Florida Everblades

The Florida Everblades are a minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena is Germain Arena.

The Everblades were founded in 1998. They play in the South Division of the Eastern Conference in the ECHL. They have only missed the playoffs once in team history (2013–14), and have made three appearances in the Kelly Cup finals, winning in 2012.

History

The team was founded in 1998, when current GM Craig Brush was inspired to bring a minor-league hockey team to Southwest Florida while reading a free copy of a National Geographic magazine that featured articles on the Florida Everglades. The team's name derives from the former Kentucky Thoroughblades AHL franchise.

The Everblades' logo features a gator-head design fused in the form of an ice skate. Barnstorm Creative Group, a Vancouver graphic design company, designed the logo. Barnstorm was contacted by Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, who came up with the idea of choosing the Everblades colors as blue and green, in tribute to the Hartford Whalers team that Karmanos moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. The Everblades' inaugural home opener featured a pre-game ceremony in which a large alligator was brought onto the ice to pay tribute to the team's name and logo, as well as Florida's vast population of reptile species. The Everblades won their first Kelly Cup on May 23, 2012, against the Las Vegas Wranglers. Brandon MacLean scored the Championship-winning-goal in overtime during Game 5. Everblades goaltender, John Muse, was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2012 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Florida

Florida ⁱ/ˈflɒrɪdə/ (Spanish for "flowery land") is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. The state is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Straits of Florida and the country of Cuba. Florida is the 22nd most extensive, the 3rd most populous, and the 8th most densely populated of the United States. Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. The Miami metropolitan area is the eighth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Tallahassee is the state capital.

A peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida, it has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), and is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south. The American alligator, American crocodile, Florida panther, and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park.

Germain Arena

Germain Arena is a 7,186-seat multi-purpose arena in Estero, Florida, United States.

History

The arena was first named Everblades Arena in 1998 after the hockey team that played there. TECO Energy was the first company to obtain the naming rights to the building, changing the name to TECO Arena. In 2004, TECO Energy decided they were no longer interested in holding the naming rights. Germain Motor Company bought the rights, and in 2004 the venue was renamed to Germain Arena. This same company, an automobile dealership with locations in Florida, Arkansas, and Ohio, also held the naming rights to the Germain Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio.

Tenants

Germain Arena has been used as a multipurpose venue, primarily hosting the Florida Everblades ECHL ice hockey team and the Florida Tarpons Ultimate Indoor Football League team. It was also the home for the Florida Flame NBA Development League team and the Florida Firecats Arena Football League 2 (af2) team. Additionally, the venue has hosted various concerts, circuses, boxing, mixed martial arts events, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling shows, World Wrestling Entertainment shows and Professional Bull Riders events.

Solar Bears

Solar Bears may refer to: