JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Special teams were the difference, as the Jacksonville Icemen scored three power-play goals and added an empty-net shorthanded goal to defeat the Florida Everblades 4-0 in the opening game of the South Division Semifinal series Thursday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Jacksonville leads the best-of-seven series one game to none.
A physical first period nearly resulted in a scoreless frame to open the series,but Jacksonville’s Christopher Brown converted on the power play at the 19:05 mark to give the Icemen a 1-0 lead. The home team outshot the Everblades by a 10-7 count in the opening frame, with Blades goaltender and defending two-time Kelly Cup Playoff MVP Cam Johnson turning aside nine of 10 shots over the first 20 minutes.
The Everblades turned up the offensive intensity in the middle frame, outshooting Jacksonville by a 14-10 count, but could not draw even despite a whole host of golden opportunities. While Johnson was perfect, stopping all 10 shots he faced in the second stanza, Jacksonville netminder Matt Vernon returned to his All-ECHL Second Team form, stopping all 14 Florida shots he faced in the second period, after struggling to a 0-4-1-0 mark with a 5.67 GAA across five regular-season appearances in April.
Olivier Nadeau doubled Jacksonville’s lead just 2:39 into the third period, as he scored the Icemen’s second power-play goal of the contest to give the home team a 2-0 lead. The Icemen added an empty-net shorthanded goal by Jerry D’Amigo (16:59) and a power-play goal by Derek Lodermeier (17:54) to close out the scoring,
Jacksonville outshot Florida 30-28 on the night. Enjoying five more power-play opportunities than the Everblades, the Icemen were 3-for-7 on the power play, while the Blades went 0-for-2 on the man advantage.
Vernon stopped all 28 shots he faced for Jacksonville, while Johnson turned aside 26 of 29 shots for the Blades.
Game Two of the best-of-seven series will take place in Jacksonville on Sunday, April 21 at 3:00 p.m. The Everblades will host Game Three, the first of three potential home games in the series, on Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear white for all opening-round games at Hertz Arena as a nod to the Blades’ first Kelly Cup title in 2012, and can take advantage of a special postseason Hump Day Deal on Wednesday with $3.00 beers and hot dogs available throughout the game. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information on the Kelly Cup Playoffs presented by Lexus and to purchase tickets.
With Everblades match report
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