The Jacksonville Icemen will take on the Florida Everblades in the first round of the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs. This is the one of the two South Division semifinals. The other will feature the Greenville Swamp Rabbits and Orlando Solar Bears. 

Veteran ECHL writer Justin Cohn breaks it all down and tells you what you should keep an eye on during the series.

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South Division Semifinals

No. 2 Jacksonville Icemen (42-23-7) Vs. No. 3 Florida Everblades (40-23-9)

Game 1 – Thursday, April 18 at 7 p.m. ET at Jacksonville
Game 2 – Sunday, April 21 at 3 p.m. ET at Jacksonville
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida
Game 4 – Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida
Game 5 – Saturday, April 27 at 7 p.m. ET at Florida (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, April 30 at 7 p.m. ET at Jacksonville (If Necessary)
Game 7 –Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m. ET at Jacksonville (If Necessary)

Jacksonville And Florida Top Scorers

Jacksonville’s Brendan Harris had 21 goals and 66 points during regular season; Florida’s Oliver Chau had 26 goals and 60 points in the regular season.

What You Need To Know About The Jacksonville Icemen

A team that runs three equally dangerous forward lines, has a stingy defense and has solid goaltending, that sounds tough, right? That’s the Icemen, who have opportunistic forwards such as Christopher Brown (20 goals, 59 points), Riley Fiddler-Schultz (23 goals) and Garrett Van Wyhe (19 goals). 

The defense ranks second in the league with 2.71 goals against per game. 

The goaltending of Matt Vernon has been great – he was 25-10-3 with a 2.67 GAA, a .909 SP and one shutout as a rookie – and the Icemen averaged a league-low 8.82 penalty minutes per game. 

The Icemen were 9-1-1 against the Everblades during the regular season and are well-coached by Nick Luukko.

What You Need To Know About The Florida Everblades

The Everblades are trying to become the first ECHL team to win three straight Kelly Cups. 

This season has had some trials, as coach Brad Ralph has had to try and rebuild the team on the fly, making acquisitions that included defenseman Zach Berzolla, but the Everblades look just as dangerous now as they did last season when they squeaked into the playoffs and then upset everyone in their path. 

Bobo Carpenter has been awesome with 28 goals and 46 points, and he’s got a bevy of offensive help from Joe Pendenza to Sean Josling to Logan Lambdin. 

Josh Ho-Sang, a 2014 first-round NHL draft pick of the New York Islanders, has been productive with two goals and 15 points in 11 games since being signed. 

Florida, which has won six in a row, knows how to win, and it’s going to be difficult to oust the Everblades when they’re chasing history.

Two Players To Watch In Jacksonville-Florida Series

Jacksonville’s Matheson Iacopelli tends to be a bit streaky, but when he’s on, he’s formidable. 

He had 27 goals and 40 points in 60 regular-season games, including five games with two or more goals. He also had 10 power-play goals. If he gets going, he could turn the series. 

Florida acquired the rights to Matthew Wedman at the trade deadline from Fort Wayne, and he will join them after being let go Wednesday by Calgary of the AHL. Not only can Wedman score – he had 14 goals and 35 points in 39 Fort Wayne games – he brings intangibles, such as leadership, physicality and the willingness to play in the hard areas.

X-Factor For The Jacksonville-Florida Series  

Florida’s goaltending. 

No one in the league has proven time and time again that he can control a series like Florida’s Cam Johnson, the Playoff MVP in 2022 and 2023. 

He was superb again this regular season with a 27-15-6 record, a 2.21 GAA, a .921 SP and four shutouts. 

He’s had some problems against Jacksonville, though, going 1-5-2 with a 2.57 GAA and a .914 SP. The series may hinge on his ability to steal games for the Everblades.

Jacksonville Icemen Vs. Florida Everblades Predictions

It’s tough to overlook the Icemen and their success against the Everblades during the regular season, even if the Icemen come into the playoffs on a 1-4-1 slide. 

I picked the Icemen to win it all before the season, and I haven’t seen much to dissuade me at this point. Jacksonville wins in seven games.

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