A look at three key games on Friday's ECHL schedule.
After most teams took Thanksgiving Day off to feast on turkey, 26 are back in action for Friday’s 13-game slate. Here’s a look at three of the top matchups.
Florida Everblades (13-3-0) at Fort Wayne Komets (9-4-1)
Puck Drop: 7:35 Pm ET
The defending Kelly Cup champs are coming off an exciting 5-4 overtime win at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne in the ECHL’s lone Thanksgiving game.
The Komets jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period, only to see Florida claw back. Oliver Chau tallied two goals and Carson Gicewicz scored the overtime winner.
Florida is in the midst of a five-game road trip and are first overall in the ECHL standings with 26 points. Chau has scored two goals in three of his last six games, and the Everblades are 6-1 in one-goal games.
Ethan Keppen is on a four-game point streak (4-3-7) for the Komets, who sit in second place in the Central Division and 10th overall.
Greenville Swamp Rabbits (9-4-1) at South Carolina Stingrays (11-4-1)
Puck Drop: 7:05 Pm ET
The Swamp Rabbits last played on Wednesday, picking up a 3-2 road win over the Atlanta Gladiators in a shootout.
Parker Berge scored for a third straight game while Dryden McKay stopped 37 of 39 shots. Colton Young provided the game-winner in the shootout to preserve the victory.
Berge comes into Friday’s matchup on a four-game point streak with three goals and an assist. Greenville has won five consecutive games dating back to Nov. 17 against Florida, scoring 19 goals during that span. They’ve also won eight of their last nine dating back to Nov. 9 against the Gladiators.
The Stingrays picked up a road win of their own Wednesday, 4-1 over the Jacksonville Icemen. Kyler Kupka, Charlie Combs, Josh Wilkins and Alexander Suzdalev scored for the Stingrays, while Seth Eisele made 23 saves on 24 shots.
Jamie Engelbert has been on fire lately for South Carolina. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound forward leads the team in goals with nine and is tied for the team lead in points (15). He has an 11-game point streak (9-4-13).
The Stingrays have done well on home ice, sporting a 6-1-1 record and outscoring opponents 28-17.
Kansas City Mavericks (9-5-2) at Tulsa Oilers (11-4-1)
Puck Drop: 7:05 Pm CT
The Mavericks lost a fierce 3-2 battle Wednesday at the BOK Center against the Oilers. All the scoring took place in the first two periods, with Tulsa taking a 2-0 lead before the Mavericks tied the game at 7:05 of the second period on a Luke Loheit goal. Jack Clement potted the deciding goal at 13:44 of the middle frame, his first professional goal.
Loheit is having a nice rookie season for Kansas City, with 10 points (6-4-10) in 15 games. He’s currently on a three-game goal streak.
Tulsa heads into Friday’s contest having won three in a row and are atop the Western Conference standings.
Sasha Pastujov leads the Oilers in points with 16 (9-7-16) in 12 games. Goaltender Vyacheslav Buteyets is tied for second in the ECHL in victories with seven.