ESTERO, Fla. – The Florida Everblades scored early and often, riding a four-goal second period to claim a 5-3 victory over the Orlando Solar Bears in Game One of the South Division Finals before 5,512 fans Friday night at Hertz Arena.
With the victory, Everblades Head Coach Brad Ralph earned his 100th ECHL postseason win, making him the first head coach to reach the century mark in Kelly Cup playoff victories. Ralph is 100-58 all-time, including an 80-40 mark leading the Blades in the postseason.
Defenseman Cole Moberg got the scoring started for the Everblades, burying a one-timer from the right point at 5:38 of the first period that gave Florida a 1-0 lead. The Blades dominated the tempo throughout the opening frame, creating three power-play opportunities and outshooting Orlando 11-3.
A quick power-play goal by Jesse Lansdell 1:34 into the second period doubled the Everblades’ lead to 2-0, setting the stage for the good guys to take a huge lead later in the frame. Florida struck three times in a 6:33 span to pull ahead 5-0. Tallies by Jordan Sambrook (12:23), Colton Hargrove (15:13) and Carson Gicewicz (18:56) closed out the four-goal middle stanza.
In the final frame, the Solar Bears got on the board with a goal by Hudson Thornton at 1:25 and also added markers by Ara Nazarian (6:44) and Djibril Touré (14:36), as the Everblades maintained a multi-goal lead through the end of the contest, claiming the 5-3 victory.
Florida outshot Orlando 27-18 in the contest. Everblades netminder Cam Johnson made 15 saves, improving to 5-0 in the playoffs, while Solar Bears goalies Jon Gillies and Ryan Fanti logged 14 and eight saves, respectively. Gillies was forced to the bench for the first time in the playoffs after the Blades pulled ahead 4-0.
The in-state rivals will hook up for Game Two Saturday night before the series shifts to Orlando for Game Three on Tuesday. Saturday’s puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets.