ESTERO, Fla. – Captain Joe Pendenza snapped a 1-1 tie in the closing minutes of the second period, and the red-hot Oliver Chau collected three points to lift the Florida Everblades to a 3-1 victory over the Worcester Railers Wednesday night at Hertz Arena.
In the first meeting between the Everblades and the Railers since 2021, the Blades wasted little time getting on the board, scoring the only goal of the opening period just 5:12 into the contest. Sean Josling registered his 13th goal of the season, tipping in a blast from blueliner Evan Nause, while Chau also earned a secondary assist.
Florida’s 1-0 lead held deep into the second period, but Worcester’s Jake Pivonka took advantage of the first power-play opportunity claimed by either team, tying the game at 1-1 at the 17:06 mark, just 34 seconds into the visitors’ man-up opportunity.
The Everblades restored the one-goal lead by the end of the middle stanza, thanks to Pendenza’s 16th goal of the season just over a minute later at 18:14. Pendenza converted the pretty tic-tac-toe tally off passes from Josling and Chau, both of whom registered their second points of the evening to give the good guys a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Dual fighting majors for Florida’s Cam Hausinger and Worcester’s Pivonka at 1:35 of the final frame sparked the Everblades, as the Greenshirts doubled the lead to two goals. Chau picked up his third point of the night – and seventh in the last three games – with a power-play goal at the 2:56 mark, his 17th goal of the campaign, which came off assists by Will Reilly and Pendenza to give the Blades a 3-1 lead that they would not relinquish.
Florida outshot the visitors from New England by a 37-24 margin, due in large part by a 30-16 edge over the final two periods. The victorious Cam Johnson (16-10-4-2) made 23 saves, while his counterpart between the pipes, Worcester’s John Muse (10-5-1-0), made 34 saves in a busy evening.
The three-game set against the Railers continues Friday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, February 24 at 7:00 p.m. Puck drop for Friday’s game will be 7:30 p.m., while Saturday’s matchup will begin at 7:00 p.m.
It’s slated to be busy couple of days on the promotions front, as Friday’s game is Star Wars Night with the team wearing Star Wars specialty jerseys that can be bid on using the Dash Auction App. It is also a 239 Friday, with two tickets, two churros and a game program available for the special price of $39.
Saturday’s contest is also First Responders Night, presented by the Cape Coral Professional Firefighters with Blades players donning specialty jerseys for MDA and also available to be bid on using the Dash Auction App. Saturday also features a pre-game tailgate with live music.
Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
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