15-3-3, which places them fifth in the South Division with 30 points and a .455 points percentage. Friday’s win over the Everblades gives the Swamp Rabbits a three-game winning streak and improves their record over the last 10 games to 3-5-0-2. Inside the friendly surroundings of Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville is now 9-6-3-0.

THE SERIES: Having locked tails with the Swamp Rabbits five times this season, the Everblades hold a 3-2 advantage in the season series. After the Blades opened the 2021-22 series with three straight wins by a 12-5 combined margin, Greenville has won two straight games between the rivals by a 7-4 count. Currently, the Blades are on their final regular-season trip to Greenville, but the teams will meet for one more series in Estero on March 2, 4 and 5.

THE KILLER P’S STRIKE: Friday night, the Everblades jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead on Nathan Perkovich’s eighth goal of the season, a power-play tally just 61 seconds into the contest. Greenville would knot the score just over minutes later, but a second-period goal by Avery Peterson, his fourth in four games since joining the Blades, and Joe Pendenza’s 18th, put Florida in front 3-1 after two periods. Three third-period goals, including two in the final five minutes, gave the Swamp Rabbits a 4-3 win. Both Peterson (4 G) and Pendenza (2 G, 2 A) find themselves on four-game point streaks, with Peterson’s four-game goal streak tops by an Everblade this season.

TIME FOR A NEW STREAK: Blake Winiecki’s seven-game point streak came to an end on Friday. During his last seven games, the ECHL All-Star registered 11 points on five goals and six assists, while also scoring his 100th professional goal last Saturday in a 3-2 win over Atlanta. and his 100th goal as an Everblade on Wednesday in a 5-2 win over Utah. In the All-Star Game, Winiecki scored two goals and picked up an assist. Back in November, Winiecki assembled a 10-game point streak in which he tallied 16 points on 10 goals and six assists.

SHORTY SPECIALISTS: Joe Pendenza converted a shorthanded goal for the Blades Friday night, marking the third time in five games that a Blade has lit the lamp while down a skater. Looking back, Avery Peterson and John McCarron also poked home a shorty on January 22 and January 17, respectively in games against Atlanta. Among the 27 ECHL teams, the Everblades are tied for third place with nine shorthanded goals.

SURVEYING THE STATS: The Everblades rank in the ECHL top-10 across the board in several key categories – goals for per game (7th, 3.41), goals allowed per game (3rd, 2.59), power play percentage (10th, 20.4%) and penalty kill percentage (3rd, 84.6%). Florida is one of three teams sitting in the top-10 in those four categories, joining Newfoundland and Toledo, both of which are in first place in their respective divisions.CHECKING THE BOARDS: The Everblades continue to take a big chomp out of the ECHL leader boards with most teams past the midpoint of the 2021-22 season. Four Blades continue to rank among the league’s top-10 point producers, led by ECHL points leader Blake Winiecki (45 pts). In addition to Winiecki who also stands second on the goal-scoring list with 19 markers and is tied for second with 26 assists, John McCarron (T5th, 38), Alex Aleardi (T7th, 37) and Joe Pendenza (T7th, 37) are also in the top-10, with Aleardi also coming in third in the loop with 18 goals.

ADDITIONAL LEADERS: John McCarron is tied for ECHL lead with four shorthanded goals. Xavier Bouchard and John McCarron are tied for third in plus-minus at plus-21. Jake Jaremko is tied for fourth among ECHL rookies with 29 points, while his 20 assists rank in a tie for third among newcomers.

AFTER GREENVILLE: Following the current series in Greenville, the Everblades will head south and make a two-day pit stop in Central Florida for a pair of contests against the Orlando Solar Bears on Thursday, February 3 and Friday, February 4, with both matchups at the Amway Center getting underway at 7:00 pm. The Blades and Bears will meet up at Hertz Arena on Saturday, February 5 at 7:00 pm. The first February home game will be on the calendar. In addition to our Saturday Night Tailgate party featuring live music by James Prather from 5-7 pm, it will also be Beach Night! Break out your swim trunks & sunscreen courtesy of Molly Moo’s Ice Cream. Be one of the first people here to secure your Everblades beach bag as a giveaway! Grab your tickets for the game by visiting HERE.

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JOIN THE FUN

Become a member of the Florida Everblades family by securing a great seat location and big savings with a Blades 365 Membership!

Purchase a new Voucher 12 package that allows you to use 12 tickets in any quantity during the 2021-22 season to earn the exclusive benefits of being a Blades 365 Member! To view the Blades 365 Membership savings, benefits and options click HERE.

Everblades put the FUN in FUNdraising! There is no handling of money or tickets and no limit to the amount of money your group can make with the Everblades easy-to-run online Fundraiser! For more information, or to reserve a Fundraiser Night at an Everblades regular season home game, call or text (239) 948-7825.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

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

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