CHAU’S THIRD-PERIOD HATTY LIFTS BLADES TO 2-1 SERIES LEAD

ESTERO, Fla. – Oliver Chau scored three of the Florida Everblades’ four third-period goals and Logan Lambdin added two goals of his own as the Blades rallied from a 3-1 deficit to claim a thrilling 6-3 victory over the Kansas City Mavericks in Game Three of the Kelly Cup Finals Wednesday night at Hertz Arena. 

The Everblades took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series in front of a standing-room only crowd of 7,107 fans – the 16^th sellout in 45 openings this season at The Swamp. The final series in the Kelly Cup Playoffs presented by Germain Lexus and Scanlon Lexus continues with Game Four Friday night in Estero.

A busy opening period saw Kansas City strike first and grab a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes. For the first time in the series, Kansas City took a 1-0 lead as Jacob Hayhurst slipped behind the Everblades defense and found the net, giving the visitors an early advantage at 6:02 of the opening frame.

Just six minutes later, the Everblades drew even as Josh Ho-Sang executed a snazzy wrap around and fed Logan Lambdin for the equalizer at 12:06. Lambdin’s fifth tally of the playoffs came off Ho-Sang’s league-best 15^th assist, with Jordan Sambrook also adding a helper. 

Kansas City’s David Cotton closed out the first-period scoring – and the Mavericks’ offense for the night – with a pair of goals, registering the visitors’ fourth power-play goal of the series at 14:10 and adding an even-strength marker at 16:54.

After the first intermission, it was all Everblades.

Florida dominated the tempo in the second period, outshooting Kansas City 19-4 and trimming the deficit to a single goal by Mark Senden midway through the frame that cut the deficit to 3-2. Senden connected from the slot at 10:24, with Bobo Carpenter and Riese Zmolek picking up the helpers.  The goal was Senden’s first of the series and seventh of the playoffs, while Carpenter’s assist gave him a team-leading 19 points this postseason. 

Just 2:09 into the third period, Chau knotted the score at 3-3 on his team-leading third goal of the Finals and sixth of the playoffs. All alone in the slot, Chau poked home a feed from Joe Pendenza, the captain’s first point of the Finals and his seventh helper of the postseason.

Then, the magic happened. 

Lambdin and Chau would add their respective second goals of the game just 54 seconds apart, with Lambdin give the Everblades a 4-3 lead at 11:02 and Chau providing an insurance tally at 11:56 to put Florida ahead 5-3. Ho-Sang picked up his second helper of the game – his 16^th of the playoffs – and Zach Berzolla added an assist on Lambdin’s goal, while Sambrook registered his second assist on the night on Chau’s tally.

Chau completed the hat trick with an unassisted empty-net goal with 65 seconds left on the clock.

The Everblades claimed a dominating 41-19 edge in shots on goal, including a 31-7 advantage over the final two periods. For the Blades, Cam Johnson made 16 saves en route to his 14^th win of the playoffs. Kansas City’s Jack LaFontaine had 35 saves and suffered the loss.

 

Kelly Cup Finals action at Hertz Arena resumes with Game Four Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and Game Five on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Should the series go longer than five games, Kansas City would host Games Six and Seven on Monday, June 10 and Wednesday, June 12, respectively, at 8:05 p.m. ET.

Tickets for the remaining Kelly Cup Finals games that will be played at Hertz Arena may be purchased online by clicking HERE, in-person at the Fifth Third Bank Box Office at Hertz Arena, or by calling the Everblades office at 239-948-PUCK. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information on the Kelly Cup Playoffs presented by Germain Lexus and Scanlon Lexus and to purchase tickets for games played at Hertz Arena. 

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BLADES BITS

Four Everblades turned in multi-point performances, led by Oliver Chau’s hat trick and Logan Lambdin’s two-goal effort. In the playmaking department, Josh Ho-Sang and Jordan Sambrook each picked up two assists.

With three goals, Oliver Chau leads all players on both sides with five goals in the Finals, while Logan Lambdin’s two-goal night gave him three goals in the series.

Mark Senden’s first goal of the finals came in the second period, and made him the seventh Everblade to find the net in this year’s Kelly Cup Finals.

Oliver Chau’s three goals in the third period, gave him points in four straight games, with nine points on six goals and three helpers in that span. Over his last seven games, Chau has 13 points on six goals and seven assists.

The Everblades picked up their first win this postseason when trailing after one period (1-4-1) and two periods (1-5). 

Florida dominated the shots on goal category for the second straight game. After outshooting Kansas City 36-35 in Game One, the Everblades have outshot the Thunder 77-40 over Games Two and Three.

 

In the first two games of the series, the teams combined for 52 penalty minutes on 26 infractions, each team was called for just four minutes on two penalties. 

 

Wednesday Night’s Scoresheet 

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