Everblades overwhelm Las Vegas with 7-2 win in Game 2 - The News-Press

Florida Everblades tie series 1-1 with overwhelming 7-2 victory over the Las Vegas Wranglers. Game 3 will be Friday at Germain Arena.

Read the play-by-play from last night's game.

Follow reporter Craig Handel on Twitter @scoops81

Videos: Game 2 action | Matt Marquardt on 7-2 win | David Rutherford | Justin Shugg

LAS VEGAS, Nev. â€" What a difference 24 hours make.

In Game 1, Justin Shugg missed tying the game in the final seconds, Matt Marquardt missed three great scoring chances and David Rutherford missed five of his teeth.

In Game 2, Shugg, Marquardt and Rutherford didn’t miss.

And now the Kelly Cup Final will go back to Southwest Florida with the series tied 1-1.

Exploding for three goals in the second and four more in the third, the Everblades shocked Las Vegas 7-2 at Orleans Arena on Tuesday night before 5,569 fans.

Shugg, Marquardt and Rutherford had the goals that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead. Also scoring for Florida were forwards Mathieu Roy, Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll, Brandon MacLean and Leigh Salters.

Game 3 will be Friday night at Germain Arena.

Trailing 2-0 after the first period, Florida went from playing some of its worst 20 minutes of the playoffs to some of its best 40 when it needed it most.

“Give guys credit, they had inspirational dissatisfaction,” Everblades coach Greg Poss said. “We didn’t say much. The players took over and said they wanted to turn this around and play the way we can.”

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Forward David Rutherford credited forward Trevor Bruess with a few fiery comments. Working out in the hallway after the game, Bruess smiled about the incident and said, “It’s all about team now.”

“Holy crap, that was a tough situation,” Rutherford said. “That showed a lot of character.”

The Wranglers scored on first-period goals by Chris Francis and Judd Blackwater to take a 2-0 lead. Both plays came off great centering passes and poor Everblades interior defensive coverage.

“We needed to tighten up,” Rutherford said. “We turned the puck over. We had a little bad break on the first one but you can’t let players like Blackwater free. He’ll bury those.”

After killing a penalty to start the second, Roy’s power play goal keyed the comeback.

“We let their power play step up, which we can’t let happen,” Las Vegas coach Ryan Mougenel said. “But it happened and as a coach I have to take ownership. I was frustrated and our players were frustrated. We weren’t good from the second period on and a couple of calls didn’t go our way.”

One call that Mougenel was extremely upset about was when Salters, who said he was taken to the ice, then slashed by Wranglers goaltender Joe Fallon, got up and went after him.

“I don’t know how that guy stays in the game when he takes a baseball swing at my guy and cross checks him in the head,” Mougenel said. “Ask the ECHL why he’s still in the game. I think it’s a little ridiculous. If Adam Huxley does that, he gets 10 games. I’m almost positive the ref didn’t see it.”

Salters said he “reacted a little heavily” after being slashed. After mixing it up with another Vegas player, he raised his arms as he left the ice after getting a two-minute unsportsmanlike and 10-minute misconduct penalties.

“I like to be the enemy where guys hate me,” he said. “I thrive off that. I think play better when I’m on the hot seat and fans are all over me. It benefits me, actually.”

Poss added that Salters had to do what he had to do.

“You need to be disciplined but you also need to protect yourself,” Poss said. “He got hacked.”

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The offsetting penalties created a 4-on-4 situation that Shugg took advantage of. With not as many bodies to black his shot, Shugg let go with a blast that hit the post and trickled in.

“It found its way through to the net,” Shugg said. “That tying goal is gonna bring momentum to the hockey club.”

Then it was Marquardt’s turn. He talked about continuing to work hard in Game 2, and this time he felt he got some luck.

“I was able to squeak one past,” he said. “Last night, I had the same exact play and took the shot off the post and it went across the goal.”

Next came Rutherford, who Salters said looked like a character from Goonies after a Game 1 crosscheck cost him five upper teeth. He now has that as well as one lower missing tooth.

His goal opened the third period.

“I thought we came out and did a better job of getting on them,” he said. “We picked up the energy.”

And it didn’t let up. Salters ended it with a redirect in front of the net off a David Fischer shot where the Everblades seemed content to run out the clock.

“We let it get away from us,” Mougenel said. “It’s disappointing for sure. Maybe it’s good to get our tails handed to us. But we’re a resilient bunch.”

Poss, who couldn’t stop praising the Wranglers, is ready for a tussle on Friday night.

“It’s going to be a real interesting game,” he said. “There’s a lot of emotion right now.”