Blades out to protect division lead
ECHL East Division-leading Florida Everblades return to the ice Friday night for three road games in three days, trying to pad their one-point lead in the standings.
The first two games are against the South Carolina Stingrays (3-8), who have earned just nine points and trail the Everblades (6-3) with 13 points. The road trip ends Sunday at Gwinnett (5-3), which stands fourth in the division with 10 points.
The Everblades started making several roster moves on Wednesday. Forward Jeff Costello was reassigned to the Blades from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, while forward Kevin Lynch was loaned to Syracuse.
Additionally, defenseman Mike Cornell was loaned to the Springfield Falcons of the AHL.
Costello rejoins the Blades after going scoreless in two appearances during his call-up to Syracuse. The 6-foot, 212-pound rookie has made three appearances this season with the Blades. Costello totaled 82 points in his four-year career at the University of Notre Dame through 2014. He is a fifth-round draft choice of the Ottawa Senators in the 2009 NHL Draft.
Lynch heads to Syracuse having registered six points (1g, 5a) in nine games this season. He was expected to make his AHL debut Wednesday night against the Albany Devils. Last season, Lynch totaled 35 points in 63 ECHL games split between the Toledo Walleye and the Evansville Icemen last season.
Cornell posted three points (1g, 2a) and a minus-3 rating in nine games for the ‘Blades this season. Last season, the blue-liner appeared in 35 AHL games with Bridgeport recording 10 points.
Game time for Friday’s game is set for 7:05 pm.