Needham’s OT winner brings Everblades back into Kelly Cup Finals

ESTERO, Fla. (WINK) — The Florida Everblades gave Hertz Arena the moment it was waiting for Wednesday night.

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Craig Needham scored his second goal of the game 3:41 into overtime, lifting the Everblades to a 2-1 win over the Kansas City Mavericks in Game 3 of the Kelly Cup Finals.

The win cut Kansas City’s series lead to 2-1 and brought the series back to life in front of a packed home crowd.

Kansas City struck first in the second period when Casey Carreau scored to give the Mavericks a 1-0 lead. Florida pushed back in the third, with Needham tying the game at 13:09 off an assist from Oliver Chau.

Chau assisted on both Everblades goals, including Needham’s overtime winner.

Before the comeback, fans inside Hertz Arena still believed Florida had another push left.

“It’s gonna be tough, but I think the boys have it in them,” Everblades fan Denny Wooten said. “We’ve got a good team, hell of a coach. We’ll come back in the third.”

That is exactly what happened.

Needham’s tying goal sent the game to overtime, and his second goal of the night sent Hertz Arena into a frenzy.

After the game, fans poured out of the arena with the series suddenly looking much different than it did when the night began.

“We were down 2-0. We weren’t scared at all,” one Everblades fan said. “We knew we were coming back home. We had to win one game at home, and guess what? We’re gonna win Friday, too.”

The Everblades and Mavericks will play Game 4 of the Kelly Cup Finals on Friday night at Hertz Arena, puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.