Jr. Blades Take Three of Four Over Mad Hatters

ESTERO, Fla. – The Florida Jr. Blades finished off yet another successful weekend at Hertz Arena, winning three of the four games against the Atlanta Mad Hatters. FJB Premier lost a close game on Saturday afternoon before doubling up the Mad Hatters on Sunday, while Elite swept their weekend series, their fifth win in a row:

Premier:

Saturday’s game saw the Jr. Blades run up a 3-0 lead in the second period before Atlanta began their comeback. The Mad Hatters scored five goals in the final 31 minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime, first year defenseman Kyloe Ellis would net his fourth of the season just two minutes into overtime to give Atlanta the come from behind win. Jr. Blades forward Cam Croteau had two goals, while Spencer Clark led the team in points (one goal, two assists) in their first game back after the holiday break.

Sunday’s game started off similar to the day previous with the Jr. Blades jumping out to a three goal lead, except this time Florida would never look back and never led by less than two goals after this point. Connor Crawford added a goal and an assist, Brett Beale chipped in two assists, and Cole Ketola netted a season high four goals to pace the Jr. Blades to an 8-4 victory, their first of the month.

Elite:

FJB Elite picked up right where they left off from their previous game on Thursday night, winning their Saturday afternoon matchup by a 7-2 margin. After a scoreless first period, the Jr. Blades would use goals from Levi Todd and Ben Appleyard, his first on the season and first of two on the afternoon, to take a 2-0 lead going into the third period. The Mad Hatters would bring themselves within one just 11 minutes into the third before the Jr. Blades would pull away with four straight goals to end the game. First year defenseman Ben Davies would notch his first goal of the season and newcomer Phillip O’Neill would stop 27 of 29 to backstop the Blades to his second victor in his first two games with the team.

Sunday’s game would see the visiting Mad Hatters take a 2-0 lead early in the second period, putting the Blades’ four game winning streak in jeopardy. Eduardo Castro would score at 11:57 of the second period for the Blades, his first goal of the season, to bring them within one leading into the final frame. FJB Elite’s leading scorer, Thomas Filoramo, would score just 39 seconds into the third period to tie the game and the Blades would score five more goals to take Sunday’s game by a 7-2 score. Elite goaltender Tristan Falsetto stopped 41 of 44 for the Blades for his 10th win on the season.

Looking Forward:

The Jr. Blades Premier team will take on the Florida Eels this Thursday 12/9 at Hertz Arena, puck drop is at 9 pm. Tickets for this event will be $5 and can be purchased at the door. Both Premier and Elite will then get set to play host for the USPHL Florida Showcase starting on Friday December 17. Both Elite and Premier will start the showcase by playing the Richmond Generals, Premer at 9 AM on Friday while Elite follows at 11 am. Tickets and merchandise for the USPHL Florida Showcase can be purchased in advance here.