ECHL: Everblades: Great Start to the Kelly Cup Finals

First Period: 

The first period was in the Steelheads’ favor entirely. Idaho outshot the Everblades in the first period 14-8. They had the only two power plays in the period, however with those two, they would get a five-on-three, where Dawson Barteaux scored on a shot from the point to open the scoring at the 15:38 mark of the opening frame. Although the period didn’t go in the best direction for Florida, they managed to come back after the first intermission and shape things up to make the game go in a better direction for them.

Second Period:

The second period was almost the complete opposite of the first period as the Everblades would double up the Steelheads in shots, 14-7. The Everblades would win a faceoff and get the puck back to the point where Cole Moberg would fire a shot past Adam Scheel to tie the game up at one and would give the Blades some momentum in heading into the third. Florida would also get a boost of confidence with a penalty kill after giving up the first goal on the PP.

Third Period:

The Steelheads were able to break the tie with more than half of the period left. Their last goal of the game was scored by Ryan Dmowski, assisted by Willie Knierim and Ty Pelton-Byce. Domowski would continue to stay as he has eight goals in his last 10 games. With a little less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, John McCarron would get a shot on goal, but it would be Blake Winiecki who’d find the rebound and put it home to tie the game up at two and the score would stay the same at the end of 60 as the Everblades would head to yet another overtime game.

Overtime:

There was a delay to the start of the period due to an issue with one of the zamboni’s blades, which had gotten dropped on the goal crease. The Everblades were only able to take four shots during the whole overtime period, however, they scored off of a turnover 14 minutes into the final period, John McCarron was able to luckily feed Chau off of a turnover to score the game-winning goal. While the Everblades’ offense was working hard, so was Cam Johnson, as he managed to save all seven shots he faced in the final period. As the winning team exited the ice after Chau’s goal, Johnson waved at the Steelheads’ bench, making Adam Scheel come out and try to start going after Florida’s players. 

Looking Ahead:

Overall, the Everblades barely managed to outshoot the Steelheads 37-36. There was a lot of physicality and aggression during the game, as well as during the NHL’s Stanley Cup game last night. The Florida Everblades will definitely make this series a hard and tough one for the Steelheads. Florida was originally the second-lowest seed, just in front of the Adirondack Thunder, and they’ve shown incredible resiliency throughout the postseason. There is no doubt that they will continue fighting their hardest to try and win the Kelly Cup for the second year in a row.

The Kelly Cup finals will continue tonight with Game 2 starting at 6:10 EST

The Everblades will then take on the Steelheads at home on Wednesday at 7:30 EST