BLADES FALL TO ORLANDO IN OT

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Florida Everblades jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second period, but ultimately dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Orlando Solar Bears Saturday night at Kia Center. With the overtime setback, the Everblades saw a four-game winning streak come to an end, but still gained a point in the ECHL standings.  With that point, the first-place Everblades extended their current point streak to five games, picking up nine of a possible 10 points over that stretch.

After the opening draw, the going was slow as the teams battled through a scoreless first period in which the Everblades came away with an 11-9 edge in shots on goal. Both sides enjoyed good looks on special teams, particularly the Blades with several strong shorthanded opportunities. Florida also stymied Orlando’s one completed man-up opportunity and the first 38 seconds of a second power-play shift that carried over into the second period without incident. The Solar Bears, ranked first in the ECHL on the home penalty kill, survived the Everblades lone power-play opportunity early in the frame. 

Alex Kile would snap the stalemate with his sixth goal of the season at 8:07 of the second period, giving the Everblades a 1-0 lead on the team’s first shot on goal of the middle frame. Scoring for the second straight night, Kile blasted home a feed from Colin Theisen from the left circle, with Connor Doherty also picking up an assist. The Blades would carry the one-goal lead into the second intermission despite being doubled up by a 10-5 margin in the shot department over the middle 20 minutes.

Orlando would break through with only goal of the third period just 1:35 into the final frame, as Jack Adams’ seventh goal of the season knotted the game at 1-1 as the contest eventually worked its way into overtime. Both teams took six shots on goal in the final stage of regulation.

The extra session was a back-and-forth affair that looked to go into a shootout, but Orlando’s Spencer Kersten scored the game winner with 56 seconds left on the clock. Florida claimed a 4-2 edge in shots on goal in overtime.

Orlando outshot the Everblades 27-26 as both goaltenders turned in strong performances. For the Blades, David Tendeck (1-0-1-0) registered a season-high 25 saves, while Solar Bears netminder Ryan Fanti (4-10-1-0) matched Tendeck with 25 saves of his own.

The Everblades will head west – way west – for the first of three games against the Idaho Steelheads on Wednesday, January 8 at 9:10 p.m. EST. The series opener marks the first meeting of the clubs since Florida swept the Steelheads in the 2023 Kelly Cup Finals four games to none. Following the series in Boise, the Blades will return to Hertz Arena to a three-game set against the Savannah Ghost Pirates on Wednesday, January 15. That 7:30 p.m. contest will feature an always popular Hump Day Deal, offering fans hot dogs, Bud Lights and Labatt Blues for just $3.00 apiece. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

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BLADES BITS

The Everblades saw the team’s fourth four-game winning streak in the season’s first 31 games come to an end. In addition to the most recent streak, Florida opened the season with four straight wins October 19-30 and matched that feat November 9-16, November 20-28 and December 27 through January 3. With points in the last five games, next on the radar is the Blades’ seven-game point streak from earlier this season, as the Blades posted a 6-0-1-0 mark and claimed 13 of a possible 14 points from November 20 through December 5.

Alex Kile potted a second-period goal for the second straight contest and also ran his point streak to three games. Colin Theisen had the primary helper, extending his assist streak to three games and stretching out his point streak to five contests, with a goal and four apples in that span. Connor Doherty also notched an assist on the Kile tally, his first point from the blue line in five games.

Both Carson Gicewicz and David Tendeck reached career milestones on Saturday, appearing in their 200^th and 100^th professional games, respectively.

 

Saturday Night’s Scoresheet

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