(SportsDay photos by Nancy DeLander Beecher/Florida Sports Wire)
JACKSONVILLE – Taking a 3-1 series lead in the Best of Seven ECHL South Division Semifinals, the upstart Jacksonville Icemen had to feel pretty good. The Icemen owned the Everblades in the regular season. Florida was 2-7-2 against Jacksonville. Two Everblade wins came in the final weeks of play. The Blades were 0-4-2 on Jacksonville ice.
But this is the playoffs. Most professional hockey players, coaches and front office execs will tell you it’s a different animal than the regular season. There is a bunch of truth in that.
Jacksonville was playing their arch-rivals and headed home after one more contest in Estero. With their backs against the wall and needing a win to remain alive, Florida claimed a 3-1 victory Saturday night at Hertz Arena.
Now ahead three games to two the Icemen were coming home to friendly ice. On the strength of three second-period goals, the Everblades defeated the Icemen 4-1 in Game Six, tying the series at three games apiece.
It all came to an end for Jacksonville Wednesday night before 4,675 at Veterans’ Memorial Arena in a 4-0 loss.
A four-goal second period – one night after scoring three goals in the middle frame – completed the Everblades’ comeback in the series and eliminated the second-seeded Icemen for the third straight postseason. Defensively, Cam Johnson made 27 saves in his first shutout of the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs and the ninth postseason shutout of his Everblades career.
The Everblades held the Icemen to just two goals over the final three games of the series.
Florida became the ninth team in ECHL postseason history to rally from a 3-1 deficit in its opening-round victory against Jacksonville, while also becoming just the third team to win both Games 6 and 7 of a series on the road.
The Everblades have won nine consecutive playoff series, tied with the Allen Americans (2015-17) for the longest streak in ECHL history. Sean Josling led Florida in the Division Semifinals with six points (3g-3a) while Johnson, the two-time defending June M. Kelly Most Valuable Player recipient, ranks fifth with a 1.95 goals-against average.
Jacksonville finished with 40-plus wins for the third straight year and set new attendance records.
Orlando, which secured its playoff spot on the final day of the regular season, defeated South Division regular-season champion Greenville in six games in the opening round, winning three of its four games in overtime. Spencer Kersten is tied for the playoff lead with six goals and is tied for fifth with eight points. Evan Fitzpatrick played all six games in goal for the Solar Bears posting a 2.50 goals-against average and a save percentage of .929. Fitzpatrick made 32 or more saves in five of the six games, including a pair of outings of at least 43 saves.
In the regular-season meetings, Florida went 7-5-1 against the Solar Bears with Orlando posting a 6-6-1 record against the Everblades. Joe Pendenza led the Everblades against Orlando with six goals and 11 points with Johnson going 5-3-1 with a 2.41 goals-against average. Tyler Bird and Alex Frye both scored four goals for the Solar Bears in the season series with Brayden Low picking up a team-high nine points (2g-7a).
The Everblades will have home ice advantage for the 2024 South Division Finals, which get underway with Games One and Two on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4, respectively, at Hertz Arena. Friday’s game will begin at 7:30 p.m., while Saturday’s puck drop will be at 7:00 p.m. Games Three, Four and Five (if necessary) will be played in Orlando on May 7, 9 and 12. Should the series require a Game Six or Game Seven, those contests would be played at Hertz Arena on May 14 and 15.
