Everblades Defeat Grizzlies 5-2

Everblades Defeat Grizzlies 5-2

Estero, Florida – Charle-Edouard D’Astous had 1 goal and 1 assist and Ben Tardif had 2 assists for the Utah Grizzlies but it wasn’t enough as Alex Aleardi had 1 goal and 1 assist and Jake Jaremko had 3 assists to lead the Florida Everblades to a 5-2 win on a Wednesday night at Hertz Arena.

The Grizz scored first as D’Astous got his team leading 15th of the campaign 3:52 in off a rebound from a Tardif shot. It was a shorthanded goal for Utah, who now leads the league with 16 on the season. Blake Winiecki tied the game with his league leading 19th goal of the year 11:21 in. 1 minute 13 seconds later Alex Aleardi scored a highlight type of goal for his 18th of the campaign. The Everblades led 2-1 after 1 period, outshooting Utah 12 to 6.

Avery Peterson gave Florida a 3-1 lead 1:29 into the second. Later in the period Utah scored on the power play as Trey Bradley redirected a D’Astous shot 17:02 in. 1 minute 6 seconds later Florida scored a power play goal of their own as Joe Pendenza delivered his 15th of the year. Both teams went 1 for 5 on the man advantage. Florida led 4-2 after 2 frames.

Stephen Desrocher scored his first professional goal 9:15 into the third to extend the Everblades lead. Florida outshot Utah 38 to 26 as they won the only regular season meeting between the clubs. It was their first match-up since November 30, 2019, a game Utah won 5-4 in a shootout.

Florida goaltender Cam Johnson saved 24 of 26 to earn his 7th win. Utah’s Cole Kehler saved 33 of 38.

The Grizzlies road trip continues on Thursday night at Amway Center. Face-off is at 5:00 pm mountain time and can be seen on FloHockey and heard on Mixlr. Grizzlies Fight Cancer Weekend is on February 3-4 vs Jacksonville at 7:10 pm. Tickets for Fight Cancer Weekend and every Grizzlies home game are available at utahgrizzlies.com or by calling (801) 988-8000.

3 stars

1. Alex Aleardi (Florida) – 1 goal, 1 assist.
2. Jake Jaremko (Florida) – 3 assists.
3. John McCarron (Florida) – 2 assists.