Florida Sports Wire

 SHREWSBURY, N.J. – South Carolina Stingrays’ defenseman Romain Rodzinski is the AMI Graphics ECHL Plus Performer of the Month for March after leading the league with a plus-minus rating of +24 during the month. Rodzinski posted an even or better rating in 13 of his 14 games in March. He was a +4 on March 3 at Orlando and March 14 at Atlanta, a +3 on March 23 against Jacksonville and a +2 in five games. A native of Blainville, Quebec, Rodzinski is a +26 overall on the season while posting 22 points (8g-14a) in 42 games with South Carolina and Idaho. Rodzinski has totaled 35 points (11g-24a) in 82 career ECHL games with the Stingrays and Steelheads. Prior to turning pro, Rodzinski tallied four assists in five games at Concordia University and 41 points (8g-33a) in 178 in with Quebec, Cape Breton and Chicoutimi of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. In recognition of his accomplishment, AMI Graphics will present Romain Rodzinski with a personalized Plus Performer of the Month ...

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning clinched a berth in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs today, as a result of the New York Rangers’ 4-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils.  The Bolts will play postseason hockey for a franchise record eighth-consecutive season and the 17th time in club history. Following tonight’s contest at Buffalo, the Lightning will have six regular season games remaining, four at home and two on the road. Tampa Bay’s 2025 postseason is presented by AdventHealth. Dating back to the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, no other team has played in more postseason games than the Lightning, whose 146 are 48 more than the second-place team, the Dallas Stars, who have appeared in 98. Additionally, no team has won more playoff games during that time, with the Bolts registering 87 victories compared to the Vegas Golden Knights, who rank second, with 57. Entering play on April 5, the Lightning sit in second place in the Atlantic Division, just three points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs, ...

  JACKSONVILLE --  The Jacksonville Sharks return to the Shark Tank this Sunday, April 6th, for the 2025 home opener as they take on the Vegas Knight Hawks at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Both teams enter the matchup with a 1-0 record and are eager to keep their undefeated streaks alive. Jacksonville dominated the Massachusetts Pirates in week one with a 46-25 victory, maintaining control throughout the entire game. Wide receivers  Ka'ron Ashley ,  Jaedon Stoshak , and  Edward Vander  each had two touchdowns. Former Pirate Jimmie Robinson also had a touchdown. The Sharks defense played lights out forcing four turnovers. Rookie defensive backs  Malik Jones  and  John Huggins  both had interceptions in their IFL debuts. Meanwhile, Vegas secured a 48-41 comeback win over San Diego, with Lorenzo Hernandez's interception in the final 45 seconds sealing the game for the Knight Hawks. Quarterback Ja'rome Johnson threw for five touchdowns. An...

 JACKSONVILLE – Strong relief pitching was not enough for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in their 7-1 loss t the Worcester Red Sox, Friday night from VyStar Ballpark, in front of 6,101 fans. Worcester (3-3) wasted no time scoring in game four. Roman Anthony led off the first inning with a single. Following a popout, Marcelo Mayer walked and Vaughn Grissom singled.  With the bases juiced, Blake Sabol cracked a two-run double which gave the Woo Sox an early lead. With runners at second and third, Worcester plated a run on balk which made it 3-0 over Jacksonville (4-3). The Woo Sox bats stayed hot in the third. Nick Sogard worked a leadoff walk and stole second. With a runner in scoring position, Mayer ripped an RBI single, increasing the lead to 4-0. Grissom followed with a single putting runners at first and second. Following a passed ball, Abraham Toro hit a sac fly and that scored Mayer to put Worcester ahead 5-0. With a runner at third, Nate Eaton smacked an RBI which gave t...

 NEW YORK AND TORONTO – A closer look at highlights on and off the ice from around the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) with just 11 games remaining in the schedule and two before the international break. PWHL PLAYOFF PICTURE Montréal (11-6-3-6, 48 points) became the first team to officially punch their ticket to the PWHL Playoffs and remain atop the standings with four games left on their schedule. The Victoire can secure one of the top two seeds by earning at least one more point than third-place Boston (8-6-4-8, 40 points) before the break. Toronto (12-2-5-8, 45 points) is in second place with three games remaining, with the Sceptres able to clinch a playoff berth if Boston beats Ottawa, or if the Charge beat the Fleet in a shootout on Wednesday. Minnesota (8-5-4-10, 38 points) currently holds the fourth and final playoff spot with three games remaining. Ottawa (10-1-4-11, 36 points) enters the week in fifth place with four games left to play, followed by New York (6-4...

