Everblades Nipped in Greenville

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Four different players scored goals for the Florida Everblades, but the Greenville Swamp Rabbits had five different players find the net, as the Blades closed out the 2023 calendar year with a 5-4 setback Sunday evening at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, snapping the Everblades’ three-game winning streak.

The only goal in a quiet first period went to the homestanding Swamp Rabbits, as Ryan Francis opened the scoring just 8:36 after the opening draw. Greenville picked up the opening goal for the first time in the current three-game set which started with a pair of Everblades’ victories on Thursday and Friday in Estero.

Action picked up in the second period, as both squads found the opposing goal twice, alternating goals on two separate occasions as Greenville took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.

Greenville got an even-strength goal from Ben Freeman (0:51) and an unassisted shorthanded goal from Josh McKechney (9:38). For the good guys, a couple of red-hot Everblades got in on the action, as Patrick Holway (3:51) and Sean Josling (10:09) connected to keep Florida within one goal.

In that middle frame, Holway stuffed home his fourth goal in the past three games, extending his point streak to six games, while Josling’s power-play blast ran his point streak to five games. 

The Everblades finally got the equalizer in the opening minutes of the third period, as Bobo Carpenter potted a shorthanded goal at the 2:33 mark to knot the game at 3-3, but Carter Souch regained the lead for Greenville with a power-play goal at 3:34 to put the Swamp Rabbits back on top 4-3.  

Greenville’s Joe Leahy tacked on a power-play goal to extend the Swamp Rabbits’ lead to 5-3 at 15:15 of the final period, but Cam Hausinger answered for the Everblades, potting a blast from behind the blue line to trim the deficit to 5-4, closing out the scoring with 3:52 to play. 

In goal, Cam Johnson (9-6-3-0) made 24 saves for the Everblades, while Ryan Bednard (8-7-0-0) registered 23 stops for the Swamp Rabbits, which claimed a 29-27 edge in shots on goal.

The four-game road trip will continue with a pair of games at the Atlanta Gladiators on Wednesday, January 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, January 5 at 7:00 p.m., before the Blades return to Greenville on Saturday, January 6 at 4:00 p.m. Following the road trip, the Blades will be back in action at Hertz Arena for a three-game set with the Savannah Ghost Pirates that gets underway on Wednesday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m. The series will continue on Friday, January 12 and Saturday, January 13 at 7:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., respectively.

Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets. 

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BLADES BITS

• Patrick Holway continues to be red hot for the Blades. His second-period goal gave him four goals in the last three games, while also running his point streak to six contests, with eight points on four goals and four assists over that run dating back to December 20 in Jacksonville. 
• Sean Josling’s second-period power-play goal extended his point streak to five games, as he has registered six points on four goals and two helpers dating back to December 22 in Savannah.
• Zach Tsekos continues to heat up, notching points in back-to-back games. His second-period assist comes on the heels of a goal in Friday’s middle stanza.
• In the third period, Bobo Carpenter’s shorthanded goal was his second goal in the three-game set with Greenville, while Cam Hausinger’s goal gave him points in two of the three games.

Sunday Night’s Scoresheet

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