Oliver Chau netted the game-winning goal at the 14:06 mark of overtime to give the defending ECHL champions the road win. Florida’s John McCarron jumped on an Idaho turnover in the Idaho slot, then found a trailing Chau, who put the puck past Idaho goaltender Adam Scheel for his seventh score of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Idaho jumped onto the scoreboard first, taking a 1-0 lead 15:38 into the first period on a power play goal by Dawson Barteaux from Jordan Kawaguchi and Justin Ducharme. With a 5-on-3 advantage, Barteaux slammed home his first goal of the playoffs from just above the right circle, finding the net past Florida’s Cam Johnson to the delight of the home crowd.
The Everblades tied the game 7:06 into the second period on an even-strength goal by Cole Moberg, assisted by Zach Uens and Cam Darcy. Darcy won the puck on a draw to Scheel’s left and passed to Uens, who then kicked the puck over to Moberg, who blasted a shot over Scheel’s glove to tie the game. The game would remain tied 1-1 headed into the second intermission.
The Steelheads reclaimed the lead 6:54 into the third period on Ryan Dmowski’s ninth post-season goal, assisted by Willie Knierim and Ty Pelton-Byce to make it 2-1. From behind the net, Kneirim sent a pass to Dmowski, who found the net from the low slot.
Florida pulled even once again at 12:40 on a power play goal from Blake Winiecki, his ninth of the playoffs, from McCarron and Chau, making it 2-2. While on the man advantage, McCarron fired on Scheel from point-blank-range, and Scheel made the initial save before Winiecki jumped on the rebound and knocked the puck into the open net.
The ice was tilted in Idaho’s favor in the extra frame, with the Steelheads out-shooting the Everblades 7-4 before Florida took advantage of an Idaho mistake to snatch the win.
Florida had a total of 37 shots to Idaho’s 36, while both netminders stopped 34 shots on the night.
Florida was 1-for-2 on the power play, and Idaho was 1-for-4.
The two squads now face a short turnaround, as they do battle again at 4:10 p.m. MT on Sunday in Boise.
Florida leads series 1-0
Game 1 – FLORIDA 3 at Idaho 2 (OT)
Game 2 – Sunday, June 4 at 4:10 p.m. MT at Idaho
Game 3 – Wednesday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida
Game 4 – Friday, June 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida
Game 5 – Saturday, June 10 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Florida (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, June 13 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Idaho (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, June 14 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Idaho (If Necessary)
Contact the writer: John.Hall@prohockeynews.com
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