A third-period hat trick by Oliver Chau and a little help from 7,107 of his Hertz Arena friends led the Florida Everblades to a 6-3 comeback win over the Kansas City Mavericks on Wednesday night in Game 3 of the Kelly Cup Finals. The Everblades scored 5 unanswered goals after trailing 3-1.
The win puts the two-time defending ECHL champion Everblades up 2 games to 1 in the best-of-seven series. They will host Game 4 on Friday night at 7:30.
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The raucous crowd was cited by coach and players alike as a force that helped them come back in the game.
"It's amazing," Chau said. "They really helped us rally after going down 3-1 after the first. The fans stuck with us like we stuck with each other in the locker room. They were awesome and the barn was rocking."
Chau, the left-winger on the second line, has seen an offensive explosion in the first three games of the Kelly Cup Finals. He has 7 goals in the series and leads the ECHL in postseason points with 21.
"He's a difference-maker with pucks on his stick," Everblades coach Brad Ralph said.
Down 3-2 going into the third period the Blades tied it just 2 minutes in. Center and captain Joe Pendenza took a loose puck at the top of the slot and shoveled it to Chau in the right face-off circle. Chau flipped the puck in to tie the game.
Later, in the 10th minute of the period, first-line left winger Logan Lambdin picked up his second goal of the night to give the Everblades their first lead. As linemate Josh Ho-Sang was double-teamed, the puck slid to defenseman Zach Berzolla. A shot on goal by Berzolla rebounded into the right face-off circle, where Lambdin took it, shot it into Kansas City goalie Jack LaFontaine. The puck bounced over LaFontaine then landed on the ice and slid across the goal line.
Chau's second goal came a minute and a half later. Defenseman Jordan Sambrook, playing against his old team, skated in front of the net and took a shot that bounced off the goalie and slid to the right face-off circle. Chau took a one-timer top shelf.
The final goal came on an empty net, icing the game and prompting some fans to toss their caps on the ice.
"I thought we did a great job using the momentum and the crowd just to energize us," Ralph said. "I thought we were a little flat to start the game, but it's great playing on our home ice. I was a little concerned that in the third period we wouldn't have the legs or the energy, but the guys came out and just showed how much they wanted it."
Ho-Sang, who leads the ECHL in the postseason with 15 assists, used his maneuverability to answer. Pendenza passed the puck from his corner to Ho-Sang at the red line near the right wall. Ho-Sang spun out of a double team and then took the puck around the net. He passed to Lambdin, who was in the slot, and fired a one-timer to get his first goal, tying the game at the 12:06 mark.
However, immediately after the goal, Everblades forward Bobo Carpenter was whistled for interference, and the Mavericks took advantage. Defenseman Ryan Jones skated forward in his own zone and dropped a pass back to forward David Cotton, a former Everblade. Cotton skated into the offensive zone, cut left through the Florida defense into the slot, and shot a backhander high past Everblades goalie Cam Johnson's glove to give Kansas City back the lead.
Cotton struck again with Jones' help just 3 minutes later. This time Jones was in his own corner when he swiped the puck clear across the neutral zone towards the Florida end. Forward Cole Coskey gathered the puck after it slid into the offensive zone, then skidded to a stop in the right face-off circle. He passed across the ice to Cotton, whose shot beat Johnson on the blocker side, making it a 3-1 game.
"I think it tested our confidence," Ralph said. "When you're down 3-1 in the first period, you really have to believe in yourself. I thought we stuck with it, we worked through it, we persevered, and hopefully it was great lesson for us of what not to do in the first period and trusting what we can do if we stick with it."
The Everblades launched an offensive flurry in the second period, outshooting Kansas City 19-4. In the 10th minute of the period, Florida center Mark Senden scored to make it 3-2. The play started with a shot from the blue line by defenseman Riese Zmolek that LaFontaine stopped. The rebound slid towards the corner, where Carpenter chased it down. Carpenter swiped a centering pass to Senden, whose one-timer went low and to the glove side for the score.
"We liked the second half of the second period, so it was just one small tweak and then just stick with what we're doing," Ralph said. "Have confidence and belief in what we're doing, put the work in, and trust that we'll get it done."
