ESTERO, Fla. — One win away. 

The Florida Everblades scored early and never looked back, rolling to a 5-2 victory over the Kansas City Mavericks in Game Five of the 2026 Kelly Cup Finals presented by Lexus Dealers of Southwest Florida in front of 7,356 fans Saturday night at Hertz Arena.  

With a third-straight victory on home ice, the Everblades now lead the best-of-seven series three games to two and are one win away from becoming the only team in ECHL history to win a fifth Kelly Cup. The Blades will have a chance to hoist the Cup on Monday night, as the series shifts back to Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Mo.

Isaac Nurse wasted little time setting the stage, giving the Everblades a 1-0 lead just 75 seconds after the opening draw, a lead that the Blades would never relinquish. Jett Jones fed Nurse on Kansas City’s doorstep to open the scoring.

Florida was not done in the opening stanza as Oliver Chau scored the first of his two goals on the night, doubling the lead to 2-0 with 49 seconds left before the first intermission. Hudson Elynuik and Gianfranco Cassaro earned the helpers on the first of three power-play goals the Blades would score.

After Kansas City’s Lucas Sowder got the Mavericks on the board with a power-play goal five minutes into a busy second period, Carson Gicewicz registered his 10^th goal of the playoffs to bring the league back to 3-1 with a power-play tally of his own at the 10:30 mark. 

Reid Duke scored for the second straight night, making it 4-1 with a power-play marker at 16:11. Kansas City’s Jakov Novak closed out the second-period scoring with an even-strength goal with just under two minutes remaining, as Florida took a 4-2 lead into the final period.

In the final frame, Chau closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal with 2:10 left on the clock, putting a cherry on top of the Everblades’ 5-2 victory.

Cole Moberg notched a pair of assists on the Blades’ second-period goals, while Elynuik recorded his second assist of the night on Duke's tally. Jesse Lansdell also picked up an assist on the Gicewicz goal.

In between the pipes, Cam Johnson was brilliant, stopping 25 of 27 shots to earn the victory in goal. Kansas City nipped Florida 27-26 in the shot department.

Game Six will be played at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Mo., on Monday, June 15, at 8:05 p.m. EDT. Should a Game Seven be needed, it would be played Wednesday, June 17 at 8:05 p.m. EDT in Missouri. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and additional updates.

BLADES BITS

In the three games at Hertz Arena, the Everblades outscored Kansas City 10-5.

The Everblades power play was on fire in Game Five, as three of the Blades’ five goals came with the good guys on the man advantage. Through the first four games of the Kelly Cup Finals, Florida was 2-for-12 in the power-play department, before exploding for a 3-for-6 showing in Game Five. 

With a pair of Game Five assists, Hudson Elynuik now leads all players in the Finals with five points and four helpers.

Six different players have scored two goals in the Finals, with four of the six donning Everblades sweaters – Oliver Chau, Carson Gicewicz, Reid Duke and Craig Needham.

Saturday Night’s Scoresheet

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