ESTERO, Fla. — The Florida Everblades are your 2023 Kelly Cup champions! The Blades completed the sweep on Friday night, defeating the Idaho Steelheads 4-3 in Game 4 at Hertz Arena.
The Blades become the third team in ECHL history to win back-to-back Kelly Cup titles.
BACK 2 BACK #RANITBACK pic.twitter.com/S3rp97VkRf
— x – Florida Everblades (@FL_Everblades) June 10, 2023
Florida capitalized late in the first period on some crucial defensive mistakes made by the Steelheads. Forward Sean Josling showcased his speed, finding the back of the net with a pair of breakaway goals to put the Blades up 2-0.
In the second period, Idaho came out firing — peppering Everblades goaltender Cam Johnson with 18 shots. By the third period, the Steelheads had answered with three goals of their own to take the lead.
Backed by an electric cup-hungry crowd, Florida responded with some urgency of their own. Defenseman Olivier Leblanc tied the game early in the third period with a beautiful wrist shot after a sweet feed from Josling, capping off some relentless pressure by the Blades on the powerplay.
Just three minutes later, the Blades regained the lead emphatically when forward Tyler Irvine buried a loose puck after a shot by defenseman Brandon Hickey was blocked in front.
🚨GO AHEAD GOAL🚨@TylerIrvine9 gives us the lead👏 pic.twitter.com/sFXIzHJ2AQ
— x – Florida Everblades (@FL_Everblades) June 10, 2023
Just twelve minutes away from repeating, the Blades locked the Steelheads down and Johnson denied some last-gasp attempts by Idaho to force overtime.
Johnson was named the Most Valuable Player, saving 35 of 38 shots on this special night in Everblades history.