NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -ECHL All-Star Cam Johnson made 38 saves, Joe Pendenza snapped a scoreless tie early in the second period and Brad Morrison picked up a key goal in the third period as the Florida Everblades registered an impressive 3-1 win over the South Carolina Stingrays Sunday afternoon at North Charleston Coliseum.
The victory was the 500th professional win for Everblades head coach Brad Ralph and lifted Florida into first place in the ECHL South Division.
The Everblades’ second victory over the Stingrays in as many games was just the second regulation win posted by an opponent at South Carolina, which entered the two-game series with a 13-0-2-0 home record in 2022-23.
Johnson will head to Monday’s 2023 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by Optima Health and Sentara Healthcare with a league-best 17 wins, two more than any other league netminder.
Neither team managed to get on the scoreboard in an even opening period, as both squads collected 10 shots on goal and came up empty on one power play opportunity apiece during the first 20 minutes.
The Everblades seized the lead just over four minutes into the second period, as Joe Pendenza snapped the scoreless deadlock, firing home his 10th goal of the year off feeds from Nathan Staios and Blake Winiecki. Pendenza extended his point streak to nine games as the veteran has rolled off 11 points on five goals and six assists during that stretch. South Carolina outshot the Blades 13-8 in the middle frame.
Morrison doubled the Everblades’ lead with a power-play goal at 1:05 of the third period, his second goal of the season. Stefan Leblanc picked up his 18th assist of the season and the 100th point of his professional career as Florida pulled ahead 2-0.
South Carolina’s Kevin O’Neil trimmed the Blades’ lead to 2-1 with a marker midway through the frame, but Oliver Chau’s empty-net goal, his ninth tally of the season off an assist by Pendenza, regained a two-goal lead for Florida, a 3-1 winner.
In the third period, the Stingrays turned up the heat on Johnson, outshooting the Everblades 16-8 in the final period, but the all-star was up to the task, making 15 saves.
With the long road trip in the books, the Blades will enjoy a much-needed respite before returning to action on Friday, January 20 for the first of a two-game set with the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Friday’s tilt gets started at 7:30 p.m., while the teams will also hook up on Saturday, January 21 at 7:00 p.m.
With Florida Everblades release