JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Icemen have some catching up to do as they look to take advantage of their home crowd Wednesday night to spark a comeback in the Kelly Cup playoffs.
The team is 0-2 against in-state rival the Florida Everblades in the first round -- but both games came down to overtime.
And the next three games are in Jacksonville, so the Icemen are hoping for a major turnaround against the defending Kelly Cup champions.
The team set a record for fan attendance for the third straight year during the regular season, and they’re hoping those fans pack out VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and spur them to a three-game sweep.
That would send them back on the road needing just one win in the best-of-seven series to move on in the playoffs.
The Icemen led fan attendance in the ECHL, averaging 9,200 a game.
The Everblades made history last season by becoming the first team in ECHL history to three-peat.
They knocked the Icemen out of the playoffs each of those seasons, and Icemen defenseman Ivan Chukarov said those losses still linger -- and they’re ready for a new narrative.
“We’re excited. I feel we have a chance to flip the script a little,” Chukarov said. “You know they won it three years in a row. Especially from last season, we all have a little bad taste in our mouths.”
Chukarov and Head Coach Sean Teakle said home ice could really make the difference.
“Every night at the VyStar, you know it’s going to be a packed house and it’s going to be loud,” Teakle said. “We know our fans will be behind us, and it’s going to be awesome.”
“It makes us want to play harder, right? They are showing up for us, and they are spending their hard-earned money to watch us play, especially with everything we’ve gone through this season,” Chukarov said.
Puck drop for Game 3 is at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
