JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Icemen got the playoff series back to Jacksonville, but couldn’t keep their dream season going.
The Icemen trailed from start to finish on Monday night, falling in the second round of the Kelly Cup playoffs for the second consecutive season to the rival Florida Everblades in a 5-2 loss in Game 6. It ended Jacksonville’s season and prevented a storybook comeback attempt to send the series to a seventh game.
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The Icemen fell into a 3-0 series hole but scratched their way to a pair of wins on the road in Estero on Friday and Saturday to set up a win-or-go-home showdown Monday.
They went down 2-0 early in the second period and got within one goal on two occasions. Ara Nazarian scored late in the second to get within 2-1, and Derek Lodermeier scored with just under two minutes left in the game to get within 3-2. But the Everblades punched in a pair of empty-netters to provide the buffer after that and move on.
It was a far better showing in the second round against Florida than a season ago when the Icemen were swept. Jacksonville put up a franchise-record 44 wins in the regular season, but still haven’t found a way to beat the Everblades.