Everblades chomp on Swamp Rabbits again

GREENVILLE, SC — Nathan Perkovich scored the game-winning goal on the power play with 8:07 left in the third period to send the Florida Everblades past the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, 4-2, on Friday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Jeremy Helvig stopped 25 shots in his first start back with the Everblades (16-5-4-0, 36 points) since being reassigned from Charlotte, and Ben Masella, Zach Nastasiuk, and John McCarron added goals in the sixth straight win and 13th consecutive game with a standings point for Florida.

With the game tied at two and Florida on its second power play of the night, Kyle Platzer located Perkovich in the low slot and Perkovich promptly directed the feed past Greenville goaltender Chris Nell to give Florida the lead for good.

McCarron then scored on an empty net with 43 seconds left in the game to seal the Everblades fourth win in their fourth straight meeting with Greenville (10-16-3-0, 23 points). Masella started the scoring at the 13:53 mark of the first period with his first goal in a Everblades jersey. Shane Walsh helped create the scoring sequence as he carried the puck in the zone, applied the brakes, and then located Masella alone at the top of the right circle. After receiving the pass, Masella zipped a shot past Nell.

On its Teddy Bear Toss night, Greenville sent stuffed animals flying onto the ice with Chris Izmirlian’s goal almost halfway through period two. In his first game back with Greenville, Travis Howe worked the puck free behind the goal line and sent it to the low slot for Izmirlian, who snapped a shot past Florida goaltender Jeremy Helvig.

Following a lengthy delay to clean up the teddy bears, Florida quickly responded when play resumed to wrestle the lead back. Justin Wade sent the puck on goal from the right-wing wall, and when it popped into midair just outside the crease, Nastasiuk whacked it into the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season just 2:58 after Greenville had tied the score.

Greenville evened the game at two less than five minutes into the third period on a deflection goal by Thomas Ebbing, his fifth goal of the season. The puck flew high into the air in front of Helvig, and Ebbing managed to get a piece of it to direct it past the blocker side of the Everblades rookie netminder.

Florida stayed unbeaten in regulation (10-0-3-0) when scoring the first goal of the game.

The Everblades wrap up the three-game weekend with a Saturday night matchup in Jacksonville against the Icemen. The puck drops at 7 p.m.