Photo Courtesy of the Trois-Rivieres Lions [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/054b4932-76da-43e0-b1dc-80040af3b90a.jpeg] Photo Courtesy of the Trois-Rivieres Lions Iowa notched its first-ever playoff win, while a rookie led Tulsa to a stunning comeback over Kansas City. Here's a look at the action from Friday night's Division Semifinal matchups. A look at Friday's playoff action in the ECHL. LIONS OVERTAKE ROYALS The #4 Reading Royals [https://royalshockey.com/]fought valiantly but ultimately couldn’t contain Alex Beaucage, who tallied two goals to give top-seeded Trois-Rivieres [https://lions3r.com/]a 4-2 victory in Game 1 of their North Division Semifinal series. After Reading took a 2-1 lead at 3:54 of the middle frame, the Lions fired 19 shots at goaltender Keith Petruzzelli in the period. Beaucage evened the score after pouncing on a loose puck, then Justin Ducharme put the Lions ahead to stay 3-2 with 1:30 left. Beaucage got his second on an empty-netter for the 4-2 final. Luke Cavallin stopped 28 of 30 shots to earn the win, while Petruzzelli suffered the loss on 33 of 36. Game 2 is Saturday night in Trois-Rivieres, with puck drop set for 7 Pm ET. STINGRAYS KEEP ROLLING Not every team manages to keep the momentum they had at the end of the regular season. While it’s only one game, the No. 1 seed South Carolina Stingrays [https://stingrayshockey.com/]showed no signs of slowing down after winning 17 of their final 18 games. The Rays took a 1-0 lead in their South Division Semifinal series with a 5-3 win over the No. 4 Orlando Solar Bears [https://orlandosolarbearshockey.com/]. Ryan Hofer scored two goals and Connor Moore, Jayden Lee and Charlie Combs chipped in with a goal apiece. Moore put the Stingrays ahead 1-0 early in the first on a chip shot into the top corner. Lee doubled the lead at 2:45 of the middle frame on a wrap-around. The Solar Bears got on the board with an Aaron Luchuk power-play goal midway through the second period after putting in his own rebound. Less than two minutes later, Hofer delivered a goal [https://x.com/SCStingrays/status/1913395165148098991]that should make every highlight reel for a 3-1 Rays lead. Jack Adams brought Orlando to within 3-2 on a redirected Kris Myllari shot. Anthony Bardaro then tied the game 31 seconds later on a wrister from the left-wing circle. It was Combs who regained the South Carolina lead 46 seconds after that by tipping in a Micah Miller shot. Hofer tapped in a cross-ice feed seven minutes later for his second of the night, which held up as the 5-3 final. The Stingrays took a 1-0 lead with Game 2 Saturday night at North Charleston Coliseum. Puck drop is set for 7:05 Pm ET. EVERBLADES OUTLAST ICEMEN If you’re going to knock off the defending Kelly Cup Champion Florida Everblades [https://www.floridaeverblades.com/], you have to keep your foot on the gas the whole time. Photo Courtesy of the Florida Everblades [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/39ba204c-b627-4b76-b14f-38b748f04bc0.png] Photo Courtesy of the Florida Everblades Alex Kile’s goal [https://x.com/FL_Everblades/status/1913427323501662448]at 13:05 of overtime completed a successful comeback from a one-goal third-period deficit as second-seed Florida edged No. 3 Jacksonville [https://jacksonvilleicemen.com/]3-2 in Game 1 of the South Division Semifinals. Jordan Sambrook opened the scoring for the Everblades with a power-play goal just 2:15 into the game after connecting from the blue line through traffic. The Icemen took a 2-1 lead in the middle frame with a pair of goals 74 seconds apart. Olivier Nadeau found the net first on a power play at the 10:32 mark, followed by Logan Cockerill’s even-strength tally at 11:46. It wasn’t until late in the third period that Florida was able to even the score on a power-play goal from Kyle Betts at 16:31 on a long pass from Conor Doherty. The score was tied 2-2 heading into overtime. It took 13 minutes of bonus hockey before Kile buried a feed from Jesse Lansdell in the slot to close out the 3-2 victory. Cam Johnson stopped 31 of 33 shots to earn the win, while Icemen netminder Matt Vernon made 49 saves in a tough loss. Game 2 is Saturday in Estero, with puck drop slated for 7 Pm ET. LEWANDOWSKI GIVES WALLEYE COMMANDING LEAD After taking Game 1 of their Central division Semifinals matchup Thursday, the Toledo Walleye [https://www.toledowalleye.com/]went up 2-0 in the series Friday with a 5-2 win over No. 4-seed Indy [https://indyfuelhockey.com/]at Huntington Center. Mitchell Lewandowski was the difference, scoring two goals to power his club to victory. He got his first just over three minutes in with a shot from behind the net. Jalen Smereck notched his second goal of the post-season later in the frame, and Toledo took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission for the second straight night. The Fuel closed the gap to 2-1 at the 1:51 mark of the second, only to see Trenton Bliss increase the advantage back to two. Indy tried once more to get back in the game, scoring late in the second and trailed 3-2. It took until late in the third for Toledo to get an insurance goal, but Lewandowski pushed the lead to 4-2 on a power play, his second tally of the night. The ECHL MVP [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/players/toledos-hawkins-wins-mvp-award-for-second-consecutive-year], Brandon Hawkins, put the game out of reach with a goal to make the final 5-2. Hawkins, who captured his second consecutive MVP award, had three assists for a total of four points on the night. Game 3 is Monday in Indy, with puck drop set for 7 Pm ET. ANOTHER FIRST FOR IOWA The third-seed Heartlanders [https://iowaheartlanders.com/]made the playoffs for the first time in their four-year ECHL history. On Friday, they got their first-ever playoff victory, 5-3 over No. 2 Fort Wayne [https://komets.com/]on the road. Photo Courtesy of the Iowa Heartlanders [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/ce37a20f-d710-49c0-b5e8-5106b5c49985.png] Photo Courtesy of the Iowa Heartlanders Gavin Hain recorded a goal and two helpers for a three-point night to put Iowa ahead 1-0 in the Central Division Semifinal series. Hain saved his goal for when it counted most, putting in the game-winner with 10:20 left in the third to give the Heartlanders a 4-2 lead. Iowa jumped out to an early 3-0 advantage, only to have the Komets pull to within one at 3-2. Adam Goodsir added insurance with a shorthanded tally with 6:22 remaining in the third for the 5-2 victory. Kyle McClellan stopped 24 of 26 shots for his first post-season win, while Fort Wayne’s Brett Brochu saved 27 in the loss. Game 2 is Saturday in Fort Wayne, with puck drop set for 7:35 Pm ET. OILERS STUN MAVERICKS In perhaps the biggest surprise of Friday night, the Tulsa Oilers [https://tulsaoilers.com/]exploded for four unanswered goals in the third period. That barrage propelled them to a shocking 4-2 win over No. 1-seed Kansas City [https://kcmavericks.com/]in Game 1 of their Mountain Division Semifinal matchup at Cable Dahmer Arena. Neither team could muster a point in the opening period. The Mavericks’ Jack LaFontaine stopped a penalty shot while his counterpart, Vyacheslav Buteyets, stopped all 11 shots he faced. That changed in the second frame as KC jumped out to a 2-0 lead. The Oilers responded with their four-goal outburst in the third, with rookie Drew Elliott scoring two of the four, one at the beginning and the other an empty-netter with 15 seconds left for the stunning 4-2 final. Game 2 is Saturday in Kansas City, with puck drop slated for 7:05 Pm CT.
