ESTERO, Fla – The Florida Everblades have advanced to the EHCL Kelly Cup Finals. They posted a 3-1 win on Saturday night defeating the Kalamazoo Wings, in Germain Arena (Estero, FL), with a packed house of excited fans cheering them on. After the game was finalized, the rafters were alive with the song “Viva Las Vegas”, signifying the Blades moving on to the finals against the Las Vegas Wranglers.
The Blades won in game 5 of the Conference Finals, winning the series overall: 4-games-to-1. This is the third time the Blades have won the Eastern Conference since their inception in the 1998-1999 season. Their evening was significant also for the presentation of the Bud Gingher Trophy as the Eastern Conference Champions.
“A great team win…we really shut them down…guys wanted to win so bad,” were comments from Everblades coach, Greg Poss.
Captain Mathieu Roy said, “I’ve been here four years now and it’s an unbelievable feeling I have now…and it’s not done yet.”
The Florida Everblades will be making their third trip to the Kelly Cup Finals. Previous attempts were in 2003-2004, where they lost to the Idaho Steelheads and again in 2004-2005 where they lost to the Trenton Titans.
The Las Vegas Wranglers last made their trip to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2007-2008 where they lost to the Cincinnati Cyclones.
The Blades have been hotter than a firecracker since February 15th, 2012. Since that time they are 18-1-0-1 at Germain Arena. The two previous games this past week, in the Conference Finals, where they defeated the Kalamazoo Wings, the Blades scored 7 goals in back-to-back games.
Looking at the EHCL Playoffs stats, you will see that the top four goaltenders are Pat Nagle and John Muse (Florida) and Joe Fallon and Mitch O’Keefe (Las Vegas). The same results hold true for top scorers, goals scored and assists scored. These are two very talented teams loaded with talent and determination. Both teams have been so very close to victory they could taste it. Both want it so bad they will fight to the finish to be the victors.
The battle will begin in Las Vegas, Nevada at Orleans Arena on May 14th.
This year the Florida fans are not asking, “Is this the year?” They are making the statement loud and clear. “This is our year!”
Contact the writer at: sweatherhead@prohockeynews.com
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