ESTERO, FL — Florida’s Cam Johnson was perfect, stopping all 23 shots he faced, as the Everblades moved one step closer to their second straight Kelly Cup with a 1-0 three-goal win over the Idaho Steelheads in front of 6,983 fans at Hertz Arena Wednesday night.
Idaho’s Remy Poirier was strong in his Kelly Cup Finals debut, stopping 27 of 28 shots in the goaltender duel. 16 of those balls came in the first period, as the Steelheads deflected two penalties in the opening period. Florida had a 16-9 shot advantage heading into the first break.
Will Calverley scored the only goal of the night 18:14 into the second, his third of the postseason, on an assist by Blake Winicki. Winiecki sent a pass from the top left circle to Calverly, who found the net past the side of Poirier’s glove on a wrist shot.
The Steelheads again killed two penalties in the middle frame, with Willy Knirim and Justin Ducharme each serving two minutes for separate minor game delays.
Florida’s only penalty came midway through the third period, but Idaho could not convert on its only play.
Idaho finished the night 0-for-1 on the power play, while Florida was 0-for-4. In the series, the Steelheads are 2-for-14 and Florida is 2-for-5 on the man advantage.
Florida is looking to finish the series on a high note when the two teams meet in Game 4 on Friday night. If Idaho can solve Johnson on Friday, Game 5 will take place in Estero on Saturday. Should the Steelheads win both of those games, the series will return to Boise for Game 5 on Tuesday.
Florida leads the series 2-0
Game 1 – FLORIDA 3 in Idaho 2 (extra time)
Game 2 – FLORIDA 5 in Idaho 3
Game 3 – Idaho 0 at Florida 1
Game Four – Friday, June 9 at 7:30 PM ET in Florida
Game Five – Saturday, June 10 at 7:00 PM ET in Florida (if required)
Game 6 – Tuesday, June 13 at 7:10 PM Idaho Time (if applicable)
Game 7 – Wednesday, June 14 at 7:10 PM Idaho Time (if applicable)
Contact the author: John.Hall@prohockeynews.com
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