KC Mavericks take 2-0 Kelly Cup Finals lead over Florida with 6-0, 5-2 victories

The Kansas City Mavericks took a 2-0 series lead over the Florida Everblades in the 2026 Kelly Cup Finals with a 5-2 win on Saturday night at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence.

The Mavericks won Game 1 of the ECHL’s best-of-seven championship series on Friday night, shutting out Florida 6-0 at Cable Dahmer Arena.

It was more of the same Saturday in Game 2. Five Mavericks goals staked the home team to a 5-1 lead before the Everblades could muster their second one. That response came early in the final period, the outcome by then all but certain.

KC got goals from Bobo Carpenter, Jake McLaughlin, Marcus Crawford, David Cotton and Jackson Jutting. Along the way, Florida’s Carson Gicewicz scored a late-first-period goal that tied the game ever-so-briefly at 1-1.

Four of the Mavericks’ five goals Saturday came in a sizzling second-period outburst — a trend repeated from the night before.

These teams are no strangers to one another. They played for the ECHL championship in the 2024 Kelly Cup finals, with Florida winning that series, and title, 4-1.

With the KC franchise still seeking its first Kelly Cup championship, this year’s Mavericks advanced to the finals with a 4-2 series victory over the Fort Wayne Komets in the Western Conference Finals. The Everblades beat the Wheeling Nailers 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The 2026 Kelly Cup Finals will now take a break for a few days before resuming midweek in Estero, Florida. The Everblades play host to the Mavericks in Game 3 Wednesday at Hertz Arena, with a puck-drop of 6:30 p.m.

Games 4 and, if necessary, 5 would also be at Hertz Arena — with Game 4 guaranteed on Friday and a potential fifth game slated there Saturday. Games 6 and 7, if needed, would be back at Cable Dahmer Arena.

Whether six or seven games will be required in this series is debatable. As was the case in Game 2, the Game 1 stat sheet heavily favored KC, especially in the second period — when the hosts scored four of their goals, just as they did Saturday.

After KC’s Jakov Novak and Hudson Wilson scored in Friday’s opening stanza, the floodgates opened. The Mavericks got successive second-period goal goals from Jack Randl, Luke Loheit, Landon McCallum and Jimmy Glynn.

Mavericks goalie Jack LaFontaine collected 15 saves in Friday night’s shutout.

Here’s a look at the remaining Kelly Cup Finals schedule:

ECHL 2026 Kelly Cup Finals schedule

Games shown in Central Time

Game 1: Mavericks 6, Everblades 0

Game 2: Saturday, June 6

Game 3: Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30 p.m. in Estero, Florida

Game 4: Friday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m. in Estero, Florida

Game 5: Saturday, June 13 at 6 p.m. in Estero, Florida*

Game 6: Monday, June 15 at 7:05 p.m. at Cable Dahmer Arena*

Game 7: Wednesday, June 17 at 7:05 p.m. at Cable Dahmer Arena*

* – if necessary

This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 9:07 PM.