Icemen Fall in Road Tilt at Florida

Saturday, January 4th

Written by Noah Epstein

ESTERO, FL -- Brody Crane’s seventh goal of the season helped the Icemen tie the game at 2 just over three minutes into the second period.

The Everblades then scored four straight goals over the remainder of the game, as Jacksonville lost 6-2 on Friday night at Hertz Arena.

Shortly after the Crane goal, Florida started to dominate puck possession in the attacking zone. The Everblades took advantage of a power play and Colton Hargrove scored the first of two goals on the night to make it 3-2.

For roughly four to five minutes after taking the lead, the Everblades were able to keep the puck in the Jacksonville zone without the Icemen being able to clear, However, Michael Houser was able to keep it a one-goal deficit by making several tough saves.

Houser made his 2024-25 debut for the Icemen on Friday after getting assigned to Jacksonville by Rochester. He saved 21 of 23 second-period shots from the Everblades in a period where the Icemen only fired off six shots on net.

But Florida’s shots weren’t stopped in the third stanza like they were for the majority of the second.

Hargrove scored his second of the night just 36 seconds into the final period, with Marc-Andre Gaudet and Jordan Sambrook sealing the deal on the 6-2 final score.

The Icemen scored the game’s first goal on a Christopher Brown power play tip-in, which was followed by the Everblades scoring seven of the remaining eight goals in the contest.

Cam Johnson recorded his league-leading 17th win of the season. The goaltender has now allowed two goals or less in eight of his last 10 appearances.

Jacksonville fell to 18-10-2 with the defeat, still possessing 38 points and falling into third place in the South. The Icemen host Greenville Saturday night at 7 p.m.