BLADES PUT UP SNOWMAN IN ROUT OF BUNNIES

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Sparked by a hat trick from Carson Gicewicz, the Florida Everblades scored six first-period goals and never looked back in an 8-0 rout of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Saturday afternoon in Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Gicewicz scored the first two Florida goals in a span of 1:27 to stake the Blades to a 2-0 lead just under nine minutes into the contest. Later in the first period, Gary Haden scored in his Everblades debut, while Kyle Betts, Oliver Chau and Craig Needham also potted goals in the opening frame to give the good guys a 6-0 lead at the first intermission.

Chau added his second shorthanded goal of the match late in the second frame, while Gicewicz finished off his three-goal performance with the Blades’ final goal late in the middle period to close out the scoring.

Gicewicz also added an assist in the first four-point game turned in by an Everblade this season. 

Netminder Cam Johnson turned aside all 23 shots he faced for his ECHL-best sixth win of the season – in seven starts. Johnson’s second shutout of the campaign also moved him into a tie for the league lead.

In the playmaking department, a season-high nine Everblades combined for 11 total assists, led by Santino Centorame and Colton Hargrove, both of whom registered a pair of helpers.

Besides the four-point effort by Gicewicz, Chau put up his first three-point game of the season, while Haden added an assist to join Centorame and Hargrove with two-point outings. 

The Everblades and host Swamp Rabbits will square off again Sunday at 3:05 p.m. Florida looks to complete a 4-0 road trip before returning to Hertz Arena on Wednesday to open a three-game series with the Kalamazoo Wings at 7:30 p.m. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

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BLADES BITS

The Everblades have won four straight games for the second time this season and will look to make it five straight wins for the first time in the regular season since winning the team’s final six games of the 2023-24 regular season.

Special teams came through in Saturday’s 8-0 victory. Carson Gicewicz scored on the Everblades’ only power-play opportunity of the game for the second of his three goals, while the Blades became the first ECHL team to score three shorthanded goals in a game this season. Florida also killed all four Greenville power plays, as the Blades are a perfect 12-for-12 on the penalty kill over the last four games.

Saturday’s eight-goal game was the Everblades first eight spot since turning in an 8-1 victory at Kansas City in the opening game of the 2024 Kelly Cup Finals, which Florida went on to win in five games. The Blades last scored eight goals the regular season in an 8-5 triumph at Allen on February 15, 2023.

Saturday Night’s Scoresheet

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