Marquardt wins Kelly Cup ECHL title

North Bay's Matt Marquardt was celebrating on Wednesday night as his Florida Everblades won the Kelly Cup championship with a 3-2 overtime win over the Las Vegas Wranglers to win the East Coast Hockey League title 4 games to 1.

Brandon MacLean scored the game-winning goal 3:33 into the extra session, taking a pass from Matt Beca, and beating goaltender Joe Fallon with a quick shot from the left-wing circle.

Marquardt played a key role in his squad's route to the final as he scored the overtime winner in game 3; a 4-3 win.

He also had a key 3-point night earlier in the series and finished 3rd in playoff scoring with 6 goals and 12 assists totalling 18 points in 18 playoff games en route to the title.

The Everblades become the 16th different team to capture the ECHL title, and are 11th different winner of the Kelly Cup. Florida, which had lost in its two previous trips to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2004 and 2005, is tied with six other clubs for the most Finals appearances in the ECHL’s 24-year history.