ESTERO, FL – Winning a championship is difficult, no matter what sport, no matter what level. Winning two of them back-to-back is almost impossible, unless you are the Florida Everblades of the ECHL who won their second straight Kelly Cup Championship Friday night in a thrilling 4-3 regulation win against the Idaho Steelheads before 7,855 fans in a standing-room only setting.
The back-to-back achievement has only been achieved four times in the league’s history. The previous back-to-back Kelly Cup winners were the Allen Americans (2015 & 2016) and the Colorado Eagles (2017 & 2018). Prior to 1997, the Riley Cup was awarded to the playoff champion. Hampton Roads Admirals (1991 & 1992) and Toledo Storm (1993 & 1994) were back-to-back champions of the ECHL in those years.
Everblades goaltender Cam Johnson was awarded the June M. Kelly Award for Playoff MVP.
The game had ebbs and flows swinging from one extreme to the other including three unanswered goals allowing Idaho to take the lead and then a sequence in the second period which put Florida shorthanded at least one player for nearly eight consecutive minutes.
As for the game, Florida began the opening period with a barrage of scoring chances that Idaho goaltender Remi Poirier valiantly kept away from his net. In the first five minutes, the home team had all five shots in the game before a weakly propelled drive reached Cam Johnson.
Midway through the period, the Everblades held a 9-2 lead in shots on Idaho and controlled play in dominant fashion.
With just more than eight minutes left in the period, Florida Logan Lambdin had a glorious chance on a wraparound which Poirier stopped. That was followed by an assault on the Florida net, their best chance of the early going included a rapid three, in-close shots, the last one repelled by Florida netminder Cam Johnson repelled with his left toe, keeping the game scoreless.
With just more than seven minutes in the period, Florida’s Ben Masella was called for boarding to the left of the Idaho net. The thunderous illegal check led to an assembly of minstrels descending on the scene which nearly got out of control.
That sent Idaho to the power play and despite some dangerous chances, couldn’t solve Johnson.
With just under four minutes into the period, Florida struck up the band when Joe Pendenza slung a wicked pass across the neutral zone to a streaking Sean Josling, cutting across the blue line. Josling eluded the trailing Steeleheads and snapped a wrist shot over Poirier’s catch glove. Josling’s ninth goal of the playoffs sent the standing-room only crowd into a frenzy.
And he wasn’t done. Just 2:45 later, Josling collected the puck along the right boards and with no opponent within thirty feet, advanced toward Poirier. Josling crossed the blue line, roofing a shot just under the bar, sending the puck fluttering end over end before dropping flush on the ice, just inside the goal line, giving the Everblades a 2-0 lead and Josling into double-digits with his tenth marker of the spring season.
The home team
was flying and the only thing stopping them was the end of the period, a frame which saw the Everblades overwhelming the Steelheads in shots 13-5.
Not wanting to let the home team get too much more of the upper hand, Idaho came out strong for the second period. Delivering the period’s first four shots on goal and contributing to two distinctive strikes on the Everblades’ net, the Steeleheads were left with nothing to show for their newly found energy as Johnson turned aside all chances which came his way.
With just more than three minutes into the period, any momentum Idaho was starting to generate was snuffed out when Ryan Dmowski was whistled for cross-checking, but Florida couldn’t cash-in on the ensuing man advantage.
Seconds after Idaho killed the penalty, they resumed their early-period energy and lit the lamp behind Johnson. In a flurry of shots on a congested area in front of the net, Idaho’s Matt Register slid the puck over to Dawson Barteaux. The play continued with a pass to Ryan Dmowski who laid into a drive that beat Johnson glove side for his tenth of the second season.
The Steelheads were officially back in the game.
Then a high-sticking penalty on Florida’s Cole Moberg led the first of several successive penalty calls against the home squad.
Just 34 seconds later, Florida’s Lukas Kalble was whistled for delay of game when he sent a clearing attempt to ice the puck up and over the glass behind the Steelheads bench. The defending Champions where in trouble.
