The Florida Everblades are on the verge of history.
With Friday night’s 4-1 win over the Kansas City Mavericks at Hertz Arena, the Everblades took a 3 games to 1 lead in the Kelly Cup Finals best-of-seven series.
One more win and they will be the first team in ECHL history to win three straight championships.
They have the chance to do that at home with Game 5 tonight at 7.
Game 3: Everblades come roaring back before a raucous crowd for Kelly Cup Finals Game 3 win
“I told the guys we’ve been here before,” Everblades coach Brad Ralph said. “Game 5 against Adirondack, we were in the same position, so we know what it takes. We know mentally we’ve got to be in the right spot, just come back and put a full 60 of work in”
The game started physically, with both teams back-checking and keeping the pucks away from the crease. It was 8 minutes before either team had a shot on goal.
The physicality also meant a lot of penalty minutes, starting with a hooking call on Kansas City’s Jeremy McKenna at the fourth minute. The Everblades had two shots that missed the net and saw the power play come to an early end with 30 seconds left as Matthew Wedman was whistled for tripping.
The Mavericks failed to score in the 30 seconds of 4-on-4 and the remaining 1:30 power play. But 16 seconds after leaving the penalty box, Wedman went right back in, this time a 4-minute double-minor for high sticking.
Kansas City’s power play unit put five shots on goal during the man advantage, but it was the Everblades who made the one that counted as Oliver Chau tallied a shorthanded goal, the team’s second shorty in the series.
That sequence started with Florida captain Joe Pendenza in front of his crease, tapping the puck toward defenseman Zach Berzolla off to the side. Berzolla attempted to clear the puck from the zone. As the puck slid up ice, Chau skated up to it, took it at his blue line and then continued up the right side. With a defender screening him, he skidded to a stop in the right face-off circle, then fired top shelf to take a 1-0 lead.
“He makes my job a lot easier,” Pendenza said. “I’ve been playing with him for about 2 years now, so my common theme is just, ‘Give the puck to Chau.’ He’s a great player. He pushes the pace. He can make plays. I love playing with him.”
For Chau, it was his sixth goal of the series and ninth of the postseason. He was coming off a hat trick in Game 3 on Wednesday night.
The period ended with all 10 players on the…
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