WHEELING, W.Va. \u2013 The Florida Everblades are heading back to the Kelly Cup Finals.<\/p>\n
Scoring early and often, the Everblades rolled to a 6-1 victory over the Wheeling Nailers in Game Five of the ECHL Eastern Conference Finals Saturday night at WesBanco Arena, wrapping up a third-consecutive playoff series on road ice four games to one.<\/p>\n
Winners of the E.A. \u201cBud\u201d Gingher Trophy as ECHL Eastern Conference Champions for an eighth time, the Everblades have advanced to the Kelly Cup Finals for the fourth time in five seasons and an ECHL-record eighth time in team history. Florida will be looking to win a league-record fifth Kelly Cup Championship.<\/p>\n
Following a familiar script, the Everblades scored first, as Carson Gicewicz opened the scorefest just 37 seconds into the contest. Wheeling knotted the game at the 6:00 mark on a Nolan Renwick tally, as the teams took a 1-1 score into the first intermission.<\/p>\n
Three Florida goals in the first 7:01 of the second period would essentially put the final nail in Wheeling\u2019s coffin as markers by Sam Stange (1:54), Captain Oliver Chau (4:15), and Anthony Romano (7:01) gave the Everblades a 4-1 lead heading into the final frame.<\/p>\n
Romano tacked on his second goal of the night and his league-leading 11th goal of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, just 1:23 into the third period. Reid Duke closed out the scoring at the 12:03 mark with his first tally of the postseason, finishing off the 6-1 victory.<\/p>\n
In addition to Romano\u2019s two-goal performance, Chau (1G, 1A) and Hudson Elynuik (2A) also turned in two-point outings.<\/p>\n
In between the pipes, ECHL Goaltender of the Year Cam Johnson turned aside 28 of 29 shots, posting his biggest save total of the series.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to the 2026 Kelly Cup Finals presented by Lexus Dealers of Southwest Florida, the Everblades will face either the Kansas City Mavericks or the Fort Wayne Komets. KC currently leads the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals three games to one, with Game Five scheduled for Sunday in Fort Wayne. The complete game schedule for the Finals will be released once the Western Conference Finals are complete.<\/p>\n
Tickets for games that will be played at Hertz Arena will go on sale Sunday, May 31, at noon, with a special presale for\u00a0Blades 365 Members on\u00a0Sunday, May 31, at 10:00 a.m. Visit\u00a0floridaeverblades.com<\/a>\u00a0for more information and to purchase tickets for future games at Hertz Arena.<\/p>\n BLADES BITS Saturday\u2019s five-goal margin of victory was the largest for the Everblades this postseason.<\/p>\n Florida scored six goals for the second time this postseason, matching their output in Game Two versus South Carolina. The Blades erupted for seven goals in the following game. Saturday night\u2019s performance was the Everblades\u2019 fifth game with five or more goals in this year\u2019s playoffs.<\/p>\n In addition to posting his biggest total of the series with 28 saves, Cam Johnson notched his third-highest save total in this year\u2019s playoffs. Johnson registered 33 saves in the opening-round clincher versus Savannah, a week after logging 29 in that series\u2019 opener. Johnson allowed just seven goals in the Eastern Conference Finals and posted a .945 save percentage.<\/p>\n The teams combined for 149 penalty minutes on 33 infractions, with Wheeling leading the way with 79 minutes on 18 infractions, including three game misconducts in a busy third period.<\/p>\n Saturday Night\u2019s Scoresheet\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0—<\/p>\n JOIN THE FUN Group Packages are available for a group of 10 or more!\u202fEverblades put FUN in FUNdraising! There is no handling of money or tickets, and no limit on how much your group can raise with the Everblades’ easy-to-run online Fundraiser! For more information, or to reserve a Fundraiser Night at an Everblades regular-season home game, call or text (239) 948-7825.
The Everblades have scored first in every one of the team\u2019s 14 games in the 2026 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Carson Gicewicz picked up his second-straight lidlifter on Saturday, finding the net for the third consecutive game.<\/p>\n
Season ticket plans for the 2026-27 campaign are on sale now! Become a Blades 365 Member for the 2026-27 season and enjoy incredible savings and benefits! To view the Blades 365 Membership savings, benefits, and options, click\u202fHERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0
Grab the newest and hottest\u202fEverblades\u202fmerchandise by checking out the entire collection that is available online by visiting\u00a0shop.floridaeverblades.com<\/a>\u202for at the Hertz Arena Pro Shop!
\u00a0
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Watch every Florida Everblades game on\u00a0FloHockey.TV<\/a>. Listen to the exciting game action on The Fan on 94.1 FM, 103.3 FM, 105.9 FM and online at Everblades.mixlr.com. Stay up to date by following the Blades on social media with all the latest news, scores, and promotions on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0TikTok,<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n