Blades win, clinch playoffs
A spot in the ECHL playoffs is secured.
The Florida Everblades guaranteed themselves a postseason appearance Saturday night with a 5-3 victory over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at Germain Arena.
Florida got some help with the clincher from Brampton, which defeated Elmira 3-1. There remains more work to be done before the regular season ends. South Carolina, with a 2-0 win over Atlanta on Saturday, remains a single point (87-86) ahead of the Blades for first place in the ECHL South.
Florida has one more game left (seven) on the schedule than do the Stingrays, which leaves the potential for the Blades to post two more points than South Carolina at season’s end.
“We have one more game than South Carolina, and we hold the tiebreaker,” Blades coach Greg Poss said. “So we have to keep winning and see what happens.”
The Blades regrouped after blowing a 3-1 lead Saturday.
“It was good to come back in the third period after letting up a bit in the second, scoring two power-play goals to win the game.”
Team captain Matt Marquardt gave the Blades a 4-3 lead with 12:24 to play, blasting a slap shot from the faceoff circle to the left of Greenville goalie Mackenzie Skrapski. Rookie Chase Golightly and Kevin Lynch had the assists.
“It was a great shot,” Poss said. “Good pass from Golightly. If we can get (Marquardt’s) shot going on the power play he’s probably got one of the best power-play shots in the league.”
Marquardt didn’t take sole credit for the goal that put his team in the playoffs.
“No, it was a total team effort,” Marquardt said. “We’ve been doing that all year. We’ve still got a lot to do. Punching a ticket to the dance is one thing, but we want to get ourselves in the best position and the home ice. We’ve still got some games left. It’s great to clinch it, but we’ve still got things to do.”
Golightly then ripped home the icing on the cake, his first professional goal. Matt Willows and Marquardt assisted on the power-play tally.
“That was important because it was a tight game,” Poss said.
Golightly has a goal and two assists in his first two professional games.
“They’ve done a good job. Everybody who’s come in here has done an excellent job,” Marquardt said. “It’s a testament to the entire organization giving them a chance to play big minutes and build their confidence. There’s always an adjustment, but those guys have hit the ground running.”
He and fellow Robert Morris University alum Greg Gibson (hat trick Friday) joined the team this week after concluding their college careers.
Robert Morris had nine seniors this past season, and all nine signed professional contracts.
In hockey, unlike other sports, college players are considered free agents. The NHL draft takes 18-year-olds. Players who aren’t drafted can go to college, sharpen their skills, and then sign with a pro team.
“These are guys who were late bloomers,” Poss said. “They’ve had four years of college, playing two games a week and getting a lot of practice. Now they have more games and fewer practices.”
Lynch had a goal and two assists Saturday, his second three-point night in a row. He had three assists on Friday.
Rasmus Tirronen got the win for Florida in goal. He stopped 21 of 24 shots.
“Tirronen made some big saves for us down the stretch,” Poss said.
Greenville got on the board early. Josh Nichols beat Tirronen from in close just 3:03 into the contest.
Brendan O’Donnell answered at 12:51 of the first, taking a pass from Willows and deflecting it past Skrapski. Lynch also was given an assist on O’Donnell’s ninth goal.
Then it was Lynch’s turn, getting a shot past Skrapski for a 2-1 Everblades lead. O’Donnell and Daniel New assisted.
Jon DiSalvatore made it 3-1, scoring on a pass from Gabriel Desjardins at 18:44 of the first for his eighth goal with the Everblades. The lead didn’t hold up.
The Swamp Rabbits struck again in the second period, this time only 42 seconds in. Scott Fleming got the goal, getting Greenville within 3-2. Fleming scored again with just over two minutes remaining in the period to draw the Swamp Rabbits even.
“It was a good game to watch,” Poss said. “Eight goals scored, couple of fights. It was good advertising. Hopefully, the fans come back.”
The Blades announced that Saturday’s game was a sellout, although there were still quite a few empty seats. The Blades play Wednesday at Orlando, then are back at Germain Arena next Friday and Saturday against the Atlanta Gladiators.