Much like presidential candidate Mitt Romney, it was a rough weekend in South Carolina for the Florida Everblades.
Coming off last week's dominating 3 game sweep at home, the Blades had to tackle injuries, suspension, and roster turnover, as the team prepared for a trio of games with South Division supremacy at stake.
Florida began the challenge by dropping a close one 4-3 on Friday, January 20, to the Gwinnett Gladiators. Moving into the Palmetto State on the night of its Republican primary, the team proceeded to drop back-to-back contests against the South Carolina Stingrays over the weekend.
The streaky Everblades have lost 5 straight on the road and only emerged victoriously in 9 of 23 total contests away from Germain Arena. Now sitting in last place in the South Division, perhaps fans can be mildly encouraged that home games consume a slight majority of the remaining schedule.
And that schedule gets underway on Wednesday, January 25, with a game against the visiting Greenville Road Warriors. With 48 points, the visiting Road Warriors sit immediately ahead of the Blades in the standings and these critical match-ups will be the final meetings of the season between the clubs.
Blades' fans hope for a boost from the return of Matt Beca. The second year left wing has worn an Everblades' jersey for most of the 2011-12 season and already racked up an impressive 28 points in 31 games. He most recently spent 7 games with Charlotte of the AHL and is a welcomed addition to a lineup searching for scoring punch.
These games further serve as the Florida debut for recently acquired defenseman Mike Rattchuk. General Manager Craig Brush shipped defenseman Jimmy Martin to the Elmira Jackals in order to land the 23 year-old New York native. Rattchuk was scooped up in the 2nd round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers and benefits from considerable AHL experience.
Earlier in the week, Everblades' top scorer David Rutherford (@Rutherford91) welcomed his friend to the team in his Twitter feed. Twitter is a great way to follow many ECHL players, as they generously share their perspectives on hockey and life in the minor leagues. On the eve of his Blades' debut, Rattchuk (@rattlesnake44) posted, "Can't wait for my first game at Germain Arena."
Fans should be excited too.
The series kicks off at 7:30pm on Wednesday, January 25. Please note that the second of these games will be played on Thursday, January 26, as Germain Arena will be hosting a concert by the popular Zac Brown Band on Friday night.
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