ST. JOHN’S, NL – The Newfoundland Growlers headed into game six of the Eastern Conference Final down 3-2 in the series and needed a victory to stay alive in this postseason. They put up a hell of a fight Tuesday, taking their opponent into double-overtime, but it was the Florida Everblades who came out on top with a 3-2 win and a trip to the Kelly Cup Final.
As he did in game five, Newfoundland’s Pavel Gogolev opened the scoring in game six. Jonny Tychonick took a shot that Florida goaltender Cam Johnson stopped, but Gogolev batted home the rebound.
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Less than 90 seconds later the Everblades tied it up. Ashton Calder skated into the Growlers zone on a 3-on-2 with Sean Josling and Will Calverley. Calder passed across to Josling, who passed along to Calverley in assembly-line fashion, with Calverley burying it.
Florida took the lead less than five minutes into the second period when Logan Lambdin caught Newfoundland netminder Luke Cavallin down and out. The Michigan native Lambdin circled around the net and sent the puck to fellow Michigan native Tyler Irvine out in front. Cavallin made the save but misread the rebound and sprawled the wrong way to stop the puck. Lambdin lifted it over the goaltender to make it 2-1.
Four minutes later the game was tied once again. Brennan Kapcheck took Levko Koper off the puck with a big open-ice hit, allowing Tyler Boland to steal and move into the offensive zone. He passed to Zach O’Brien, who in turn passed over to Orrin Centazzo. Centazzo finished the tic tac toe play with a final pass back to Boland, who easily tapped it home for the 2-2 tie.
There was not another goal the remainder of regulation, thanks in large part to the superb goaltending from both Cavallin and Johnson. Both netminders made 25 saves before heading into overtime, with both coming up big for their respective teams at the most crucial moments.
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The goalies continued to come up big into overtime, with Cavallin stopping another ten shots in the first session and Johnson stopping five. Both were thriving under the pressure.
There was a close call 12:33 into the extra session, however. Calder skated into the Growlers zone and threw the puck on net, with Cavallin making the save. Joe Pendenza knocked the rebound past the goaltender, but the net had come off its moorings. After a lengthy review, the officials determined that the net had in fact come off prior to the puck crossing the goal line. The score remained 2-2.
The teams headed into their second overtime period hoping to end it early. Instead, they made it almost halfway through before John McCarron ended it. After almost a full minute of offensive zone pressure, McCarron took an odd-angle shot that bounced up and over Cavallin’s shoulder for the 3-2 victory.
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By the time all was said and done, Johnson had 34 saves on the night while Cavallin stopped 43 of the 46 shots he faced.
Cavallin’s Comeback
Photo Courtesy of Newfoundland Growlers
This series has been a pretty impressive comeback from game one of the North Division semifinals, in which Cavallin was pulled midway through the game after giving up five goals to the Adirondack Thunder. The rookie didn’t see action during the remainder of that series and was only used in relief in one game against the Reading Royals in the North Division Final. After the Growlers’ slow start in the Eastern Conference Final, dropping the first two games, Cavallin replaced fellow rookie Dryden McKay as the go-to guy the remainder of the way. Cavallin led his team to overtime twice and made over 150 saves in his four games during the series.
Playing Disciplined Hockey
For the second game in a row, the Growlers and Everblades took minimal penalties. After setting a record for fewest penalties in this postseason back in game five, the teams set another 2023 postseason record for fewest power plays in game six. There were three penalties, but only one power play awarded, due to a too-many-men call on Newfoundland in the second period. Lambdin’s goal came during this power play. McCarron was called for holding in the third period, but it was cancelled out by Jack Badini‘s embellishment call.
On to the Kelly Cup Final
The Everblades now advance to the Kelly Cup Final to face the Idaho Steelheads in that best-of-seven series, beginning this weekend in Boise. Watch for the series preview coming later this week from Field Pass Hockey!
