Everblades Advance to Eastern Conference Finals: What’s next?
The Florida Everblades advance to face the Adirondack Thunder in the Eastern Conference Finals after putting away the Orlando Solar Bears with an overtime goal in Game 5 Saturday night at the Kia Center.
Cami’s Corner: Recap of Game 5
After the Solar Bears were able to force game 5, the Everblades made it a point to take control of the ice early on to fuel their confidence throughout the game.
Everblades forward Bobo Carpenter was able to do just that when he was fed a breakaway pass from defenseman Cole Moberg into Orlando’s zone and saw the back of the net with a backhand.
Just like that, with 8:14 left in the second period, the Florida Everblades were up 1-0.
“It was huge,” said Everblades defensemen Jordan Sambrook. “The first few games in the series we got the lead early and it helped us play well throughout the full 60 minutes. We wanted to do that tonight.”
The score remained constant throughout the second and most of the third with the Everblades displaying dominant and consistent gameplay:
However, with the Everblades just under a minute away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals and the Solar Bears in a state of desperation, Orlando pulled their starting goalie, Evan Fitzpatrick, to tie the score and send the game to overtime with just 51 seconds left in regulation.
“Just stick with it,” said Sambrook after being asked what their mindset was to be able to regain momentum going into OT. “We just knew that we had to keep playing well.”
13:56 into OT this mindset became a reality when Carpenter scored his second of the night, not only sending his team to the Eastern Conference Finals but putting them one step closer to claiming the title of ‘Kelly Cup Champions’ for the third year in a row.
“I’m just really proud of the effort these guys put in you know, Orlando played us hard,” said Everblades Head Coach Brad Ralph. “We persevered and I thought today was our best game in the series.”
Eastern Conference Finals: ‘The Name of the Game’
With the Adirondack Thunder beating out the Norfolk Admirals in a 4-2 series last night, Ralph will be focusing on the bigger picture:
Battling through the adversity instead of trying to play perfect hockey.
“There’s fatigue, there’s injuries. So different guys have to step up. But the name of the game is understanding that it’s not going to be perfect hockey. You’ve got to battle through the adversity like we did today (game 5 v.s. Solar Bears) and just keep trying to get better,” said Ralph
After trailing the Icemen 3-1 in the series and coming back to ultimately win three straight games, starting goalie, Cam Johnson, explained the saying ‘Pressure makes diamonds‘ as the way that the Florida Everblades handle adversity as a team.
“If you look at a diamond, the most beautiful stone on Earth, it’s created by the most pressure on Earth, so I always try to relate that to hockey,” said Johnson.
“Pressure is a privilege…That’s the biggest thing, getting over the mental hurdle. Once you can get over that, it’s pretty much smooth sailing.”
Regardless of whether their backs are up against a wall or they aren’t playing their best hockey, the Everblades have proved their ability to face adversity and pressure head-on to execute (not perfect, but) creative and disciplined hockey when it matters most.
“I think with our group, it’s believing, but it’s also backing it up on the ice with our effort and our compete [competition] level,” said Ralph
This is the same attitude that not only showed through in the Icemen and Solar Bears series but that Ralph has implemented into his coaching since leading his team to back-to-back Kelly Cups and now into the Eastern Conference Finals for their third consecutive shot at it against the Adirondack Thunder.
The Everblades will start the series on the road against the Thunder for Games 1 and 2 on Friday, May 17th, and Saturday, May 18th at the Cool Insuring Arena at 7:00. Game 3 will be on Wednesday, May 22nd at Hertz Arena at 7:30, followed by game 4 at 7:30), and (potentially) game 5 at 7:00.
