ECHL: Everblades get off the fast start, Cam Johnson does rest in Eastern Conference Game 3 win
An early flurry of goals set the tone for the Florida Everblades as they skated to a 4-0 win over the Adirondack Thunder in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night.
Florida now leads the series 2 games to 1. Game 4 will be Friday night at 7:30 in Estero.
The Everblades shot early and often, firing 10 on target in the first 10 minutes of the game. With the defense shutting things down, they outshot the Thunder 14-4 in the first frame.
"In the first period, our gaps were phenomenal," Everblades coach Brad Ralph said. "We didn't allow them to enter the zone with possession very often."
It paid off at the 6:33 mark after forward Josh Ho-Sang skated out from behind the Adirondack goal line. He brought the puck back to the blue line, turned around and swiped it right to defenseman Jordan Sambrook. Sambrook took a half second to set the puck and then fired it into the back of the net.
Six Minutes later, Everblades forward Oliver Chau was going for the puck at the red line when he was nudged by Adirondack defender Brendan Less. Chau kept the puck near for linemate Mark Senden, who was skating forward with speed. Senden took the puck to the right face-off circle and, with a defender in front of him, shot it off the goalie and scored.
Ho-Sang engineered another beauty at the 15:24 mark on a power play when he stood in the right face-off circle and drew a triple-team. He pushed a pass to the left circle, where forward Matt Wedman stood alone. Wedman took a quick swipe to the left side of the net and buried it, making it 3-0.
That goal netted Ho-Sang his 12th assist of the postseason, which leads the ECHL.
"I see quite a bit," Ho-Sang said. "I think for me, a whole lot of it is the guys have done a really good job of figuring out how I play and I think that that's why guys are scoring more and more with me. I think you're seeing our team is more dynamic now."
The stick-handling artistry continued in the second period and nearly made it 4-0. Defenseman Will Reilly had the puck at the right side of the blue line when passed to Ho-Sang at the top of the slot. Ho-Sang brought the puck back to the blue line where, with an opponent swiping at him, he passed it back to the right. Reilly took the puck and buried it high and left. But the goal was disallowed for interference because Wedman was in the goal crease.
The score remained 3-0 through the second period. Adirondack coach Pete MacArthur made a goalie change during the second intermission, replacing the ECHL-leading Isaac Poulter with Jeremy Brodeur to shake things up. However, the Florida defense and goalie Cam Johnson continued to stymie the Thunder attack.
Bobo Carpenter picked up the fourth goal of the game when he broke away on an empty net.
Johnson netted his second shutout of the postseason, stopping the 26 shots that he faced.
"I think it's indicative of how the boys are playing in front of me," Johnson said. "It's a great group of guys in front of me that are playing hard. They're playing the right way and making my job easy.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida Everblades take 2-1 ECHL Eastern Conference series lead over Adirondack Thunder
