The Florida Everblades are staring down history once again as they’ve reached the Conference Finals for the fourth straight year in the hopes of keeping their unprecedented Kelly Cup championship streak alive. Standing in their way will be a team they’ve never seen before on the road to the Kelly Cup Finals – the Trois-Rivières Lions.

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The Eastern Conference Finals will begin Saturday with Game 1 set for Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla. 

This should be a fascinating matchup with a team that has more playoff experience than any other in the league against a team that had never made it out of the first round in its four years of existence.

The Lions have been one of the best teams in the ECHL this year, winning the North Division with a 45-18-6-2 record. The Montreal Canadiens’ ECHL affiliate had a record season with a high-octane offense that finished fourth in the league in both goals scored and goals against during the regular season, but will face their biggest challenge yet.

The Everblades have won each of the last three Kelly Cups, the first team in the league’s history to win three straight. This postseason, they've looked as strong as ever with eight wins in nine postseason contests. Trois-Rivières, however, is a legitimate threat to stop the streak. 

How Florida And Trois-Rivières Got Here

The Everblades have done very little to diminish their reputation as one of the very best at what they do – finding ways to win. They have played nine total games in these playoffs and won eight of them. Florida swept Jacksonville, but every single game was decided in overtime.

They ran their winning streak to five games, scoring 11 total goals in Games 1 and 2 against Orlando. A minor stumble in Game 3 didn’t really slow things down for Florida as they won Games 4 and 5 by a total score of 6-1.

Trois-Riviéres, meanwhile, made quick of their first-round opponent. The Reading Royals needed almost the full regular season to get into the playoffs, but didn’t last long as the Lions swept them. The only game without a multi-goal margin of victory for Trois-Riviéres was a double-overtime win in Game 3.

The division finals proved a bit tougher, though, as the Norfolk Admirals split the first four games with the Lions. A big 1-0 OT win over the Ads in Game 5 helped turn the series for Trois Rivières before they returned to home ice and earned a comfortable 6-3 win to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

NOUS SOMMES LES ROIS DU NOOOOORDD!!🫡💥#noTRemoment pic.twitter.com/Fcmme4qhRm

— xy - Lions de Trois-Rivières (@Lions3r) May 14, 2025

What To Know About The Eastern Conference Finals

The Everblades should prepare for one of their tougher challenges on this unprecedented postseason run they’ve been on. Trois-Rivières has tremendous depth and has gotten strong goaltending out of Luke Cavallin, who owns a .939 save percentage in these playoffs.

The Lions also boast a robust scoring attack led by Anthony Beauregard, who is in his third season with the club. He leads the team with 11 points and was a point-per-game player throughout the regular season. Meanwhile, they also have the top scoring defenseman, Chris Jandric. He followed up a 50-point regular season with nine points through his first 10 postseason contests. Former third-round NHL Draft pick Alex Beaucage has also been dominant this postseason with 10 points so far.

The Everblades counter with one of the best postseason goalies in ECHL history as Cam Johnson is a two-time playoffs MVP and owns a .932 save percentage in these playoffs. In 72 career games in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, he owns a career .928 save percentage and has posted 12 shutouts. The 30-year-old is a future first-ballot ECHL Hall of Famer.

READY 4 MORE??? WE ARE!

eastern conference finals tix on sale tomorrow at 10 AM pic.twitter.com/WIbdkkFINY

— x - Florida Everblades (@FL_Everblades) May 11, 2025

When it comes to scoring, the Everblades have really spread it out among the roster. Veterans of multiple Kelly Cup runs Logan Lambdin and Oliver Chau have been among the leaders with nine and eight points, respectively. Meanwhile, newcomer Colton Hargrove, who came over from the Allen Americans in the offseason, is playing some of his best hockey in the playoffs with five goals and four assists to tie Lambdin for the team points lead.

Trois-Rivières is in the first full season under new ownership and the transformation has been dramatic. The fact that both them and AHL affiliate Laval have been so good this season stabilizes organizational depth for the Montreal Canadiens. If the Lions can find a way past the ECHL’s three-time defending champion, it could be a watershed moment for the franchise as it tries to grow its brand in Quebec.

That’s a lot easier said than done. Florida is battle-tested, well coached, deep and they’ve got the goalie that simply hasn’t lost in the postseason when the biggest games arrive.

The pressure on Trois-Rivières to get at least a split in the first two games in Florida could not be higher. Getting one win with three straight home games on the horizon would be a huge positive towards winning the series. The problem is, Florida just doesn’t know how to be closed out. They so rarely have their backs against the wall, but when they do, they always seem to find a way.

This should be a super exciting matchup that all of the ECHL will be watching very closely.

ECHL Eastern Conference Finals Schedule

• Game 1 – Saturday, May 17 at 7 p.m. ET at Florida
• Game 2 – Sunday, May 18 at 5 p.m. ET at Florida
• Game 3 – Wednesday, May 21 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières
• Game 4 – Friday, May 23 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières 
• Game 5 – Saturday, May 24 at 3 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières  (If Necessary)
• Game 6 – Tuesday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida (If Necessary)
• Game 7 – Wednesday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida (If Necessary)

How To Watch Florida Everblades vs. Trois-Rivières Lions

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