KELLY CUP FINALS: Everblades take time to rest after big win in Game 3 - Naples Daily News

KELLY CUP FINALS

Game 1: Las Vegas 2, Florida 1

Game 2: Florida 7, Las Vegas 2

Game 3: Florida 4, Las Vegas 3, OT (Florida leads series 2-1)

Game 4: Tuesday, May 22, at Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Game 5: Wednesday, May 23, at Florida, 7:30 p.m.

*Game 6: Friday, May 25, at Las Vegas, 10:05 p.m.

*Game 7: Saturday, May 26, at Las Vegas, 10:05 p.m.

* â€" If necessary

ESTERO â€" After a victory 14 years in the making, it’s only fitting the Florida Everblades players get a day off.

Florida won its first ever Kelly Cup Finals game at Germain Arena on Friday night, and did it in thrilling fashion. The Everblades came back from a 3-2 third period deficit to win in overtime and grab a 2-1 series lead.

The win capped off a whirlwind week for Florida in which the team traveled to and from Las Vegas and played three games in six days.

“I think the guys have earned the time off,” Florida coach Greg Poss said. “We’re going to take a day off and come back recharged on Sunday.”

Thanks to high school graduation ceremonies at Germain over the weekend, Florid and Las Vegas won’t resume the Kelly Cup Finals until Tuesday.

The rest figures to help both teams recover from a week’s worth of bumps and bruises. In Friday’s Game 3, Florida defenseman Ryan McGinnis was knocked out the game after being dumped into the Wranglers bench by a Las Vegas player. The Wranglers were also down one man on Friday, as forward Chris Francis sat out the game with an injury.

Las Vegas coach Ryan Mougenel declined to disclose his team’s practice schedule, but after the team traveled from Las Vegas to Fort Lauderdale and then bused to Estero on Thursday night, it stands to reason the Wranglers could also use some rest.

After his team’s heartbreaking defeat Friday, Mougenel said he’s confident his team can bounce back.

“We didn’t think it was going to be easy,” Mougenel said. “We’ve been expecting this, so it’s back to square one and we just have to focus on playing better.”

Even though they were off the ice Saturday, many of Florida’s players took to Twitter to urge fans to buy tickets for Tuesday’s game.

Forward Justin Shugg, who scored the game-tying goal on Friday and assisted on the game-winner in overtime, said he hopes Tuesday’s crowd can match the 6,822 that turned for Game 3.

“Fans are really like the seventh man for us,” Shugg said. “To have the support that we have here in Florida is just incredible. … I know it’s not a Friday night but hopefully we have just as on Tuesday because we really feed off their energy.”

Matt Marquardt, whose first-ever overtime goal was the game winner in Game 3, said Florida’s back-to-back comeback wins show the team’s resiliency.

“We’ve been behind before and we know we have the ability to come back in games,” Marquardt. “Nobody on this team quits no matter what happens.”

While he said the team is thrilled to be up 2-1, Marquardt said he and his teammates know they can’t spend too much time enjoying the win.

“This is a great win for us but this series isn’t over,” he said. “We have to come back and be ready for another tough game on Tuesday.”