The Florida Everblades took a 2 games to 0 lead in the 2022 Kelly Cup Finals on Saturday with a 3-1 win over the Toledo Walleye in front of 8,600 fans at Huntington Center.
Florida opened the scoring 3:31 into the opening period when Levko Koper deflected an Xavier Bouchard shot past Toledo goaltender Billy Christopoulos with the teams skating 4-on-4.
The Everblades doubled their lead with a shorthanded tally at 12:19. Joe Pendenza skated down the left-wing side and centered the puck to Dylan Vander Esch who notched his second goal of the postseason.
The score remained 2-0 until the 15:52 mark of the second period when Zach Solow deflected a Stefan Leblanc shot past Christopoulos for his seventh playoff goal, and extending the lead to 3-0.
Toledo got on the scoreboard 8:55 into the third period. Blake Hillman fired a wrist shot from the top of the right-wing circle which was tipped in front by Marcus Vela, giving him his fourth goal of the playoffs.
Everblades’ goaltender Cam Johnson improved to 13-2 in the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs with 29 saves.
The series shifts to Estero, Florida with Game 3 set for Wednesday at Hertz Arena with the opening face-off at 7:30 p.m. ET. Catch all of the action live by tuning into FloHockey.
2022 Kelly Cup FinalsGame 1 – FLORIDA 3 at Toledo 2Game 2 – FLORIDA 3 at Toledo 1Game 3 – Wednesday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET at FloridaGame 4 – Friday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET at FloridaGame 5 – Saturday, June 11 at 7:00 p.m. ET at Florida (If Necessary)Game 6 – Tuesday, June 14 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)Game 7 – Thursday, June 16 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)