BOISE, Idaho – Logan Lambdin scored twice and added an assist as the Florida Everblades claimed a 5-3 road win over the Idaho Steelheads in front of 5,101 at Idaho Central Arena on Sunday evening in game two of the Kelly Cup Finals.
For the second-straight game, Idaho found the net first. Veteran defenseman Matt Register scored his first goal of the playoffs 11:49 into the first on a blast through traffic from the blue line. Jordan Kawaguchi and Dawson Barteaux were credited with the assists.
Florida found the equalizer eight minutes later, when Ashton Calder chipped in his third of the post-season on the power play. Calder hammered a shot into the net from the high slot, following a faceoff to the right of Idaho netminder Adam Scheel. Sean Josling and Lambdin were given the assists on the goal that made it 1-1 after one period of play.
Lambdin then took over, book-ending the second period with his two goals of the night.
Just 50-seconds into the middle frame, Florida’s Joe Pendenza won a face off to the right of Scheel and sent the puck back to Lambdin, who sailed a wrist shot past Scheel, glove side, to give the Everblades a 2-1 lead.
Idaho’s power play unit would then fail to tie on two power play chances in the period.
Lambdin struck again with 5-seconds remaining in the period to give the Everblades a two goal lead. Taking a long pass from John McCarron, Lambdin marched in on net all alone, faked right then tucked the puck into the left side of the net to give Florida a 3-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
Florida added to the lead at 13:42 of the third period on a goal from Levko Koper, assisted by Sean Josling and Will Calverley.
Moving the puck into the Idaho zone on a 3-on-2 rush, Josling saucered a pass to Koper in the low slot. Koper then deked right, pulled the puck to his backhand and chipped it into the left side of the net to make it a 4-1 Everblades advantage.
Feeling the urgency to score, Idaho would make things interesting two minutes later.
With Florida’s Stefan Leblanc in the penalty box serving a minor for cross-checking, Idaho Head Coach Everett Sheen pulled Scheel for an extra attacker during the ensuing power play. The 6-on-4 power play resulted in a goal from Justin Misiak from Register.
Register skated the puck to the bottom of the circle, then found Misiak sneaking towards the net. The perfectly timed pass found Misiak’s stick and Misiak didn’t waste his opportunity, burying the puck past Florida goalie Cam Johnson to make it 4-2.
The reinvigorated Steelheads kept their foot on the gas, adding a goal from Ty Pelton-Byce just 21-seconds later to pull within one.
Willie Knierim jumped on a loose puck in the Florida zone, then sent a pass from the left circle to the right circle, where Pelton-Byce rifled a shot past Johnson to make it 4-3 at 15:57.
The drama intensified less than a minute later when Florida’s McCarron was sent to the sin bin for a high-sticking double minor.
The Steelheads again pulled Scheel for an extra attacker and turned up the pressure, but would not be able to find the equalizer and Florida’s Ben Masella would ice the game with a short-handed empty net goal with 29-seconds remaining.
The series now shifts to Estero, Florida for game three on Wednesday. Opening face off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Game four will take place on Friday, with game five tentatively scheduled for Saturday, if necessary.
Idaho will have to win at least two-of-three games on the road if they want to see the Kelly Cup awarded in Boise. The Steelheads did just that in the Mountain Division Semifinals against the Utah Grizzlies. Losing the first two games at home to the Grizzlies, the Steelheads swept all three games in Utah before returning to Idaho Central Arena where they closed out the series in game six.
Florida leads series 2-0
Game 1 – FLORIDA 3 at Idaho 2 (OT)
Game 2 – FLORIDA 5 at Idaho 3
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
Interested in writing about hockey, opining about your team, photographing hockey? Stop by our recruitment page by clicking here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.