ESTERO, Fla. – The Florida Everblades outshot the visiting Trois-Rivières Lions 32-12, but were unable to solve Lions netminder Luke Cavallin and suffered a hard-luck 1-0 loss in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals in front of 6,376 fans Saturday night at Hertz Arena. Trois-Rivières leads the best-of-seven series one game to none.
The Everblades controlled possession throughout the first period, recording an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal, but were unable to get on the board. Both sides had a pair of power-play opportunities in the game’s opening 20 minutes, but neither team could claim a lead heading into the first intermission.
Florida continued to dominate the tempo throughout the entire second period, outshooting Trois-Rivières 16-2 in the middle frame. Unfortunately, while the Lions could muster just two shots, one snuck past Everblades goalie Cam Johnson at the 8:38 mark, as defenseman Kyle Havlena gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.
For the third-straight period, the Blades outshot the Lions 8-5, but were unable convert.
Cavallin stopped all 32 shots for Trois-Rivières, while Everblades goaltender Cam Johnson turned aside 11 of the 12 shots he faced.
The Everblades will regroup quickly for Game Two Sunday afternoon at Hertz Arena, with the puck dropping at 5:00 p.m. Visit floridaeverblades.com for more information and to purchase tickets for any future Kelly Cup Playoff games at Hertz Arena.
