ESTERO, Fla. – The Florida Everblades added a 3-2 win to their regular-season record after Anthony Romano scored two goals against the Reading Royals at Hertz Arena in front of 7,491 fans.
The Everblades opened the scoring in the first period with a goal from Cole Moberg, marking his fifth of the season and giving Florida an early spark. Tarun Fizer picked up the helper for the goal.
In the middle stanza, the Everblades added to their lead with a goal from Romano, set up by Cole Moberg and Sam Stange, while continuing to hold their lines and build momentum. Despite multiple 5-on-3 opportunities, Florida couldn’t extend the lead. Reading responded with their late first goal of the night from Hunter Johannes, assisted by Connor Kurth and Liam Devlin.
Romano added an insurance marker, his second of the night. The goal was off a setup from Stange, who notched his second assist, along with Hudson Elynuik as the secondary assist. Cam Johnson came up big for Florida with a penalty shot stop to preserve the lead, but after a late scrum led to a 6-on-3 advantage, Reading cut it to a one-goal game as Brandon Saigeon scored with help from Kurth and Johannes.
The Everblades regular season came to an end after 72 games, and they will begin round one of their playoff series next week, on Friday, April 24, on home ice at Hertz Arena.
BLADES BITS
- Defenseman Jordan Sambrook moves to a +62 rating, which is the most by any ECHL player all-time in a single season.
- The Florida Everblades hold a new record for the fewest goals allowed in a single season in ECHL history
