ECHL hockey: Florida Everblades outscore Orlando Solar Bears

John McCarron displayed a superhuman performance – making the red light flicker four times -- against the Orlando Solar Bears in an 8-6 victory on Saturday at Germain Arena.

The Florida Everblades (13-3-3, 29 points) will return to action on Wednesday, when they host the Elmira Jackals at Germain Arena.

“Our guys came to play, and everyone was on board tonight,” Blades first-year coach Brad Ralph said. “We competed really hard, but we had some breakdowns. We bent, but we didn’t break. I was proud of the effort we put in.”

Orlando had been undefeated in regulation since making a coaching change on Nov. 14. However, Florida got off to a hot start with McCarron scoring the contest’s first goal nearly eight minutes into the opening frame to begin his extraordinary night.

“The first one just went in off my skate. It was a lucky one,” the big-bodied forward said. “The second was on a breakaway. You don’t get those all the time, so I was happy with that. The third was the icing on the cake, and then I got that empty- netter. It was a special feeling.”

However, Evan Bloodoff had the most emotional moment of the night.

The Blades brought Bloodoff back to the team this year, knowing his start to the season would be delayed due to offseason surgery. The 26-year-old goal-scoring winger missed significant time over the past two seasons because of arm injuries, but he made his long-awaited return on Nov. 19.

Bloodoff’s first six games back didn’t go as he hoped. He was held without a goal, and he recorded a -5 plus/minus rating.

However, on Saturday, Bloodoff ripped the monkey off his back by scoring a short-handed goal – his first tally in 11 months.

“I had been struggling and getting off to a little bit of a slow start,” Bloodoff said. “It was tough jumping back in. I hadn’t played in almost a year. It felt so good to get that first one out of the way.”

Florida’s special teams magic wasn’t done there. McCarron followed suit with another short-handed goal 36 seconds later – giving the Blades a 5-3 lead.

“You don’t see that very often,” McCarron said. “(Bloodoff) was on my (penalty kill) line during the game. Obviously, it was awesome to see him get his first of the year here. Following it up was cool too. It was good for our line, and it kept our momentum going.”

With the victory, the Blades extended their South Division lead over the surging Solar Bears to five points.

“You’ve got to give them credit. They are playing really well right now. They beat us 5-2 in their barn (Friday),” Bloodoff said. “We knew they were going to come out hard tonight to try to beat us in our rink, but nobody beats us at home on Saturday nights in the Swamp.”

EVERBLADES 8, SOLAR BEARS 6

Orlando 1 3 2 - 6
Florida 2 3 3 - 8

1st Period-1, Florida, McCarron 7 (Kirkpatrick, Berry), 7:46 (PP). 2, Florida, Berry 7 (Roe, MacDonald), 17:23. 3, Orlando, Crane 7 (Baier), 19:34. Penalties-Danford Orl (delay of game), 6:22; Golightly Fla (slashing ), 8:19; Golightly Fla (roughing), 12:55; Cameranesi Orl (slashing ), 14:37.

2nd Period-4, Orlando, Perry 11 (Findlay, Manderson), 3:22. 5, Florida, Scheid 6 (Harris), 4:30. 6, Orlando, Crane 8 (Witala), 7:45. 7, Florida, Bloodoff 1 (Ferrantino), 9:44 (SH). 8, Florida, McCarron 8   10:20 (SH). 9, Orlando, Perry 12 (Watling, Massa), 17:57. Penalties-Kirkpatrick Fla (boarding), 0:16; Roe Fla (cross-checking), 9:32; Perry Orl (cross-checking), 11:36; Scheid Fla (hooking), 15:52; MacDonald Fla (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:57; Manderson Orl (holding), 18:47.

3rd Period-10, Florida, McCarron 9 (Ferrantino), 12:58 (PP). 11, Florida, McCarron 10 (Brace), 18:23 (EN). 12, Orlando, Block 4 (Danford), 19:01. 13, Orlando, Faille 7 (Cameranesi), 19:39. 14, Florida, O'Donnell 9   19:54 (EN). Penalties-Baier Orl (hooking), 3:39; Jutzi Orl (cross-checking), 12:20; Doherty Orl (elbowing), 13:41; Crane Orl (high-sticking), 14:16; Watling Orl (game misconduct - abuse of officials), 19:54.

Shots on Goal-Orlando 15-11-6-32. Florida 10-16-10-36.
Power Play Opportunities-Orlando 0 / 6; Florida 2 / 8.
Goalies-Orlando, Massa 8-3-1-0 (34 shots-28 saves). Florida, Peters 9-3-0-1 (32 shots-26 saves).
A-4,114
Referees-Kenny Anderson (16).
Linesmen-Billy Gubelman (36), Tyler Mackereth (34).