The Florida Everblades’ bid for a fourth straight Kelly Cup championship came to an end Tuesday night, falling 6-0 to the Trois-Rivières Lions in Game 6 of the ECHL Eastern Conference Finals at Hertz Arena. The Lions clinched the series 4-2 and advanced to the Kelly Cup Finals.
Justin Ducharme’s first-period goal gave Trois-Rivières the early lead, and the Lions never looked back. Ducharme and Alex Beaucage scored back-to-back in the second, stretching the lead to 3-0. Tyler Hylland’s shorthanded goal in the third and two late goals sealed the Everblades’ fate, despite Florida outshooting the Lions 25-20.
After the game, Everblades head coach Brad Ralph said the team came up short despite giving it everything.
“[It was] a pretty disappointing game,” Ralph said. “Not a good night to have an off night. But I’m proud of these guys. They fought through a lot to get us to this point.”
He credited the Lions’ defense and goaltending for shutting down the Everblades’ offense.
“They blocked a lot of shots, and we didn’t get a lot of secondary opportunities,” Ralph said. “We didn’t get the job done offensively, but these guys gave everything they had.”
Ralph praised the team’s grit and the support of their fans.
“Just tremendous support,” he said. “I’m very thankful to walk out there on that ice. The fans support us through thick and thin, and we’re disappointed we couldn’t put a better effort on the ice tonight.”
Forward Kyle Betts called the loss “pretty embarrassing.”
“You battle so hard all year, and you lay an egg. It’s tough, and it’s going to hurt for a long time,” he said.
Betts pointed to the importance of scoring first, something the Lions did in five of the six games.
“We were chasing the game too much,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s on us. We had the pieces to beat this team, but we didn’t execute.”
Florida’s season ends short of the Kelly Cup Finals, but the team’s historic run, including 14 straight playoff series wins and a three-peat of Kelly Cup championships, will be remembered as one of the most dominant stretches in ECHL history.
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