 The Florida Sports Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the election of new offic-ers to its esteemed Board of Directors, bringing a wealth of expertise and dedication to the or-ganization. The newly elected officers are as follows: 1. Keyna Cory - President: Keyna Cory is President of Public Affairs Consultants. Keyna has been involved with sports her entire life. As a Junior Bowler, she was the Junior Orange Bowl Champion in 1972 and was a member of the University of Florida Bowling Team. Football has always been her passion, and she was the first woman to be chair of the Carquest Bowl in 1995. Over the years, she has worked with the late Jim Brown and his Amer-I-Can program and currently works with the bowl games in Florida on marketing opportunities. 2. John Reger - Secretary: John has an extensive background in all areas of the golf indus-try. As a 42-year member of the PGA of America, John has fulfilled a variety of roles in-cluding golf professional, tournament announcer, go...

SHREWSBURY, N.J. – Idaho Steelheads’ goaltender Ben Kraws has been named the Howies Hockey Tape ECHL Rookie of the Month for March. Kraws went 7-4-0 in 11 appearances during the month with three shutouts, a 1.92 goals-against average and a save percentage of .938. The 24-year-old allowed two goals or less in seven of 11 outings and made at least 26 saves on 10 occasions. He had six games in which he made 30 or more saves. He was named ECHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending March 23 after going 3-0-0 with two shutouts, a 0.67 goals-against average and a save percentage of .967 in three appearances. Under a National Hockey League contract with Dallas, Kraws is 21-10-4 in 35 appearances for the Steelheads this season with a 2.88 goals-against average and a save percentage of .911. He is tied for the ECHL lead with five shutouts and tied for fifth in wins. He is also 2-1-0 in three outings with Texas of the American Hockey League. A native of Cranbury, New Jersey, Kraws made his p...

Sporting Club Jacksonville, the United Soccer League’s Northeast Florida expansion franchise, has officially appointed Stacey Balaam as the first head coach of its women’s Division One USL Super League team, which will kick off its inaugural season this August at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium. As Sporting Director and Head of Soccer Mark Warburton’s first major coaching hire, the up-and-coming coaching talent brings a recent track record of success and player development to Sporting JAX. Most recently, she served as the associate head coach at Vanderbilt University, helping to lead the NCAA Top 20 program to historic achievements since 2023. Sporting JAX technical consultant and coaching legend in women’s soccer at the University of Florida, Becky Burleigh, also assisted in the search. “Finding the right leader as our first women’s team head coach was crucial, and in Stacey, we have someone who embodies the values of Sporting JAX and has consistently displayed throug...

 JACKSONVILLE - A strong outing from Adam Mazur (L, 0-1) and two hits from Maximo Acosta were not enough for Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in their 2-0 loss to the Worcester Red Sox, Wednesday from VyStar Ballpark. Worcester struck early in the top of the first. Roman Anthony walked to begin the game. Two batters later, Marcelo Mayer (2) cracked a two- run home run which gave the Woo Sox a quick 2-0 lead over Jacksonville. Justin King and John Rooney combined to strikeout five over 3.2 innings of work. Both Jacksonville arms did not allow a run in their appearances out of the bullpen. RHP Lucas Giolito tossed 2.1 scoreless innings with one strikeout in his Major League rehab start for Worcester. Woo Sox reliever Robert Stock struck out six batters in his outing, which spanned over 4.1 innings.  

The Jacksonville Icemen, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and the AHL’s Rochester Americans announced today that the team has agreed to terms with forward Dalton Duhart.  Duhart, 24, joins the Icemen after posting eight points (2g, 6a) in 33 games played this season with the Bloomington Bison and the Kansas City Mavericks.  Last season, the 6-0, 180-pound rookie forward totaled 44 points (17g, 27a) in his final season at Queens University (OUA).   The Grand Blanc, Michigan resident totaled 109 points (49g, 60a) with 106 penalty minutes in 222 career Ontario Hockey League (OHL) games split in stints with the Saginaw Spirit, Barrie Colts and London Knights from 2017-2022. 

