'Details matter': Icemen dominance falls short in Game 2 ECHL loss to Florida Everblades
Turning point: Joe Pendenza netted the tie-breaking goal off a rebound at 16:53 of the third period, leading the Florida Everblades to a 4-3 win Sunday and leaving the Jacksonville Icemen in a deep hole after Game 2 of the ECHL South Division finals at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Series status: The Icemen trail 2-0, needing to win two of their next three on the road to send the best-of-7 series back to Jacksonville.
Three stars: 1. Pendenza, Florida (one goal, one assist). 2. Sean Josling, Florida (one goal, one assist). 3. Jacob Friend, Jacksonville (two assists).
Dominance falls short: The Icemen commanded attacking momentum for most of the first two periods, and three times tied the score on goals from Matheson Iacopelli in the first period, Ben Hawerchuk in the second and Jacob Panetta in the third. Jacksonville outshot the Everblades 43-28, and had led 41-17 in that category at one stage, but misfired on several point-blank chances and ran into 40 saves from Florida's Cam Johnson.
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Penalty box: Jacksonville's Travis Howe picked up a roughing penalty after only 11 seconds, which the Everblades instantly punished with Josling's goal off assists by Pendenza and Ben Masella for a lead at the 23-second mark.
Late-period woes: After Josling's opener, the Everblades scored their three remaining goals not far from the period buzzers. Oliver Chau scored at 19:34 of the first period, after an Iacopelli pass glanced off Friend's skate for a defensive turnover near the net, and Logan Lambdin tipped in an outside shot from Cole Moberg at 18:57 of the second.
Around the rink: Parker Gahagen made 24 saves in the Jacksonville net in his first postseason appearance for the Icemen, after returning from the American Hockey League. … The Icemen have now lost their last eight postseason matchups against the Everblades, including both games of the current series, a four-game sweep last year and the last two games of their first-round series in 2019.
They said it: "The effort is there, but we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. This time of year, details matter, and we're giving up goals late in periods, blowing assignments, cheating for offense. This time of year, you've got to protect your net front and be a little smarter in our own end. There's a reason [the Everblades] won a championship last year, because their details are good." — Icemen coach Nick Luukko.
Up next: The Icemen travel to Hertz Arena in Estero for the next three games, beginning with Game 3 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
— Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: ECHL hockey playoffs 2023: Everblades-Jacksonville Icemen, Game 2
