Despite dominating the shot totals for a second straight night, the Florida Everblades couldn’t crack the Trois-Rivières Lions again, falling 2-1 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday at Hertz Arena.
The Lions now lead the best-of-seven series 2-0 as it shifts to Canada for the next three games.
Alex Beaucage put the visitors on the board just 36 seconds after puck drop with his seventh goal of the playoffs. Florida answered quickly, as Kyle Neuber scored his first of the postseason less than three minutes in, with Isaac Nurse assisting.
The tie held until the second period, when Justin Ducharme buried a shorthanded goal at 3:39 to give Trois-Rivières the edge. Florida had ample opportunity to even the score—outshooting the Lions 22-6 in the final two periods and 32-14 overall—but couldn’t get another puck past goaltender Luke Cavallin.
“They block a ton of shots, and he comes up with the saves when they need him,” Everblades head coach Brad Ralph said. “We’re down, but we’re certainly not out.”
Florida has landed 64 shots on net across the first two games of the series while allowing just 28, but Cavallin has turned away 62 of them to give the Lions back-to-back wins.
Ralph pointed to last year’s first round playoff comeback from a 2-0 deficit as reason for optimism.
“There was a belief in our group last year, and it’ll be the same this year,” he said. “I believe in this group, and I know they believe in each other.”
Forward Carson Gicewicz said the team remains confident heading into a critical stretch north of the border.
“It’s an opportunity. It’s first to four now,” Gicewicz said. “You watch the NHL playoffs all the time—the percentages are pretty much out the window once the game starts.”
Game 3 is scheduled for Wednesday, May 21, at Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. The Everblades will need to win at least two of the three games in Canada to bring the series back to Hertz Arena for a potential Game 6 on May 27.
Cam Johnson made 12 saves for Florida in Sunday’s loss. Cavallin finished with 31 stops for the Lions.