TOLEDO, Ohio – Alex Aleardi scored twice in the third period and Cam Johnson stopped 33-shots, as the Florida Everblades stunned the Toledo Walleye in comeback fashion in front of 8,600 fans at the Huntington Center to claim a 3-2 win in game one of the 2022 ECHL Kelly Cup Finals.
Toledo jumped out to a 2-0 lead, behind a 17-12 shot advantage in the opening frame.
Randy Gazzola got the scoring going, netting his second playoff goal on assists from Mitchell Heard and Patrick Curry. Heard dug the puck out of the corner and sent a cross-ice pass to Gazzola, who sent it into the top right corner of the net past Johnson for a 1-0 lead.
With Florida’s Lukas Kaelble in the box serving a hooking minor, Toledo made the most of it’s first powerplay attempt later in the period. With Johnson sprawled out in the crease, Matt Berry collected a rebound and handed it over to John Albert at the right post. Albert tapped in the puck for his eighth of the post-season and a 2-0 Walleye lead. Brandon Hawkins was credited with the secondary assist on the score.
The Everblades got things going mid-way through the second period, adding a Zach Solow goal from Jake Jaremko and Blake Winiecki at 12:36. With Berry serving a tripping minor, Jaremko sent the puck across ice, in front of Toledo goalie Billy Christopoulos, and to the stick of Solow, who put it in the net for his sixth of the playoffs and to cut the lead in half.
Florida turned the tables, offensively, in the second, out-shooting Toledo 17-9.
The Everblades evened things up at 6:45 of the third, on Aleardi’s seventh playoff goal. Aleardi picked up a rebound and beat Christopoulos top shelf from the low slot to make it 2-2. Assists were awarded to Kaelble and Levko Koper.
Aleardi struck again almost 12-minutes later to give the Everblades the would-be game-winning goal. Taking a long pass from Koper, Aleardi collected the puck, and gained enough separation from two Walleye defenders to release a shot from just inside the right circle that beat Christopoulos for a 3-2 lead.
Florida outshot Toledo 40-35 on the night, while scoring on one of two powerplay chances. Toledo went 1-for-4 on the man advantage.
Game two is scheduled for Saturday night in Toledo. Opening face-off is set for 7:35 ET.
Game 2 – Saturday, June 4 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio
Game 3 – Wednesday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida
Game 4 – Friday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida
Game 5 – Saturday, June 11 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida *
Game 6 – Tuesday, June 14 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio *
Game 7 – Thursday, June 16 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio *
* – If Necessary
Contact the writer: John.Hall@prohockeynews.com
Follow us on Twitter: @ProHockeyNews, @JohnHallPHN
You must be logged in to post a comment.