ESTERO, Fla. – With their backs against the wall and needing a victory to remain alive in the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs, the Florida Everblades did exactly that, claiming a 3-1 victory over the Jacksonville Icemen in Game Five of the South Division Semifinals Saturday night at Hertz Arena. With Jacksonville leading three games to two, the series shifts back to North Florida for Game Six on Tuesday.
Three different Blades scored goals, nine different Florida players tallied points, and first star of the game Cam Johnson stopped 27 of 28 shots in a total team effort as the Everblades extended the series in front of 5,247 diehard Southwest Florida hockey fans that stuck around to salute the Blades after the final whistle.
It took almost the entire first period, but for the first time in the series, the Everblades struck first. Following a big hit by Jesse Lansdell that dislodged the puck from a Jacksonville player in the visitors’ end, Bobo Carpenter slammed home the game’s first goal from the doorstep to give the good guys a 1-0 lead. Carpenter’s first goal of the playoffs came at 19:35 of the opening period and resulted in Florida’s first lead of the series. Riese Zmolek joined Lansdell in the assist column.
Florida wasted little time doubling its lead, as Logan Lambdin connected for the first time in the series just 1:34 into the second period, giving Florida a 2-0 lead and setting off an eruption inside Hertz Arena. Joe Pendenza won a faceoff in the right circle and Sean Josling immediately fed Lambdin for the score.
While Jacksonville’s Chris Grando trimmed the Everblades’ lead to 2-1 at 10:10 of the second, Mark Senden restored the home team’s two-goal lead, putting the Blades on top 3-1 with exactly three minutes left in the middle frame. Defensemen Jordan Sambrook and Zach Berzolla both earned helpers as the duo set up Senden’s insurance goal from the left circle.
Neither team scored in the third period. The Everblades claimed a 31-28 edge in shots on the night.
The series shifts back to Jacksonville for Game Six Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. and a potential Game Seven Wednesday evening, also at 7:00 p.m. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information on the Kelly Cup Playoffs presented by Lexus and to purchase tickets for games played at Hertz Arena.
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