 NASHVILLE – The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp struggled Friday in a 7-1 loss to the Nashville Sounds from First Horizon Park. After a quiet start to the night for both team, the Sounds (1-0) jumped on the scoreboard in the third. Garrett Spain laced a double with one out before Caleb Durbin knocked a two-run home run off Jumbo Shrimp (0-1) starter Janson Junk for the season’s first runs. Jacksonville scored its lone run of the game in the fifth. Heriberto Hernandez led off with a base hit against Nashville starter Carlos Rodriguez (1-0) before an error put runners on the corners. Two batters later, Ronny Simon lifted a sacrifice fly to slice the deficit in half at 2-1. The Sounds got the run back in the sixth. Ernesto Martinez Jr. singled with one out before going to second on an error on a pickoff attempt. After a fly out, Raynel Delgado’s single cashed in Martinez Jr. to make it 3-1. Spain singled with one out in the seventh. He scored from first on a Durbin base hit coupled with an...

Sporting JAX, the United Soccer League (USL) franchise group bringing women’s and men’s professional soccer to Northeast Florida, is proud to announce that it will field two additional pre-professional teams set to play this spring, competing in both the USL W League and USL League Two throughout Florida. Following the club’s recent merger with Florida Elite Soccer Academy and upcoming name change to Sporting JAX Soccer Academy, the USL W League and USL League Two teams will be the first to take the pitch wearing the Sporting JAX crest, marking a major milestone for the club. These pre-pro teams will play as part of Sporting JAX, along with a planned women’s pro team (USL Super League), men’s pro team (USL Championship), and a USL Youth Academy. Sporting JAX will also continue its participation in the nation’s largest youth soccer league, Elite Clubs National League (ECNL), while developing a top-tier pro soccer academy as part of Sporting JAX Soccer Academy. "We are thrilled to o...

 ST. AUGUSTINE – The Flagler College women’s golf team moved back to where it was two weeks ago, No. 2 in the nation, according to the latest rankings by SCOREBOARD, powered by clippd. The Saints have an average weighted points (AWP) score of 63.64. Flagler will complete its regular season schedule at the Lynn Invitational at Boca Woods, March 31-April 1, at Boca Raton, Florida. Flagler is one of three Peach Belt Conference teams in the top 25. The University of North Georgia held steady at No. 15 while Lander University moved up two spots to No. 20. Five of the top 10 are comprised of South/Southeast Region teams. Anderson University as held the same spot, No. 1, since the start of the season. Wingate University slipped back to No. 3. Nova Southeastern University dropped to No. 7 while Lynn University remained at No. 8. Three Saints are ranked in the top 100 individually. Stella Jelinek and Henriette Stranda remain at Nos. 6 and 7, respectively. Jelinek’s AWP score is 49.65 while ...

 TAMPA, Fla. (March 24, 2025) – Bryan Hodgson, one of the nation’s top recruiters and a rising head coach, has been named the University of South Florida head men’s basketball coach, Vice President for Athletics Michael Kelly announced Monday. "We are thrilled to welcome Bryan Hodgson as the next head coach of USF men’s basketball," Kelly said. "Bryan has been a part of winning programs at every level, demonstrating a remarkable ability to recruit top talent, develop players, and build championship-caliber teams. His passion, energy, and vision for USF basketball align perfectly with our commitment to excellence. We believe he is the right leader to take this program to new heights, and we can’t wait to see his impact on our student-athletes and the Tampa Bay community." Hodgson, 37, is South Florida’s 12th men’s basketball coach and has coached collegiately for 18 years. He came to Tampa from Arkansas State, where he spent two seasons as head coach. He guided the R...

NEW YORK AND TORONTO – A closer look at highlights on and off the ice from around the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) with just 16 games remaining in the schedule. LAST STOP, ST. LOUIS The PWHL Takeover Tour™ will make its ninth, and final, stop in St. Louis on Saturday, Mar. 29 at Enterprise Center where the Boston Fleet will take on the Ottawa Charge at 1 p.m. CT. Fans have the opportunity to see both teams in action before puck drop with an open practice and autograph session scheduled on Thursday evening with the Charge and Friday afternoon with the Fleet. The eighth game of the Takeover Tour™ in Detroit set an attendance record for a professional women’s hockey game in the United States with 14,288 fans and boosted total tour attendance to 115,023 through the first eight games. Click here for more. PWHL PLAYOFF PICTURE Montréal (10-6-3-6) remains atop the PWHL standings with 45 points and can clinch a playoff berth with a regulation win against fourth-place Minnesota (7-...

 (Photos by Jim Brady)