And it didn’t take long for that trouble to become real on the scoreboard.
Just seven seconds into the two-man advantage, Idaho’s Patrick Kudla gathered the puck down low before sending a pass to the left point and a waiting Owen Headrick. With two less players on the ice for Florida, that left a wide-open Ryan Dmowski high in the slot. He eased toward the net before laying into a wrister which beat Johnson for his eleventh of the playoffs and the Steelheads had drawn even.
Idaho had overtaken Florida in shots at 18 to 14 at the midway point of the game.
And conditions to reverse that trend were not getting any better.
Florida kept the steady rhythm of players skating to the box when Cam Darcy was sent to the box for high sticking, this time a double minor. The Everblades where allowing their 2-0 lead and the excitement of a Cup-clinching event slip away.
With just left than six minutes remaining in the period, Florida finally had a penalty call go their way. With play behind the Florida, defenseman Andrew Fyten got tangled up Idaho’s Willie Knieriem, the latter who committed an offense with his elbow.
The Everblades went to work in the attacking zone, but couldn’t put one past Poirier.
Then more Florida good fortune, another power play when Idaho’s Patrick Kudla was sent off for holding with 3:22 left in the period. Still nothing gained with a few shots on net, but no goals.
The period ended with Florida having regained the lead in shots 25 to 23, but allowed Idaho to tie the game with one regulation period left to play. The tide was turning slowly in Idaho’s favor as the second period came to a close.
Idaho started the third period as quickly as it ended the second period. Just twenty-one seconds after the drop of the puck, A.J. White fired home a pass from Matt Register for his sixth goal of the postseason and the Steelheads had taken the lead.
But with just more than two minutes elapsed in the final regulation frame, Ryan Dmowski was whistled for high-sticking and Florida went to work.
The effort, though, didn’t pay off until the penalty expired.
Florida swarmed the Idaho net. With a series of missed stick checks, Idaho failed in clearing the zone and Florida capitalized.
Tyler Irvine protected the puck along the corner boards to the left of the Idaho net. He found Sean Gosling along the side wall. A pivot to his right and a saucer pass to Stefan Leblanc sent the defenseman in on goal where he beat Poirier for his first of the playoffs. The game was now tied.
And they weren’t done.
With just under eight to play and visions of a drink from a championship chalice in the minds, Florida used their swarming forecheck to great a glorious chance.
Florida’s Brandon Hickey forced a turnover in the corner. He slid the puck back to Levko Koper high above the circle. Koper sent a pass cross ice to Kyle Irvine who sent the puk into the open side to give the Everblades the 4-3 lead.
For Idaho, it was the end of a season which once showed promise. The visitors from Boise achieved a regular season record of 58 wins, 11 regulation losses, 1 overtime loss and 2 shootout losses for a league-leading 119 points.
The Steelheads marched through the playoffs dispatching Utah in six games, Allen in five games and Toledo in five games before being swept by Florida. The highly successful and dominating season ended with a disappointing whimper.
Florida, with nearly half of the players returned from their 2022 Championship team, ended the regular season of 38 wins, 25 regulation losses, 4 overtime losses and 5 shootout losses with a second straight championship. The club barely made the playoffs, but then caught fire after snagging the final playoff spot.
They proceeded to defeat South Carolina in six games, Jacksonville in six games and Newfoundland in five games before sweeping Idaho. It marked just the fifth time in ECHL history that a Champion swept their opponent in the finals.
Dennis Morrell has developed a deeply-rooted passion for the great game over many decades as a writer, photographer, goalie coach, netminder and active USA Hockey-certified referee with over 2,000 games on the ice. His passion for the game began in the early 70s with his first glance at skaters battling for the puck at Clayton’s Shaw Park. He has covered nine Stanley Cup Finals and a dozen of the NHL’s special event games. He can be reached at dennis.morrell@prohockeynews.com and you can follow him on Twitter at DMMORRELL.
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