Photo Courtesy of the ECHL [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/7deb4635-a648-4615-9f82-b2756eb266aa.png] Photo Courtesy of the ECHL For the second time in the last four post-seasons, the Florida Everblades faced elimination. The first time occurred in 2024, when they fought back from a 3-1 deficit in the South Division Semifinals to overcome the Jacksonville Icemen. This time, Florida trailed the Trois-Rivieres Lions 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/game-day/lions-best-everblades-in-ecf-game-5]heading into Game 6 Tuesday evening. A comeback would not be in the cards on this night. Justin Ducharme and Tyler Hylland each scored a pair of goals, while goaltender Luke Cavallin stopped all 25 shots he faced in a 6-0 victory in Estero. Trois-Rivieres takes the Eastern Conference Finals in six games, ending the Everblades’ bid for a Kelly Cup four-peat. Knowing they needed to get off to a good start, Florida came out aggressively early in the opening period, getting the first two shots on goal. While neither were high-quality chances, Lions goaltender Luke Cavallin was up to the task, turning away each one. The Lions lit the lamp first at the 15:34 mark on a Ducharme net-front goal. It was the fifth time in the six games of this series and 14th in 16 post-season contests Trois-Rivieres scored first. The score remained that way through the first 20 minutes, with the Lions also leading in the shot category 7-6. Neither team drew a penalty in the first period. That changed less than two minutes into the middle frame, when Colton Hargrove was called for the game’s first penalty, putting the Lions on the power play. However, Florida effectively killed off the penalty without allowing a shot. The Everblades had a flurry of shots during one series seven minutes in, but Cavallin was rock-solid, denying each one. Those failed opportunities seemed to inject some energy into Trois-Rivieres. At 10:42, Ducharme struck again, this time on a breakaway. He got behind the Florida defense and went five-hole on goalie Cam Johnson. Just 18 seconds later, Alex Beaucage tallied his ninth goal of the post-season for a 3-0 Lions lead, sending the Hertz Arena crowd into stunned silence. It was the largest lead by any team in the series and the biggest deficit the Everblades have faced this post-season. The Everblades’ Isaac Nurse went to the sin bin for high sticking at 18:21 of the middle frame. Florida came close to scoring a shorthanded goal just as the period ended, but Cavallin stood tall once more. The penalty carried into the third period with the 3-0 deficit and the Everblades' season on the ropes. If anyone had firsthand knowledge that Florida was capable of a comeback, it would be Trois-rivieres. The Everblades trailed 2-0 after 40 minutes in Game 3 before scoring four unanswered goals to win. As the third period got underway in Game 6, the Lions had two chances to score on the power play, but Johnson helped his team kill off the penalty. The Everblades finally got their first chance on the man advantage at 2:18 of the third, but even that couldn’t change their bad mojo. Tyler Hylland’s initial shot was stopped by Johnson, but the rebound managed to trickle behind him into the net for a 4-0 Lions lead. That freak goal proved to be the back-breaker for the Everblades. They sent Cam Johnson to the bench for the sixth attacker at the 13:34 mark, but to no avail. Trois-Rivieres went into shutdown mode, with Cavallin keeping Florida off the scoreboard for the second time in the series. Hylland scored an empty-netter for his second goal of the night, and Tommy cormier added his first professional playoff goal to secure the 6-0 final score. The Lions claimed the E.A. “Bud” Gingher Trophy as Eastern Conference champions 4-2, ending Florida’s bid for a fourth straight Kelly Cup. Trois-Rivieres will face the Toledo Walleye in the Cup Finals. The Lions are the second Canadian-based team in ECHL history to reach the Finals, joining the Newfoundland Growlers who defeated Toledo in six games in the 2019 Kelly Cup Finals.
